Born Equal (2006)

Dominic Savage on "London" (now "Born Equal"):

I’m just about to make a film; its working title is London. It started out as a piece to mark the 45th anniversary of the original Cathy Come Home. But it’s changed quite a bit; it’s nothing really to do with that now.

Click at the player to hear a soundclip from this movie

With thanks to Jesslala

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Interview with Colin Firth about "Born Equal"

More interviews here :

Interviews with David Oyelow, Anne-Marie Duff,

Robert Carlyle and director Dominic Savage.

Summary:

Bafta award-winning writer and director Dominic Savage brings together an all-star cast for his latest project. Colin Firth, Anne-Marie Duff, David Oyelowo and Robert Carlyle star in this major one-off film drama.

Savage's gripping dramas Love And Hate, Out Of Control and Nice Girl are dedicated to tackling contemporary social issues. In this film he addresses social inequality in Britain today through the lives of several characters whose paths collide at a B&B temporarily housing the homeless and dispossessed.

Mark (Colin Firth) is a wealthy city worker whose conscience and guilt about his luxurious lifestyle prompt him to try to help those less fortunate, but it results in turmoil for both himself and others.

Staying at the B&B are Michelle (Anne-Marie Duff), a pregnant mother with a young child who escapes an abusive husband; Nigerian Yemi (David Oyelowo) and his family; and Robert (Robert Carlyle), newly released from prison.

Dominic Savage says: "This is a film about social inequalities, people in desperate circumstances and their intertwining different lives. It's ultimately about people's relationships and the difficulties, dilemmas and moral issues they face."

The stellar cast also includes Emilia Fox, Julia Davis, Megan Dodds, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Nichola Burley, Emily Woof and Pearce Quigley.

Produced by Ruth Caleb and Lucy Hillman

Executive Produced by Richard Klein for BBC and David Thompson at BBC Films

Commissioned for BBC One by Peter Fincham

A one-off television film, which has finished filming (May 2006).

"London" will be shown on BBC1 this fall.

(TV Movie)

Directed by:

Dominic Savage

Writing credits (in alphabetical order):

Dominic Savage

Country: UK

Language: English

Color: Color

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Total TV Guide, 16-22 December 2006

Thanks to an English fan.

"An unflinching new drama about homelessness from writer & director Dominic Savage. Colin Firth is perfectly cast as wealthy, well-meaning Mark who suddenly sees the pointlessness of life, and takes to the streets of London to help the poor. It may sound like a fable, but there are no happy endings for Mark or the other characters caught in varying degrees of desperation. This is quality TV with a conscience"

Radio Times UK, 16-22 December 2006

Thanks to an English fan.

"I suppose it's commendable that at a time when it's potential audience is groping around in the loft for Christmas decorations or baking industrial quantities of mince pies, a major broadcaster puts out a grim treatise on the inequities of British social justice. Born Equal, from writer Dominic Savage, doesn't herald the week before Christmas with cosy images or familial warmth. It's a brutally honest tale of homelessness, disaffection,exploitation and violence , as seen through the eyes of a string of disparate men & women. Among them are a young, pregnant, abused mother,(played with heart-breaking fragility by Ann-Marie Duff ) the troubled ex-prisoner she befriends in a hostel (Robert Carlyle who's so good at restless, barely contained fury)and a disillusioned city worker (Colin Firth)

There's no common thread, thought there's some interlinking of stories, and the performances are excellent. But Born Equal sometimes feels like a lecture by Savage aimed at everyone watching in a comfortable home"

The Times, 16 December 2006.

Review by Mary Ann Sieghart

Cast:

Robert Carlyle

newly released convict Robert

Anne-Marie Duff

Pregnant mother Michelle

Julia Davis

Sally

Megan Dodds

Anastasia

Colin Firth

City -worker Mark

Emilia Fox

Laura

David Oyelowo

Abusive husband Yemi

Nikki Amuka-Bird

Itshe

Nichola Burley

Zoe

Pearce Quigley

"Beggar"

Emily Woof

Rita

Toby Kebbell

Other beggar

Charlie Creed-Miles

Homeless man

Gemma Barret

Danielle

Anne-Marie Bossman

Adana

Nicholas Burns

Michael