With his second feature, writer/director Philip Haas returns to an over-arching theme that characterizes his first feature narrative, The Music of Chance, namely the notion of entrapment, and its corollary, freedom. "These things seem contradictory," explains Haas, "but they are actually complementary." He continues, "In many ways, the films are totally different: Angels and Insects is a period piece set in Britain, and The Music of Chance is a contemporary story set here [US]. Nevertheless, there are aspects in the new film that might be called signature touches."
Angels and Insects is based on A.S. Byatt's novella, 'Morpho Eugenia'. Co-written by Haas' wife, Belinda Haas, who also produced and edited the film, the story focuses on the gradual revelation of a family's secrets. The film is set in Victorian England and juxtaposes a destitute naturalist, William Adamson (Mark Rylance) with the various members of an aristocratic family, and thus tackles difficult issues like class, as well as those of sexuality and perversion, topics normally avoided in representations of that era. "A.S. Byatt is a contemporary writer," explains Haas, "and so we were quite interested in the possibility of dealing with a historical subject from a contemporary point of view." Haas goes on to note that the distance allowed by the intervening decades provides a very different perspective, one of clarity, distance, and perhaps detachment. This perspective is narrowed or focused, however. "The novella looks at Victorians in a microscopic way, close up." This intense interest is of course mirrored in the character of Adamson who similarly scrutinizes social structures, and while his attention is focused on insects, the analogy is an effective one.
Although the film is a period drama, it bears little resemblance to the pristine representations of the Victorian age we are accustomed to via films of the Merchant/Ivory ilk. "It's a very shocking and disturbing film," warns Haas. "It's not genteel at all. I wasn't interested in making a costume drama and so it deals in a quite graphic way with issues and topics not usually associated with that era, namely sex and death."
"The film began when we optioned the book," continues Haas. "Then we wrote the script, and when Playhouse International saw it, they took over the option on the book and then optioned our script." Playhouse International then financed the film's production.The first step in pre-production entailed some extensive scouting. "We did a certain amount of auditioning," explains Haas, "not just with the actors but for locations." The house that serves as the film's main location had to meet certain requirements, one of which was a sense of authenticity. "We never could have built the house. It was so full of detail." Haas notes that set dressing is fine, but he was much more interested in finding a house that felt appropriate. "We ended up in the place where George Eliot was born," he continues, "so there was that resonance. The house was built in the 16th century and had all of the paintings of the family ancestors."
After securing the film's main location, Haas rehearsed with his actors for two weeks. "I wouldn't do it without this rehearsal time," says Haas. In addition to Rylance, the film stars Jeremy Kemp as the Reverend Harold Alabaster; Patsy Kensit as the eldest Alabaster daughter, Eugenia; Kristen Scott Thomas as a relative of the Alabaster family; and Douglas Henshall as Edgar, Eugenia's older brother.
Haas and his wife have worked together on previous projects. The Music of Chance was their first effort as a director/producer team, but they had worked previously on a number of documentaries. Angels and Insects features performances by the Haas' two children as well, prompting Haas to remark, "It's sort of a mom and pop shop."
The pair has just finished a new script titled Billy. It is another literary adaptation and tells the story of a 10-year-old black boy who inadvertently kills a young white girl. Haas hopes to set up a deal for the new project while in Cannes.
Holly Willis.
Prods: Joyce Herlihy, Belinda Haas
Dir: Philip Haas
Scr: Philip Haas, Belinda Haas, based on the novella 'Morpho Eugenia', by A.S. Byatt
Ed: Belinda Haas
Cast: Mark Rylance, Kristen Scott Thomas, Patsy Kensit, Jeremy Kemp, Douglas Henshall
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