''The Hide'' is a 2008 film, the debut from director

Marek Losey Marek Losey (born August 1971 in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London) is a British film and television director; he is the third generation of film maker in the Losey family. Filmography Television Family history and personal life Mar ...

, who previously had an award-winning career as a director of advertisements.Grigg-Spall, Holly (2008)
The Hide
,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

The film starred

Alex Macqueen Alexander Tulloch Macqueen (born 30 November 1973) is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as ''Holby City'', ''Doctor Who,'' ''Hut 33'', ''Peep Show'', ''The Thick of It'', ''Keeping Mu ...

and Phil Campbell, based on the stage play ''The Sociable Plover'' by

Tim Whitnall Timothy Charles Whitnall (born 27 June 1961) is an English actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for playing Angelo in the long-running CITV series '' Mike and Angelo'' and narrating the BBC children's TV programme ''Teletubbies'' fr ...

, who also wrote the screenplay. The film had the strapline "No Crime Stays Hidden Forever". Produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre and

John Schwab John Schwab (born 15 September 1972) is an American actor, TV producer and musician who resides in London. He produced '' The Hide'' with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010. He is best known for his film and televi ...

Plot

The film is set in and around a bird-hide on the

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

marshes owned by Roy Tunt (Macqueen). Roy is a middle-aged, obsessive bird watcher, who needs just one more sighting (of the sociable plover) to complete the entire British list of birds. He is unexpectedly joined by a dishevelled and tattooed stranger, who introduces himself as Dave John (Campbell). After an awkward start, the pair build up a rapport, share lunch, have a drink and discuss a wide variety of subjects. Roy tells David that he used to work in a poultry factory and that his wife left him for another man. Roy's walkie-talkie picks up a police message about a local murder by someone fitting David's description. Dave is armed but his gun falls out of his pocket when he falls asleep and Roy takes it. Roy then confesses that he is the man wanted for murder; that the victims were his wife and her partner. He sickens David by describing how he disposed of the bodies in a poultry factory mincer, turning them into a paste which he has fed to David in the sandwiches they had shared earlier. Roy intends to blow up the police helicopter that is looking for him on the marsh. David tries to reason with Roy but the pair end up fighting. In the struggle, David steals his gun back and kills Roy.

Filming

The film was shot on location at Elmley Marshes on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

in November and December 2007.Mitchell, Wendy (2008)
Losey wraps shoot for debut thriller The Hide
, Screen Daily, 11 January 2008

Cast

as Roy Tunt * Phil Campbell as Dave John Macqueen had previously played the role of Tunt in the stage version.

Critical evaluation

The film met with a positive critical reaction; ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

''s Alistair Harkness described it as "an absorbing drama from two characters in a single location that simmers with menace and builds to a satisfyingly macabre conclusion".Harkness, Alistair (2009)
Film review: The Hide
, ''

'', 14 August 2009 ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''s Anthony Quinn described it as "a modestly scaled but cleverly written chamber piece", and commented on "the superb underplaying by the two actors, Campbell coiled and terse, Macqueen prissily pedantic and controlling".Quinn, Anthony (2009)
The Hide
, ''

'', 5 June 2009 James Christopher of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' described the interplay between the two protagonists: "Their arguments have the tension and rhythm of a classic black-box fringe play. It's a crude but enthralling duel with shades of

Peter Shaffer Sir Peter Levin Shaffer (; 15 May 1926 – 6 June 2016) was an English playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He wrote numerous award-winning plays, of which several were adapted into films. Early life Shaffer was born to a Jewish family in L ...

Sleuth Sleuth may refer to: * Detective *Sleuth, collective noun for a group of bears Computing * The Sleuth Kit, a collection of forensic analysis software *SLEUTH assembler language for the UNIVAC 1107 Entertainment and media *Cloo Cloo (stylized ...

. Shades too of

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

’s

Rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...

."Christopher, James (2009)
The Hide
, ''

'', 4 June 2009 ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''s film critic Philip French identified influences from both Losey's grandfather and

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

.French, Philip (2009)
The Hide
, ''

'', 7 June 2009 '' Time Out''s David Jenkins also compared the film to the work of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

.Jenkins, David (2009)
The Hide
, '' Time Out'', 3–10 June 2009 Allan Hunter of the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' also raised Beckett comparisons and called it "moody, minimalist and well-observed".Hunter, Allan (2009)
Film Review - The Hide
, ''

'', 5 June 2009

References

External links

* *
"Marek Losey on The Hide"

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hide, The 2008 films 2008 drama films British independent films British drama films 2008 independent films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films