British Films Are Bad

At an annual television conference last year in Salford, England, during the mid-afternoon lull, the popular subject of "why doesn't the UK make films like the US?" came up. The standard points emerged - sharing the same language as Hollywood, different public perception in Britain, not as much money as America, and so on. And what had been an interesting and inspiring conference suddenly changed tune. Spirits didn't drop quite as low as a Mike Leigh joint, but it got pretty boring.

This is a constant topic of discussion in the United Kingdom. But the Brits love to discuss it. - Even at a Television Conference.

I used to like British Films before moving to the UK and having everyone tell me how terrible they are.

So, why is it that the general opinion of the British Film in Britain so dreadful? How is someone supposed to be able to walk away from all these conversations and want to make a film?

The last few months have shown that it is possible to actually talk the financial system into an economic slump. Part of this is done by continually focusing on the negative aspects of economic growth so much so that consumers, investors, and businesses will lose confidence and literally stop. This is the same thing that is happening with the U.K. film industry.

The United Kingdom has many advantages over the United States in filmmaking such as: history for storytelling, and a public that is more diverse, better informed, and better educated than in the States (they even live longer). The UK itself has more than 10 spoken languages, four major religions and 60 million people, while the European Union (of which the UK is somewhat begrudgingly a part of) has different 27 countries and a whole mess of folks. Making a film in a place with this much diversity should be celebrated. The UK's tradition for storytelling is more impressive than in the States too (Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, to mention a few). Making a film in the British Isles should definitely be something to get excited about.

Now there are a few things that one could point out that the British industry could do a little better. One of the things it could improve upon is genre. Aside from a few comedies, and even fewer action adventures, most films fall into the Drama category. There must be a reason why the British shy away from the basic (moneymaking!) genre film.

One could say that they prefer to make art. Then again, the French make a lot of art films, and they like their film industry. And making art doesn't stop them from throwing in Banlieue 13 or a Taxi 4 here and there too spruce things up and sell internationally. Another issue could be what Phil Parker wrote about in Issue 32 of Scriptwriter, that the directors give too much focus on the ideas in the script and not on the script itself. Therefore, while the concept is developed and re-developed the actual script is not and the end product suffers.

Perhaps, though, it comes down to a deeper reason. The UK does not like to celebrate its advantages. They would prefer to talk up the wonders of Hollywood than give themselves any credit. For example, today when people in London film schools discuss a film such as Harry Potter they don't believe it to be truly British because it is made with largely US money and is therefore an American movie. This is despite the film having a British Crew, British cast, and hey, a British story!

The British just don't take advantage of what they've got, especially where the colonies are concerned. This has been an historical issue in dealing with the United States so maybe it's too late to change now. Back in 1776 for instance, General Howe had the whole of the Washington's army trapped and outnumbered in New York, but he let them escape. Why? He was scared? He was over cautious? Maybe. Who knows? But the point is he didn't press his advantage. If he had it could have all been over right there and the differences in films would not be an issue today.

The truth is that there is not a lack of talent, a lack of money, a lack of audience or even a lack of good films in Great Britain. In fact, the story of shooting a film in Britain might make a great movie. Maybe they'll get someone in Hollywood to do it.