Shooting the Past and A Real Summer

I recently saw two more Stephen Poliakoff films (click here to see my Poliakoff post). A Real Summer is the third in a series that includes Joe's Palace and Capturing Mary. It is a short film with two characters. Ruth Wilson reprises her role as Mary Gilbert, but also plays Geraldine. She was magnificent. She really is a wonderful actress. I found myself forgetting that she was not two different people. She really did become each character.

Shooting that Past came out in 1999 (eight years before A Real Summer). Many of Poliakoff's films deal with family secrets and general themes dealing with the past. This film focuses on an enormous collection of photographs. These photographs and the people in charge of them hold their own secrets. It has a wonderful ensemble cast that includes Lindsay Duncan, Timothy Spall, Liam Cunningham, and Emilia Fox.

These two films are definitely must-sees. I would suggest first watching Capturing Mary, then Joe's Palace, and finally A Real Summer. I am not sure how the companion pieces were originally supposed to be watched, but that is the order in which I watched them. I hope you enjoy!