A field of mystical mushrooms and buried treasure

July 7, 2013 7:02 PM

Director Ben Wheatley's latest film A Field in England was released last friday to cinemas, TV, home video, and VOD platforms in the UK. Mark Kermode, with full flappy-handed fervor calls it "very powerful, very strange and very hard to describe." To coincide, distributor Film4 has published a digital masterclass (contains spoilers) describing the making of the film all the way from commissioning to scoring.
posted by dumbland (14 comments total)

Kill List was one of the most off-putting, tonally jarring films I'd seen in awhile and I thought it was excellent. The ending was perfect in its occultish ambiguity. Haven't seen Sightseers yet, but look forward to this new film. I find Wheatley to be one of the most interesting recent film makers.
posted by Falconetti at 7:20 PM on July 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

Ben Wheatley is a genius. I say this both because of and in spite of Kill List, which was a movie of tremendously and dramatically mixed virtues and vices. Its best parts are perfection, veering from workaday day-to-day to Ligottian eeriness. Its worst parts, such as its bathetically gloomy final five minutes, could be improved only by all the characters suddenly producing red baseball caps, which they don backwards, as the soundtrack cues Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'" and all the characters lip synch to it for the entirety of the song.

I eagerly look forward to A Field in England.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:09 PM on July 7, 2013

Sightseers has to be one of the most powerfully affecting viewing experiences I've ever had - because he basically just filmed one of my relationships, down to every detail, apart from the fact that we didn't actually kill anyone, and the real ending was uglier. I honestly was in a cold sweat watching some scenes wondering if Wheatley had somehow shacked up with my ex and they were both taking vengeance on me by collaborating on a really good film.

Looking forward to watching his latest. Let's see, what's it about again? A bunch of crusties drop shrooms amidst the grim northern English countryside OH FOR FUCKS SAKE they're still at it I'm calling my lawyer!
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 8:56 PM on July 7, 2013 [7 favorites]

Just seen it. Good show. Smiley really should be the new Doctor.
posted by Damienmce at 9:40 PM on July 7, 2013 [2 favorites]

And although it look really good, you can tell it was made for like £100. 4 men in a field. That's it.
posted by Damienmce at 9:40 PM on July 7, 2013

Looks fantastic. Kept expecting Simon Munnery to hove into view in a big hat with an exclamation mark on it.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:14 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

"What do you see, friend?"
"Nothing, perhaps. Only shadows."
"Oh, that's because we use RGB SCART and PAL over 'ere. It'll stay black an' white til you get a proper telly."
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:37 AM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]

After Film 4 finished showing this on Friday they showed El Topo, which made it the best evening's telly for years.
posted by dng at 3:52 AM on July 8, 2013

They showed El Topo? Feck it I missed it.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 4:04 AM on July 8, 2013

Hello to Jason Isaacs.
posted by the_very_hungry_caterpillar at 5:04 AM on July 8, 2013 [3 favorites]

Tried watching the film last night and again today. It's unbearable.
posted by dobbs at 8:06 AM on July 8, 2013

This thread is nothing without Blanck Mass's "Chernobyl".




Now walk out of the tent in slow motion.

Do it now.


*shivers*
posted by Katemonkey at 9:22 AM on July 8, 2013 [2 favorites]

Hooray! I thought about making this post myself. The only thing I'd add is that I wish people would mention Amy Jump's name more often. Jump is Wheatley's wife and creative partner; they write and edit together. I think she has sole writing credit for AFIE, actually.
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 7:48 PM on July 8, 2013

I agree, I regretted it pretty quickly afterwards. I was almost entirely unfamiliar with Wheatley until Kermode's review over the weekend, then I looked him up on IMDB and saw that they did Sightseers as well which I'd been meaning to catch. Now in the process of ordering up as much of their oeuvre as I can find.
posted by dumbland at 10:43 PM on July 8, 2013 [1 favorite]