''The Confusion of Tongues'' is a 2014

multi-narrative Multiperspectivity (sometimes polyperspectivity) is a characteristic of narration or representation, where more than one perspective is represented to the audience. Most frequently the term is applied to fiction which employs multiple narrators, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by James Fair. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes

Sadie Frost Sadie Liza Frost (née Vaughan; born 19 June 1965) is an English actress, producer and fashion designer, who ran fashion label Frost French (until its closure in 2011) and a film production company (Blonde to Black Pictures). Early life Frost ...

Gemma Atkinson Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984) is an English influencer, actress, radio presenter and former glamour model. She played Lisa Hunter in ''Hollyoaks'' (2001–2005, 2022) and in three spin-off series, '' Hollyoaks: After Hours'' (20 ...

Ewen MacIntosh Ewen Douglas MacIntosh (born 25 December 1973) is a British actor and comedian known for his role as Keith Bishop in ''The Office'' (2001–2003). Early life MacIntosh was born in Merionethshire. He was educated at Repton School in Derbyshire, ...

, Kate O'Toole,

Paul Henshall Paul Henshall (born 1977 in Staffordshire) is a British actor. He uses a wheelchair because he has cerebral palsy. Paul is best known for playing the roles of medical student Dean West in ''Holby City'', and Paul in ''I'm With Stupid''. He has ...

and

Katie Sheridan Katie Teresa Sheridan is an English actress. She has appeared in feature films such as '' Heretiks'' (2018) and ''Together'' (2018), and her television roles include appearances in the BBC series ''Doctors'', '' Waking the Dead'' and ''Love So ...

. The story follows a group of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

residents who descend upon a local pub in order to win a lucrative

pub quiz A pub quiz is a quiz held in a pub or bar. These events are also called quiz nights, trivia nights, or bar trivia and may be held in other settings. Pub quizzes may attract customers to a pub who are not found there on other days. The pub quiz is ...

Plot

Local pub owners, Helen ( Kate O'Toole) and Derek (

), are preparing for Birmingham's biggest and hardest pub quiz and everyone has their eyes on the prize. Nearby residents include Mary (

Selina Giles Selina Giles (born 5 March 1972) is an English actress and writer. She is best known for playing Valerie Stowe in ''Until Death'' (2007) and Evey's mother in ''V for Vendetta (film), V for Vendetta'' (2005). Film and television Giles began h ...

) who seeks to find common ground with her daughter Gemma (Katie Cleaver), whilst Kelvin (Rory Mullen) is determined not to let his lover, Angel (

), discover his financial ruin and enlists the help of his window cleaner, Barry (

) in a crazy plan to burgle his house and claim on the insurance. Local author Ashley (Nicholas A. Newman) has finished his long-awaited epic novel and is having difficulty promoting it, much to the misfortune of his literary agent (Tom Bonington). As each character descends upon The Spotted Dog pub, chaos ensues as things are not as they seem and each resident learns that extra bit more about each other throughout the course of the night.

Cast

as herself *

as Angel *

as Barry * Kate O'Toole as Helen * Nicholas A. Newman as Ashley *

as Derek *

as Mary * Rory Mullen as Kevin * Elena Procopiu as Maggie * Tom Bonington as Gary * Matt Lim as Dick *

as Harriet * Nathaniel Francis as Tom * Katie Cleaver as Gemma * Rheo Daley as DJ JoJo

Production

Development and writing

Development of the film began in September 2013 as a research project by PhD and Master's students at

Staffordshire University , mottoeng = Dare to know , type = Public , endowment = £70 million (2015) , administrative_staff = 1,375 , chancellor = Francis Fitzherbert, 15th Baron Stafford , vice_chancellor = Professor Martin Jones , ...

. It is the third movie created as part of an international initiative called ''The 72 Project'', where filmmakers collaborate to film, edit and preview a feature-length film in 72 hours. The project also reunited director James Fair and actress Kate O'Toole as well as many cast and crew from previous films as part of the initiative, including ''Watching and Waiting'' (2008) and ''The Ballad of Des and Mo'' (2010). The first draft of the screenplay was completed by writer Ben Arntz, with Producers taking an experimental approach by inviting members of the public to

collaborate Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

by developing and editing further drafts.

Filming and editing

Filming began on 17 July 2014 and concluded 72 hours later with a preview for all cast, crew, investors and stakeholders at the Giant Screen,

Millennium Point, Birmingham Millennium Point is a multi-use meeting and conference venue, public building and charitable trust in Birmingham, England, situated in the developing Eastside of the city centre. The complex contains multiple event spaces, including a 354-seat ...

. Unlike previous projects made as part of The 72 Project, the film used more than one unit to relieve pressure on the crew and balance the filming of a multi-narrative plot with an extensive cast. Principal photography was split into three units, two main units each using a

Canon EOS C300 The EOS C300 is a digital cinema camera in the Cinema EOS range. It was announced by Canon on November 3, 2011. The camera is offered with the option of Canon EF or Arri PL mounts. It has been available since January 2012. In September 2015, Cano ...

camera and a third unit to shoot the opening credits and B-roll footage using the

Canon EOS C100 The EOS C100 is a digital cinema camera made by Canon, announced on August 29, 2012. It was the third camera from the Canon Cinema EOS line to be released, and is the budget camera in the range, being less expensive than both the EOS C300 and ...

camera. The only footage shot prior to the main shoot was an advert for a fictional

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

called ''Sadie Spends'' featuring actress

. This was shot several months previously by the Producers at Frost's London home.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Confusion of Tongues 2014 films 2014 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films Films set in 2014 Films set in Birmingham, West Midlands 2014 comedy films 2010s English-language films 2010s British films