Paul Prior / Matthew Macfadyen

Character Notes

Paul Prior / Matthew Macfadyen

First seen in a train, asleep – he is a traveller weary from the distance he has come but also from his emotionally draining experiences. His stubble suggests exhaustion – and this is carried throughout the story. In this first image, his face is reflected in the window of the train suggesting an ambivalence towards life. Later, Paul shown so often in a vehicle which reinforces the idea of a transient person, with no roots.

As the protagonist, his character is clearly revealed in much greater depth, and his development, his journey, his 'character arc' is the main substance of the film. By the end, his carapace of emotional isolation has been broken, not just by the catharsis of Celia's death, but also by the barriers she broke down while she was alive. He is able to weep – for all the tragedy in his life.

  a taciturn war photo-journalist, who has become hardened by the horrors he has seen; permanently disengaged; lives inside an emotionless shell, a bullet-proof suit of emotional reserve

  after initial reluctance, he stays to sort out the estate – but also to repair his spirits

  a deeply troubled man; he uses drugs and auto-erotic asphyxiation to both create substitutes for real feelings and to keep them away

  he remains an onlooker at his father's funeral – unable at that stage to face the truth?; he is also an onlooker at Celia's but the reason is different – too great an emotional involvement

  he is a damaged man – not just by the horrors of war, but by the betrayal of his father and his girlfriend. Made doubly bad by the way the family had polarised into two separate halves, and by the way his father had opened his eyes to possibilities

  he does for Celia what his father had done for him – he gives her the atlas, and an air ticket = a means of escape; he also betrays her (as his father did him) by not telling her the truth about her parentage

  he can be selfish – re Andrew, the estate

  self-centred: he does not seem to consider how other people might be affected by his behaviour, whether it is Celia, Andrew, Jackie; giving Jonathan an expensive camera – or the Scottish girl from the pub.

  his sensitivity, our growing awareness of the traumas in his life, help to keep audience engaged; we are able to share Celia's fascination, her interest in this closed-off man

# the list of qualities above seems largely negative, yet Paul remains sympathetic, always interesting; someone to care about. Much of the credit for this can be given to Matthew Macfadyen for a superb, charismatic, often riveting performance. There is a sense of vulnerability just visible under his shell, a sense of loss he carries with him. That all is from his POV helps to engage the audience.

Useful Quotations

  Andrew: I'll see you in another 17 years.

  Paul: Who you set out be is not always who you become.

  Celia: Is that why you push people away?

  Paul: There's just parts of me you can't have. No-one can.

  O'Neill: You smug prick. Not all of us have to run to Europe.

  Paul: I remember being her.

  Andrew: You know, sometimes I look at you, and all I see is him. Just him. I find that quite disheartening.

  Celia: I know what you did when you took the photo of that girl – you walked away and left her, so you withdrew the entry so you wouldn't have to deal with it… Was she just like me? Was she just someone you could pick up and throw away and forget about? … How do you live with yourself?

From the Critics

…an intense and very watchable Matthew Macfadyen in a role that mirrors infamous photographer Kevin Carter. He cuts a romantic, lone-wolf figure… Much has been made of Barclay's portrayal of the surly, inquisitive and precocious teen but it's Brit Macfadyen who steals the show. With a compelling screen presence and a great way of bringing little idiosyncrasies to his character that make him all the more believable, he commands your attention. Kiran Dass, Sunday Star Times

Macfadyen makes a great protagonist, neither hero nor anti-hero, but a character of depth and texture who fills the screen during many solo sequences and remains intensely watchable. Peter Calder, NZ Herald

In the subtle, exceptionally capable British actor Matthew Macfadyen, McGann finds a soulful and charismatic Paul to set against a stiff and dangerously repressed Andrew, Paul's brother, who has inherited their mother's world-hating religious temperament (in the novel, she burns a copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass) and married her replica, played by Australian actress Miranda Otto as a kind of mute, depressed captive. Philip Matthews, NZ Listener

British actor Macfadyen (most familiar for his work in TV series Spooks) is excellent as the journalist trying to come to grips with his past. He plays the role with both sensitivity and a dark edge so that, while we're on his side, we can never fully trust him. This gives his scenes with Emily Barclay, who's terrific as the bored but creative teen, both a tenderness and an unsettling air, especially when we're seeing them in flashback, knowing that Celia has vanished and Paul's not being entirely truthful about events. Michael Adams, Empire

Celia / Emily Barclay

A remarkable performance for a debut.

First seen lying between the rails on a railway line, in school uniform, with the sound of an approaching train. Does she know that it is on the other line?

She is daring, a risk-taker; the train is neat metaphor for her desire to escape the confines of the small town.

Vertical; CU shots establish her significance as an important character.

She is next seen in the den, when Paul sends her packing. She looks small and vulnerable; this impression is contradicted when she is shown at school, in her room and then coming to interview Paul, where she shows a spurious confidence and an endearing naivety.

Later costume: in grandfather T shirt, hat = idiosyncratic and convincing.

  creative, talented, imaginative, thoughtful, curious

  wants to be a writer; feels limited by her parochial neighbourhood

  does not share the attitudes of her peers; despises the crassness and phoniness of Jake with his dreads; Jackie and her boat shoes

  develops a crush on Paul: he is an outsider, travelled, experienced, exotic, sophisticated - all the qualities her home environment lacks – she is entranced by the idea of escape the worldly visitor represents.

  self-reliant – she puts a lock on her own bedroom door, faces up to Gareth's behaviour with determination

  dreams of escaping her restrictive home for the freedom of Spain

Useful Quotations

  I like things which aren't quite so obvious.

  I'd rather be a no-one somewhere, than a someone nowhere.

  It's like I've known you my whole life.

  Was she just someone you could pick up and throw away and forget about? …

Andrew / Colin Moy

Seen first in his home, after the funeral. His stunned response to Paul's appearance tells us that this is not only unexpected, but unwelcome. An immediate contrast with Paul – the latter is scruffy, unshaven, swears; Andrew is immaculate, every inch the grieving son. He is stiffly rigid with a latent antagonism that surfaces pretty soon.

  rivalry between the brothers is indicated later - camera

  stiff, rigid, upright, unable to relax

  very religious, yet little sign of Christian charity in his makeup; he seems to have no conscience about allowing Paul to be blamed for Celia's disappearance, even leaving the atlas by Paul's place.

  harsh with his son – no understanding or tolerance shown, or much love

  angry with Paul – shown especially in the motel scene (where he has considerable justification) and again when Paul interrupts his council meeting

  he has seethed with resentment for 17 years, blaming Paul as much as their father and Jackie for Iris's death.

  that he has married a clone of his mother suggests he is trying to replace her; this no doubt contributes to his impotence and his rejection of Penny

  secretive, uncommunicative – he knows about Celia but says nothing; presumably because at this stage he does not know if Paul knows about her – but his failure to confide in his wife leads directly to Celia's death.

  his secretiveness also damages Jonathan, who has a crush on his own aunt

  he finally opens up to Paul after the damage has been done

  when Penny attempts to call the police, he stops her; he is definitely if gently in charge.

  takes responsibility for Celia's death at end – presumably to protect his fragile wife, though he was indirectly responsible for it anyway.

# Whereas both Paul and Celia go on a journey of discovery about themselves and others, Andrew does not seem to do this. His social rigidity is matched by a psychological and personal rigidity, an inability to adapt, to accept change.

# He seems to have lost his sanity at the end, confusing Penny with his mother. "Mum was there… "

Useful Quotations

  Paul: He never told Jonathan about me.

  I can't believe how much like Mum you are.

  Paul: I couldn't get near her… You made sure of it. It was a happy little threesome – Andy, Mum and God. No-one else invited.

  Paul: Yeah, well, at least I didn't marry my mother.

  You killed me when you walked away and left me with that evil piece of scum. You had the gall to come back here and bring that thing into our house, my mother's house. … Like father, like son.

  For what it's worth, Mum wants it this way.

From the Critics

his twitchy, god-fearing brother Andrew (whose acting comes across as more wooden than the furniture) - Kiran Dass

Ä  Do you agree?

Penny / Miranda Otto

Although Miranda Otto has second billing, that is more to do with her high profile since Lord of the Rings than with the size of her role. The character is an important one, however, and Otto brings considerable skill to it, showing Penny's fragility and vulnerability often in only a glance or a movement.

First seen opening the door to Paul after the funeral; our first view of her is behind the 'cage' of the door. The most characteristic shots of her are looking out on the world from behind her windows. NOTE: Shots of characters behind 'cages' make a strong statement about how these people are trapped.

  She is a gracious hostess, tries to make pleasant conversation with Paul.

  After she finds the photos of Celia (a character-defining moment), she cleans the house – her response to crisis.

  Penny is agoraphobic, confined to the prison of her house, which is white, spotless, characterless

  her home is her castle; she is outraged when Celia 'invades' it

  Otto makes Penny fragile, vulnerable; shows her anguish when she thinks Andrew is involved with Celia

  she suffers from Andrew's impotence, feeling cut off from him, particularly damaging to someone as isolated as she is

  there is clearly little communication in this marriage – she is no more able to ask about Celia than Andrew is able or willing to talk about her

# Otto makes a huge impact in only a few scenes, some of them wordless.