Endgame (2009 film)

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Endgame

Theatrical poster
Directed by Pete Travis
Produced by Hal Vogel
Written by Paula Milne
Starring William Hurt
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Jonny Lee Miller
Mark Strong
Derek Jacobi
Music by Martin Phipps
Cinematography David Odd
Editing by Clive Barrett
Dominic Strevens
Distributed by Target Entertainment
Release date(s) 18 January 2009 (Sundance)
4 May 2009 (TV premiere)
Running time 101 mins.
Country United Kingdom

Endgame (2009) is a British film directed by Pete Travis from a script by Paula Milne. The film is produced by Daybreak Pictures and reunites Travis with Vantage Point actor William Hurt. It also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mark Strong. The film dramatises the final days of apartheid in South Africa. It was filmed at locations in Reading, Berkshire, England and Cape Town, South Africa in the first half of 2008 and was completed in December that year.

The film had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival and was broadcast on Channel 4 on 4 May 2009. It will also have an international theatrical release, the distribution of which is handled by Target Entertainment Group.

Contents

[edit] Premise

The film depicts the final days of apartheid, focusing on secret talks held between the African National Congress and the National Party in a country house in Somerset, England.[1] The film focuses on the emotional relationship that develops between Will Esterhuyse and Thabo Mbeki.[2]

The secret talks were brokered by Michael Young, a British businessman who worked for Consolidated Goldfields, a firm with considerable interests in South Africa. The talks took place in Mells Park, a country house near Frome in Somerset. The house was then owned by Consolidated Goldfields.

Consolidated Goldfields was a company with interests in South Africa which is the subject of sanctions by other nations. In one scene, Young and Rudolf Agnew, chairman of Consolidated Goldfields, leave their offices in London and are mobbed by anti-apartheid protesters who batter and chase their car, unaware that the two men are sponsoring the very talks that are leading to the end of the system they oppose.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 24 April 2009, Michael Young mentioned how he had been asked by Thabo Mbeki to write the final chapter of the 2003 book by Robert Harvey on the Fall of Apartheid - the chapter titled Endgame - on which this film is based.[3][4]

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The film has its roots in a discussion between Daybreak Pictures executive producer David Aukin and former Director General of the BBC Greg Dyke; when Dyke told Aukin that he wanted to make a documentary about the secret talks that ended apartheid, Aukin suggested turning it into a drama instead. Aukin had previously produced the acclaimed political drama The Government Inspector.[2]

Aukin and his production partner Hal Vogel contacted Paula Milne to write the script. She spent 18 months on the screenplay and researched the history of the talks by speaking to Thabo Mbeki and Michael Young in South Africa.[5] Pete Travis, director of Omagh (2004) and Vantage Point (2008), was sent the script by Milne. Travis was not interested in directing a historical drama about recent events and decided to turn the film into a political thriller.[6] William Hurt and Chiwetel Ejiofor were first to be cast.[7] Hurt, who played President Henry Ashton in Vantage Point, was cast as Will Esterhuyse because Travis wanted to cast actors he had worked with before.[1] Other actors were interested in the part even after Hurt had signed on.[6] Travis wanted to work with Ejiofor, who was his first choice for the part of Thabo Mbeki.[6]

Location scouting in South Africa was done in January 2008.[5] Rehearsals began on 14 April 2008 and scenes set in the UK were filmed for the rest of the month at a large country house near Reading, Berkshire. The production moved to Cape Town in May, where location filming was done for six weeks. Production wrapped in August.[2][5][8] Martin Phipps composed the film soundtrack.[9] The final cut of the film was completed on 24 December 2008.[5]

[edit] Release

Target Entertainment sold the international theatrical distribution rights in 2008 at the Cannes Film Festival[8] and the American Film Market[6] for release in 2009.[2] Endgame had its world premiere on 18 January 2009 at the Sundance Film Festival, in the International Narrative Feature Films category.[10] The film was originally slated to be a major part of Channel 4's "Apartheid Season", and was previously scheduled for broadcast in mid-2008.[11] It premiered in the UK at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in March and was broadcast on Channel 4 on 4 May.[5][12] It will have its American television premiere in October 2009 as part of the revamped Masterpiece Contemporary programming strand on PBS.[13]

[edit] Reception

Overnight ratings indicated that Endgame's first Channel 4 broadcast was seen by 837,000 viewers (a 3.9% audience share). 64,000 more watched on Channel 4's one-hour timeshift service, Channel 4+1.[14] A repeat on the evening of 9 May got 336,000 viewers (1.7% share) on Channel 4 and 35,000 on Channel 4+1.[15]

The film received a mixed critical response. The Daily Telegraph praised Lee Miller's performance but aruged that "the elements never quite cohered". The newspaper concluded that the script "seemed too fuzzy in its focus, and also too eager to write history with an unambiguously broad brush."[16]

Although other publications praised the film. In contrast with the Telegraph, The Independent praised the script "Paula Milne's script skilfully interspersed talk with action".[17]The Times rated the film four out of five stars.[18]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Carnevale, Rob (5 March 2008). "Vantage Point - Pete Travis interview". IndieLondon. Retrieved on 17 April 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d Thorpe, Vanessa (17 August 2008). "How secret talks killed off apartheid". The Observer (Guardian News and Media): p. 23.
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/listen_again/default.stm
  4. ^ http://us.macmillan.com/thefallofapartheid
  5. ^ a b c d e Vogel, Hal (7 April 2009). "On Location: Endgame". Broadcastnow (Emap Media). Retrieved on 7 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d Kemp, Stuart (4 November 2008). "Q&A: Pete Travis". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
  7. ^ Douglas, Edward (10 April 2008). "EXCL: Ejiofor and Hurt Prep for Travis' Endgame". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved on 17 April 2008.
  8. ^ a b Kemp, Stuart (7 May 2008). "Pete Travis' 'Endgame' beginning". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media).
  9. ^ Carlsson, Mikael (3 December 2008). "Martin Phipps: Endgame". Upcoming Film Scores. Retrieved on 7 December 2008.
  10. ^ "Endgame". Sundance Film Festival 09. Retrieved on 30 December 2008.
  11. ^ Hemley, Matthew (26 March 2008). "C4 season to feature apartheid thriller Endgame". The Stage Online. Retrieved on 17 April 2008.
  12. ^ "Endgame - Benefit Gala (UK premiere)". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved on 22 March 2009.
  13. ^ Ryzik, Melena (14 May 2009). "Tennant Is Named a 'Masterpiece' Host". The New York Times (The New York Times Company).
  14. ^ Rogers, Jon (5 May 2009). "Ashes to Ashes scorches Compulsion". Broadcastnow (Emap Media). Retrieved on 5 May 2009.
  15. ^ Rogers, Jon (11 May 2009). "Britain's Got Talent storms Saturday night with 11.1m". Broadcastnow (Emap Media). Retrieved on 11 May 2009.
  16. ^ TV review Daily Telegraph. 7 May 2009
  17. ^ [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/endgame-channel-4brinspector-george-gently-bbc1-1682054.html Endgame, Channel 4 Inspector George Gently, BBC1] The Independent. 10 May 2009
  18. ^ Endgame; Compulsion; The Wire The Times. 5 May 2009

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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