British filmmaker Mike Leigh, one of the few directors to have won both the Venice Golden Lion and the Cannes Palme d’Or, told IndieWire that his upcoming feature, “Tender Loving Care,” may be his final film.
Speaking at a recent Golden Globes-hosted London roundtable, Leigh, 83, reflected on his filmmaking career and the challenges facing independent cinema. Last week, the Bleecker Street release also announced its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, making a Telluride bow likely.
The filmmaker has previously spoken about having myositis — a disease where the immune system attacks the muscles — which has significantly affected his mobility. He believes making another film would be “very difficult” and is “not going to be possible,” given the physical challenges he now faces.
When asked if “Tender Loving Care” would indeed be his last film, Leigh said, “Absolutely. I think very likely, yes. I mean, I know the girls don’t like to hear me say that, but I think that is the case.”
He added, “I was lucky in making this last film — people were very helpful. You’ll see when I get up that my two friends all helped me to stand up. So I probably can’t do much more. And doing a play is even more physically demanding, strangely enough, than making a film, because on a film you can be moved around.”
When preparing “Tender Loving Care,” securing financing was one of the biggest challenges for producer Georgina Lowe, particularly because Leigh’s films are known for their improvisational creative process. “What’s awful is that the people who have the real funds and the real resources don’t really encourage. They don’t sow the seeds and reap the harvest,” said Lowe.
Leigh said he was fortunate to have worked with the BBC decades ago, when he was given almost complete creative freedom, something he believes is very different from the current landscape. “When we make these films, there is no script to start with. Apart from the historical films, we can’t really tell anybody what it’s about. We can’t discuss anything. Just give us the money.”
While remaining committed to preserving his auteur voice, Leigh also said that securing support for independent films is becoming increasingly difficult. For him, this is not simply about working without a script or avoiding discussions about casting; it also means ensuring that financiers do not interfere with the creative process. “Filmmaking is no different from other independent artistic practices, such as photography or literature.” Should investors make suggestions that compromise the independence of his work, he said he would “walk away and not do the project.”
Leigh does not work from a conventional screenplay in which every scene is fully written in advance. Instead, he typically spends months rehearsing with his actors, aiming to uncover the “essence” of the film rather than merely its “surface.” “It’s realism, not naturalism,” he said.
He traced the origins of this approach back to the early 1960s, when he moved to London after growing up in Manchester and immersed himself in both Hollywood and British cinema. “I discovered world cinema, which was an absolute mind-blower. One of the first things that really struck me was ‘Shadows.’ That sparked a lot of other things that were happening in the theater, and in the zeitgeist of the early 1960s, with happenings and all kinds of improvisational practices.”
Having originally trained as an actor, Leigh said he understood the importance of helping performers remain fully immersed in their characters on set. During rehearsals, he develops characters inspired by real people, encouraging actors to make choices that heighten and distill their performances. The result, he said, is “solid, three-dimensional, and efficient,” because actors rarely forget their lines during shooting. He believes the process is ultimately about arriving at something classical and precise through a long and organic journey. Creativity, for him, is something to follow and respond to as it reveals itself. “The important thing, in the end, is what’s on the screen. That’s all that matters,” Leigh said.
Alongside Paul Jesson and Kate O’Flynn, “Tender Loving Care” also stars Marion Bailey, one of Leigh’s longtime collaborators, whose credits include “Meantime,” “All or Nothing,” “Vera Drake,” “Mr. Turner,” and “Peterloo.”
Bailey’s relationship with Leigh began in the late 1970s after she was recommended for Adrian Shergold’s play “The Connection.” Their first collaboration was the stage production “Goose-Pimples” in 1981, which began as a theatrical project in London’s West End. Since then, she has reunited with Leigh on numerous films, developing characters through his distinctive improvisational process. Bailey said the method “hasn’t fundamentally altered” since it first began.
When asked about the future of classical acting, Bailey said the outlook was “fairly bleak.”
“I think in this country, we’ve never taken as much pride in the arts as France has.”
She pointed to her daughter, Alice Bailey Johnson, who also appears in “Tender Loving Care,” saying she still feels “heartened” by seeing young people determined to make things happen.
“I don’t want to be too negative because, as I say, there are all sorts of wonderfully talented people with great heart, spirit and ability, and I wish them well.”
“Tender Loving Care” is set for a December 4 release date from Bleecker Street following its fall festival run.
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