Director Gavin Boyter on British rom-com 'Sparks & Embers'
British writer-director Gavin Boyter discusses his directorial debut, his fondness for the British rom-com and the hardships of the UK film industry.
“I wanted to do a film with a different structure, I didn’t want it to be just another rom-com,” says writer-director Gavin Boyter on discussing British rom-com Sparks and Embers.
After slyly getting sacked from his job at a swanky London record label, Tom (Kris Marshall) winds up stuck in an elevator with business mogul Eloise (Annelise Hesme) for several hours. Complete opposites, at first, the two bicker while learning the ins-and-outs of each other’s personal lives and we fast-forward five years as they meet once again after their relationship has come to an end.
Having worked on a series of short films as writer and producer, Boyter now makes his directorial debut about two people who meet under misfortunate circumstances. “I knew that I was ready to make my first feature, so I wanted it to be manageable,” recounts Boyter. “I thought ‘could I challenge myself to do a movie with just two people?’ this would give me the chance to work with actors and follow a particular relationship from the beginning to its end.”
Sparks and Embers sees Brit Kris Marshall and French actress Annelise Hesme as the film’s two lead roles, which offer an interesting and more original look at the contemporary London worker. “I wanted two people who would have a lot of chemistry in terms of the ‘opposites attract’ theory,” says Boyter. “She needs someone who’s a bit more free to loosen her up while he needs someone focused and organised.” Having sought out Marshall for the role quite early on, Boyter was keen to find the right leading man for Hesme, who he had worked with previously on a short film project.
Although the majority of Sparks and Embers takes place in a London office lift, the narrative is split into two as we see the relationship develop from its foundation and culminate after five years. The latter part of the plot takes place across London’s Southbank as they couple reminisce about where they went wrong as Eloise is set to leave on a train to France. “I’ve always loved Southbank – I love the mixture of culture, creativity and the romance that exudes especially at Christmas.”
A factor that Boyter was adamant about refining was the film’s narrative – a component that ended differently than how it was initially originated. “I resisted because it felt almost like a cliché, but then I thought that this does happen – maybe the obvious is the simple solution,” He adds, “A non-linear narrative allowed me to create something that I could work hard at and dig deep into, but I had to be careful because if you overreach yourself, you could end up miserably.”
Having written a first draft for the film over ten years ago, producer Ben Craig came on board in 2007 with filming finally taking place in 2012. He adds, “I was on about four hours sleep for most of the shoot – it was physically challenging and, on a small budget, it’s very much a ‘Kill Your Darlings’ endeavour as you have to be very selective.”
One main topic of discussing with Boyter was the outlook for the UK film industry. “It was an agonising three years to make money for this film,” says Boyter, “if it’s not based on an existing property like a bestselling novel or you’ve got an American lead, it’s really hard.” From a practical standpoint, Boyter explains how the struggles of developing a film in this country have sabotaged a lot of work for independent filmmakers. “There’s blockages of finance in the UK. Unfortunately, the realities of independent film in this country are that if you want to get started, you’ve got to find a way of doing it for practically nothing.”
After over ten years in development – facing many financial hurdles along the way – and six weeks in the editing room, to Boyter’s relief Sparks and Embers is finally released in cinemas this Friday. The film joins the popular British romantic comedy, a genre that has sat well with audiences for decades but has been somewhat taken over by the blockbuster franchise that has intensified the UK film industry. “We don’t make a lot of romcoms anymore, but I don’t know why that should be,” says Boyter. “Maybe there’s a snobbery around the genre about it being too commercial.”
Boyter embodies Mark Twain’s theory to write what you know, albeit while remaining honest and thought-provoking with his content. A fan of Woody Allen, Richard Linklater and even Andrei Tarkovsky, Boyter is bar far a storyteller above everything else. “One side of me likes the alternative, art-house side of cinema and the other side of me likes to make people laugh and looking at relationships,” he says. “Either way, fundamentally, I’m always looking for elements that have a bit more depth to them.”