Typist Artist Pirate King
Carol Morley’s new drama is a treat for those who relish exceptional acting.
Monica Dolan and Kelly Macdonald
The film which made Carol Morley's name was her 2011 feature Dreams of a Life. It was a work constructed around a real-life person, Joyce Vincent, but it blended interview footage with acted reconstructions reflecting the life that she had lived before her remains were found in a London bedsit all of three years after she had died. Watching Typist Artist Pirate King there is a sense of Morley coming full circle. That's because once again as writer/director she has chosen to give us an imagined portrait of a real person. That person is the artist Audrey Amiss played by Monica Dolan and this time there are no documentary elements as such. Not only are actors involved throughout but Morley has invented a second key character who is fictional and then put the two women together in a situation which serves to yield a clear view of Amiss herself.
Playing this other character is Kelly Macdonald and the role is that of Sandra, a psychiatric nurse who has been looking after Audrey. The latter was an eccentric but talented woman whose life was shaped by her mental problems since she had been diagnosed as being both bipolar and as having paranoid schizophrenia. As an artist Amiss produced paintings from life that belonged to the school of social realism but also went on to more abstract work while, in addition, she made sketches and kept highly elaborated notated scrapbooks. Nevertheless, she went largely unrecognised during her life (she died in 2013 at the age of 79). Images of the art work frequently appear in the course of the film, the title of which is taken from the bizarre description of her occupation that appeared on her passport. The notion that Morley has devised in order to bring all this together is to centre the film on an imaginary road trip.
We meet both Audrey and Sandra at a time when the nurse, not untroubled in her own life, is deciding to give up her work. But then, on Sandra’s very last day with Audrey, the artist persuades her to drive her and her artwork to a place where she hopes to exhibit. Since the site in question is in Sunderland and the journey from London would cover some 280 miles, Sandra would be unlikely to agree outright. But here Morley’s screenplay cleverly shows Amiss giving Sandra the impression that only a short drive is involved and when, having set out, Sandra discovers the truth the fact that she has built a close bond with Audrey despite her patient’s uncontrollable outbursts causes her to go through with it. One senses that Sandra has a sense of guilt over her retirement and believes that in doing so she is letting down Audrey who has become so used to her and so dependent on her companionship. Consequently we are able to accept the rather outlandish plot line.
I have not always taken to Morley’s films but the impact of Typist Artist Pirate King, initially at least and indeed for much of its length, is terrific. That's down to two factors. First, Morley's own response to Audrey Amiss and her art is clearly heartfelt and, while she is fully alert to Audrey’s behaviour rendering her almost impossible to deal with, she is deeply empathetic too. Secondly, the two leading roles are perfectly cast. Monica Dolan made a great impact in the 2019 film Days of the Bagnold Summer but her portrayal of Audrey Amiss is even more remarkable. On the one hand the role involves the relishable badinage that Audrey favours along with her often-outrageous comments which Sandra has come to accept as part of who Audrey is. Then there’s the other side of the coin: Audrey’s condition that makes her violent and uncontrollable even to the extent of trashing rooms and also leads to her believing that strangers encountered en route are actually people that she has known in the past. The challenge for the actress is to cover both aspects persuasively. Dolan convincingly does this but, more than that, there are times when she manages to be comic and tragic simultaneously. That makes it a real tour-de-force, but not one that should cause anyone to underestimate the contrasted portrait of care and concern that is Kelly Macdonald's Sandra. She too is perfect.
With such great performances and the admirable balance of its contrasting moods, Typist Artist Pirate King had the potential to be a masterpiece, but unfortunately it falls well short of that. Road movies tend to be episodic and this one is no exception and, although not excessively long, it comes to feel overextended even if the later sequences do introduce a fresh character in Audrey’s sister Dorothy ably played by Gina McKee. Some sections of the film appear stylised but semi-surreal touches don't integrate well and delayed revelations about a traumatic occurrence in Audrey's childhood come across as a self-conscious plot device. Furthermore, the film’s climax linked to this incident goes badly awry emerging as a melodramatic contrivance while also incorporating a surreal religious tone. It could hardly be more misjudged.
That the film goes off-course is a sad disappointment. But, regardless of that, Typist Artist Pirate King is a welcome espousal of a little-known artist and her work. At the same time this is a film which, if not seen, will deny you the pleasure of not one but two great performances by actresses who are on their very best form.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Monica Dolan, Kelly Macdonald, Gina McKee, Kieran Bew, Christine Bottomley, Judith Chandler, Gary Bates, Orla Cottingham, Anand Toora, Paul Hamilton, Joanne Allen, Matilda Firth.
Dir Carol Morley, Pro Cairo Cannon and Ameenah Ayub Allen, Screenplay Carol Morley, inspired by the life and times of Audrey Amiss, Ph Agnès Godard, Pro Des Janey Levick Ed Alex Mackie, Music Carly Paradis, Costumes Natalie Ward.
Cannon and Morley Productions/MBK Pictures/Solas Mind-Modern Films.
108 mins. UK. 2022. UK Rel: 27 October 2023. Cert. 12A.
