"THE EDGE OF LOVE"
PRODUCTION NOTES
Capitol Films and BBC Films present
In association with the Wales Creative IP Fund and Prescience Film Partners 2
A Sarah Radclyffe Production
A Rainy Day Films Production
A John Maybury Film
Keira Knightley
Sienna Miller
Cillian Murphy
Matthew Rhys
"The Edge of Love"
Casting Director - Nina Gold
Hair and Make-Up Designer - Daniel Phillips
Costume Designer - April Ferry
Music by Angelo Badalamenti
Film Editor - Emma E. Hickox ACE
Director of Photography - Jonathan Freeman
Production Designer - Alan MacDonald
Executive Producers
David Bergstein, Linda James, Hannah Leader, Joe Oppenheimer,
Tim Smith, David M Thompson
Co-Producers
Huw Penallt Jones
Bill Godfrey
Line Producer - Lesley Stewart
Produced by Rebekah Gilbertson
Produced by Sarah Radclyffe
Written by Sharman Macdonald
Directed by John Maybury
SHORT SYNOPSIS
Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by a charismatic poet who loves them both.
The passion and pathos of legendary poet Dylan Thomas is told through the lives of two women. Vera
Phillips and Dylan were childhood sweethearts; fast forward ten years and the two reconnect in war-
time London. Shes working as a singer whilst hes churning out propaganda scripts for government in
aid of the war effort. The two feel the thunderbolt once more, but Thomas is now married to the
adventurous Caitlin. Despite their love-rival status, the women form a surprising friendship; whilst
Caitlin indulges in her own infidelities she knows her husbands connection with Vera is something
deeper.
In Veras life the turmoil continues. She marries her devoted admirer William Killick, but when William
is posted abroad on a dangerous assignment behind enemy lines Vera returns with her friends to
Wales, where the battle between her heart and head becomes more intense.
William, scarred by war, comes back a changed man and finds that Vera is no longer the carefree
cabaret girl he married. Neighbourhood gossip, together with Dylans open mockery of soldier-heroes,
fuels Williams anger. Enraged, he stages a violent attack that forces Vera to choose between the men
in her life and the friend that she loves.
SYNOPSIS
LONDON 1941. Vera Phillips (Keira Knightley) sings on a tube station platform, to an audience
sheltering underground from the blitz. In the audience is Captain William Killick (Cillian Murphy), who
closely watches the singer.
At the Wheatsheaf pub, Vera runs into Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (Matthew Rhys) who greets his
childhood sweetheart with delight and asks her if she still loves him. Dylan tells her he is writing
propaganda films, as he hasn't enough money to be able to write his poetry and that hes not fighting
in the war because of continuing ill health. There is still clearly a strong attraction between them.
Dylan's wife, Caitlin (Sienna Miller) travels to London by train, surrounded by soldiers. She loves
being the centre of attention and flirts heavily with one of them.
At a viewing theatre Donald Taylor attempts to get Dylan to focus on the commentary for a
propaganda film, His mind is clearly not on the job and secretary, Anita Shenkin asks Dylan about
Vera. He tells her she reminds him of his golden childhood. He finds Caitlin waiting for him. Caitlin
is annoyed to find Dylan hasn't got anywhere for them to live.
William Killick follows Vera towards the tube exit and offers to buy her a drink, but the independent-
minded Vera turns him down.
Back at the Wheatsheaf, Dylan introduces Caitlin to Vera, Vera is surprised and disappointed to find
he has a wife. While Caitlin goes off to flirt with a sailor, Dylan tells Vera that she and he are soul
mates.
Dylan and Caitlin arrive at her sister Nicolette's house, who has reluctantly allowed them to stay.
Back on the underground, William again watches Vera sing, but this time follows her back to the pub.
Caitlin befriends him, but he only has eyes for Vera. Vera confesses to Caitlin that she doesn't want to
fall for a soldier who is then going to die. Caitlin suspects it's because Vera hasn't got over her first
love, Dylan.
Back at Nicolette's house, Dylan drunkenly pees in a pot plant. Next morning he and Caitlin are
thrown out and with no other option, move in with Vera.
A sailor beats up Dylan for being a conscientious objector. William comes to his aid. Later that night
Dylan watches Vera sleeping, Caitlin aware of Dylan's feelings for Vera, warns him off her as they
have become friends.
On a date at the Cafe de Paris, William and Vera are dancing when a bomb goes off. Vera breaks
down and asks William to make love to her.
Dylan reads a poem to Caitlin, it's about the loss of Vera. Caitlin tells him she doesn't like it and asks
him why he doesn't write poems for her anymore. William arrives with a marriage licence and asks
Vera to marry him, Vera laughingly resists, Dylan and Caitlin answer for her, "yes".
Caitlin and Vera talk about their loss of virginity. Caitlin tells Vera she knows it was with Dylan. Vera
assures her they were very young. Caitlin advises Vera never to tell William as he won't forgive the
past as she can.
Vera and William marry. On their last night together before William goes off to war, William asks
Vera about Dylan. She confesses they were together once. William asks her to say she loves him;
she says she'll say it when he comes back to her alive.
Vera is pregnant. She tells Caitlin she wants to go home to Wales.
WALES. The baby is born. Caitlin and Dylan live in a neighbouring bungalow to Vera. Vera asks
Dylan why he sleeps with other women and he tells her because Caitlin does. Vera tells him it's
different because it doesn't mean anything to Caitlin.
At the Black Lion pub Dylan and Vera hear the locals gossiping about Dylan having two women while
poor William, fighting for his country, is paying for their fun.
Feeling lonely, Vera succumbs to Dylan. Soon after she receives a telegram telling her William is
coming home. She tells Caitlin she can't remember him. Caitlin tells Vera she is pregnant and unsure
who the father is says she won't have it, but she needs money. Vera says she will pay for the
abortion.
Vera meets William at the station. At first William doesn't recognise her as she has changed so much.
They are strangers to each other.
Vera goes to see Caitlin, who has had an abortion and tells her that William has changed and doesn't
love her anymore. They comfort each other.
William, having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life with Vera, realises all his money has been spent
and, fuelled by gossip confronts Vera demanding to know if their son, Rowatt is Dylan's child. Vera
tells him she loves him, but he asks if she has slept with Dylan.
At the pub, John and Anita are arguing with Dylan over his unfinished script. William, drunk, intends to
confront Dylan, but gets into a fight with Anita. In a drunken fury William loads a gun and makes his
way to Dylan's bungalow where he lets off a burst of fire. Bullets rip through the walls. William shoots
off another round and threatens them with a grenade, but Vera manages to lead him away. The police
take William away.
A distance has developed between Caitlin and Vera, since Vera slept with Dylan. Vera won't admit it,
but Caitlin instinctively knows the truth. Caitlin asks Vera if William thinks that Rowatt is Dylan's baby
and asks if indeed he is. The child is not Dylan's but Vera, ashamed of giving into Dylan in a weak
moment and knowing how it will hurt Catilin, is unable to admit the truth.
At the courthouse, evidence is heard against William. Vera begs Dylan to help him. In a jealous
pique Dylan tells the court that William tried to kill him. Vera finally realises that Dylan is living in the
past and his love for her is not real, she tells him that if he has sent her husband to jail she will never
forgive him. But the court acquits William despite Dylan's testimony.
With their friendship severed, there is no choice but for Dylan and Caitlin to leave Wales. Vera tells
Caitlin she didn't mean to hurt her and to write to her. They smile at one another.
PRODUCTION STORY
Directed by the award-winning John Maybury (Love is the Devil, The Jacket) The Edge of Love boasts
an exciting cast of young actors including Keira Knightley (Academy Award Nominee for Pride and
Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3, Atonement) , Sienna Miller (The Mysteries of
Pittsburgh, Factory Girl, Interview), Cillian Murphy (Sunshine, Batman Begins, The Wind that Shakes
the Barley) and Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters, Abduction Club) as the poet Dylan Thomas.
The Edge of Love is produced by Rebekah Gilbertson and Sarah Radclyffe. The screenplay is by
Sharman MacDonald. The impressive production team includes Director of Photography Jonathan
Freeman (Hollywoodland, Rome), Academy Award nominated Costume Designer April Ferry
(Southland Tales, Donnie Darko), Production Designer Alan MacDonald (The Queen, Love is the
Devil) and Editor Emma Hickox (Becoming Jane, Kinky Boots), with music by Angelo Badalamenti
(Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive, A Very Long Engagement).
Principal photography began on location in Wales in May 2007 before moving to locations in London
and Pinewood Studios.
The film was financed by leading international sales and production company Capitol Films, BBC
Films, Wales Creative IP Fund and Prescience Film Finance.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Producer Rebekah Gilbertson was at the National Film and Television School when she came up with
the idea to make a feature film about her grandparents relationship with the Welsh poet Dylan
Thomas.
The Edge of Love is about the friendship and complicated love lives of four young people in the
Second World War. The great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, his lively wife Caitlin Thomas, Gilbertson's
grandmother Vera Phillips and her grandfather William Killick, a war hero.
"Since I was a little girl, I`d always known that my grandmother had had a friendship with Dylan
Thomas. They`d grown up together in Swansea and they`d been neighbours, they went to school
together and they spent summer holidays together," says Gilbertson. "In 2001 I came across a book
that some of my aunts had been involved with called "Dylan Thomas: A Farm, Two Mansions and a
Bungalow", by David Thomas which focussed a lot on my grandparents relationship with Thomas.
There was always a mystery about the story, there was something that wasn`t really spoken of at
home, so in this book I could actually read about their connection.
It corresponded with a time when Gilbertson was filling in her application form for the National Film and
Television School. One of the projects she had to do during the course was to adapt a book for a
feature film, encouraged by one of her aunt's, Gilbertson chose David Thomas' book.
Gilbertson adds "We found a human and dramatic story to tell; the story of young people during a time
of war. I am always drawn to stories that reflect or comment on the human condition. This looks at
all the experiences of love and often the loyalty or lack of it between human beings. So at its heart it`s
about friendship and about how some friendships can`t last. Its about first love and last love and a
study of all the different experiences of love."
Writer Sharman Macdonald, was soon brought on board to write the script. "I had previously
encountered writer Sharman Macdonald when I asked her for script guidance on a couple of shorts I
was making. I told her about the idea for the film and she said she would love to write it and I was
thrilled as I am such a huge fan of her work," explains Gilbertson.
Writer Macdonald didn't approach the film as a story about Dylan Thomas. "I viewed it as a story
about the rivalry between two women over one man disturbed by a loving friendship that develops
between them. I was interested in the beginning, the middle and the end of that friendship, about how
that friendship can end. We all have friendships that are incredibly precious to us and then suddenly
they're gone. I was interested to examine that phenomenon as it's universal. The fact that it involved
Dylan and Caitlin Thomas was a gift, but it was incidental.
Worried about the effect the film might have on Gilbertson's family, Macdonald had to make sure they
were all happy for her to go ahead. "Very early on, when I thought I might like to write the script, I said
to Rebekah that I couldn't do it if there were going to be any boundaries. It was important to me that
she think about any potential betrayal to her grandparents in their portrayal. So she needed to discuss
what this might mean with her family, which she did and came back and gave me carte blanche. So I
had complete freedom".
Once the script was underway, Gilberston turned to experienced producer Sarah Radclyffe to help her
bring the project together. "While I was at film school Sarah was my mentor and it seemed a natural
progression to ask her to co-produce the film. Her wealth of experience brought so much to the table.
It seemed natural to be a team together".
Radclyffe had previously worked with a film school producer on a personal project, so knew what was
possible. "I like working with younger producers, they bring a different sort of energy and I had had a
very good experience working with Shaun Slovo making A World Apart, which was also a personal
story that had begun as a film school project. I loved the idea that this was a non-period, period film
and it was so relatable to the contemporary world. It's set during the Second World War, but its
wartime anytime. It could be Iraq, Afghanistan or Vietnam.
It was Maybury's directorial vision that appealed to Radclyffe and Gilbertson, but as Gilbertson
explains, it wasn't easy to get his attention. "It was a long journey to get John. In my first week at film
school John came to show Love is the Devil, his film about Francis Bacon and I fell in love with it and
found it totally inspiring. I loved that he`d taken just a short period of time in Francis Bacon`s life and
how, since he`d been denied the use of the actual paintings, he `d recreated the feel of them in the
visual language of the film. That really touched me and I knew he was a filmmaker I would love to
work with, he had a very original voice. John brings a dark and playful edge to the story and that`s the
way I wanted to go with the film. It was a long journey to get him on board. At the time, Sharman's
daughter Keira Knightley, was working with John on The Jacket and had a very good working
relationship with him, but trying to get him to read it was another thing altogether. We tried all sorts of
things to get his attention, Keira wrote him a poem and I bought him champagne, but he was busy
thinking about another project. Some months later Keira rang him and just said will you please read
this script and he called back the next day and said yes.
Sharman Macdonald was also an admirer of Maybury's work. "I admired John's work and I loved
Love is the Devil, absolutely loved it. I knew him, as Keira worked with him on The Jacket, which I
think he shot absolutely magnificently, but it still took us about four years, a bottle of pink champagne,
and some very bad poetry to get him to read this script!"
For Radclyffe who had known Maybury since both had worked with Derek Jarman, he was the natural
choice. "I'd always wanted to work with John. He just had the right combination, he's fantastic with
actors and gets the most amazing performances and has a great visual sense and just seemed perfect
for this film.
For his part, Maybury was not only attracted by the story of the artist, but by the story of the women in
his life. "The story is actually about a love affair, not a sexual love affair, but an emotional love affair
between two women. Actually the way that women, particularly in this period, but I think its still true
today, sacrifice their intimate friendships with each other for the men in their lives".
As with Love is The Devil, Maybury was not interested in making a conventional biopic of the artist.
"With Love is the Devil I tried to avoid the usual pitfalls of biopic language, and with this again, it isnt a
usual biopic, its about a four year period during the Second World War, and Dylan happens to be a
character. His poetry does appear in the film, almost like a Greek chorus echoing elements of the
storyline as it progresses, but I dont think its really a film about Dylan Thomas, its about the women
and their relationships the close bond that forms between them is harmed and damaged almost by
their commitment to the men in their lives. What interests me about dysfunctional artists Francis
Bacon was one, Dylan is another, is that they were capable of producing work of incredible beauty, but
that beauty doesnt necessarily translate into their day to day life or the way that they treat those
around about them".
While Keira Knightley was instrumental in getting Maybury involved in the project, she hadn't initially
envisaged starring in the film. "When I first read the script I really liked it, but I hadn't thought about
being in it. I initially just gave it to a producer I was working with, who then asked me if I was
interested in being in it and on the spur of the moment I just said yes. Sharman had had me in mind
for Caitlin, but I was more interested in Vera, as I got very caught up in the relationship between her
and William. It also appealed to me that she goes through this transition which is more interesting to
me as an actress. At the beginning of the film she is this confident, independent spirited person, but in
a way the life gets sucked out of her so by the end she is a completely different person. I found that
incredibly heartbreaking and I could just see her character more clearly than Caitlin".
For Knightley, having to sing was the most daunting part of the role. "Every time I thought about
having to do it I felt sick and I was furious with my mother for writing the songs into the script! But I've
never had to do it before and knew it was good to stretch oneself. We pre-recorded everything, but on
the day John decided we were going to do it live, which was a bit of a surprise as no one normally
does that. I don't think you're going to see a singing career from me anytime soon!"
Maybury was more than impressed with Keira's ability to sing. "When I first read the script I called her
up and asked her if she could sing, and when she said I dont know I said to her, well you better be
able to But of course, this is where this woman is so clever she wouldnt take on something like this
if she didnt know that she could do it, and she did know. She had a few lessons with a vocal coach,
and I wasnt allowed to attend because she was too embarrassed and I said if youre too
embarrassed to let me watch you practise, Im going to be sticking you down a tube drain with 150
extras and Im going to make you sing live, so youd better get over your reticence. The weird thing is
she has a great voice she fluctuates between Julie Andrews and later on I got her to do a more
Marilyn Monroe breathy thing but she can sing. Its as simple as that. Her singing is great. I took a
CD to the Colony Room and everyone thought they were real period songs. She has a beautiful voice
and as an actor she delivers the performance.
"I love the scenes in which Keira sings", says Radclyffe. "She has the most amazing and beautiful
voice. I think she was nervous, so she was incredibly brave to do it. I think those scenes are magical.
Knightley found working with Maybury quite challenging. "He trusts his actors, which has never
happened to me before, so it's empowering, but completely terrifying - the way he says "well it's your
character so you know what to do, so do it". He moves so fast, he can do one take per scene which is
wonderful and spontaneous, but terrifying. But we were helped because the dialogue was so good, so
you don't have to try to make it sound good, because it already is good.
Keira was also able to draw on people she knew to round out her character. "Although Vera is
Rebekah's grandmother, Sharman, who is half Welsh, partly based her on members of her family who
I knew. So some of the stories are from stories that were in my family and the character of Vera is
partly based on people that I have known all my life.
Maybury found that Knightley had matured as an actress since working with her on The Jacket. "Id
worked with Keira when she was 18, and she proved herself as an actor of incredible talent. She is a
very serious actor, shes matured enormously in the period since I worked with her, shes now in her
early 20s, but with the work that shes done since then, shes learnt her craft incredibly fast. I wanted
to work with Keira again, and make something more elegiac, more poetic than my last film. I wanted to
make something a bit more light, which this sort of is. For me its light it has a levity, its very lyrical.
The story of the two girls is very moving, very touching and is unusual for a film nowadays to have one
female lead not to mention two female leads, where two actresses are really allowed to develop a
relationship as characters together. The contradictions and contrasts between Caitlin Thomas and
Vera Phillips are fascinating to me.
Matthew Rhys was cast in the central role of Dylan Thomas. For Gilbertson he captures Thomas
perfectly. "I think Matthew was born to play Dylan Thomas. It was very important to me that he be
played by a Welshman. When I first met Matthew I just thought he is Dylan, and he did this screen test
that was just phenomenal. He did a lot of research for the role; he met up with Aeronwy Thomas,
Dylan and Catlin`s daughter, he read a lot of books and all the poetry, he listened to tapes of how
Dylan spoke and looked at photographs and put so much passion into the role and it has paid off.
What Matthew captures so beautifully was that Dylan was great fun, and he also isn`t afraid of Dylan`s
dark side and like most poets there is always that dark side and he gets the balance beautifully
between the fun and something more complex. He is Dylan!"
Maybury was equally impressed with Rhys. "Matthew is a terrific actor and hugely under-rated. I
actually watched a piece made for the BBC about Beau Brummel, where Matthew played Lord Byron
and it was very interesting to see how he handled playing someone as iconic as Lord Byron, and to
bring such humanity and warmth to someone who again is larger-than-life and dangerous to know.
Dylan is fascinating as a character and is brilliantly portrayed by Matthew as a darkly malevolent
figure. Matthew has a great depth and resonance and it was interesting that at times he almost
seemed to be channelling Richard Burton who gave the great reading of Under Milkwood. Hes a very
sophisticated, very complex actor. Hes very attractive, but hed do this thing just before wed do a
take where hed push his head back and get double chins, and in between takes he was eating every
piece of craft service food and getting fatter and fatter. I said Id like Dylan to be a little bit sexy, but
Matthew wanted to be the grotesque that Dylan was on the way to becoming. There are two Dylans in
this film theres the Dylan that is the spoilt, child-man poet, whos screwing anything that moves.
But that element, the flawed artist, is something that I respond to and relate to and react to very well,
and Matthew took that on board and was prepared to go to much darker places than most actors
would do. Hes not a very likeable character in this film, and for me thats a mark of a truly great actor,
when theyre prepared to be un-likeable. And Matthew does in this and yet he does have an inherent
charm, as does Dylan.
For Matthew Rhys playing Dylan was the dream role. "It's the sort of role you always hanker for. He's
this huge iconic figure in Wales that everyone loves and everyone has an idea of who he is, but this is
actually the first time he has been put on screen. The script was also an instant draw for Rhys. "It
was an absolutely beautiful piece of work, so textured and layered, which is all you can hope for when
the brown envelope hits your mat. It would stand alone beautifully, if you removed these real life
characters and inserted fictional ones because as a piece of writing it's amazing. It's the icing on the
cake that these were real characters.
To embody Thomas, Rhys embarked on a lot of research. "There is a lot of vocal archive of him and a
lot of people alive who remember him and therefore you have a duty and obligation to be relatively true
to the person he was. I spent some time with his daughter Aeronwy Thomas and both she and John
said don't go for an impersonation which gave me a greater degree of freedom.
Rhys spent hours listening to the tapes of Thomas and was helped in his approach by Thomas'
daughter. "One of the things Aeronwy told me was that he never walked with a great deal of purpose
and that was a hook for me. I tried to slow myself down and drop my centre of gravity and to put on
weight. The voice was also important in capturing Thomas' essence. "When he went to work for the
BBC he adopted a very plummy English accent which I've tried to scale down to make it less affected
and so more believable, Rhys says.
Working with Maybury on playing such an iconic figure, gave Rhys the confidence he needed to play
the role. "John gives you a phenomenal amount of confidence. He is the complete director and has an
artist's eye. He has a great understanding of the human condition so he knows where to guide you,
but he teases you as well, which makes things more relaxed.
Cillian Murphy was cast as Gilbertson's grandfather William Killick. "I was so excited about Cillian,
says Gilbertson. "He was brilliant casting as he has the integrity that my grandfather had. He was a
very brave and gentle man, he was very solid, I used to think of him as an oak tree. He was great fun
but at the same time he had this loyalty and integrity to him and Cillian has that to him. One of my
aunts saw him in some of the rushes and said he`s perfect.
Maybury is equally enthusiastic. "Cillian Murphy is probably the best Irish actor working today. As a
young actor he is astonishing and he brought a weight and strength to the role, especially when he
comes back from the war period. You were damaged goods, but you werent allowed to express that,
and Cillian does it with a mastery and subtlety that I think is remarkable. Im very lucky to have had a
group of actors with such intensity and such power. Cillian and Matthew are both brilliant all I had to
do was light the blue touch paper and stand back and watch what happened.
Murphy was drawn to the complexity of the character of William Killick. "What was so appealing to me
about the script was that dynamic between the four very different characters and how they interact.
When they get to Wales the dynamic shifts and that's when it becomes really interesting. I liked the
complexity of the character, the difference pre-war and post-war and I've never played a British officer
before so that appealed. The opportunity to work with John who I'd admired for a long time was
irresistible and also to work with actors like Keira, Sienna and Matthew, you don't get that opportunity
very often.
Having Gilbertson on hand to discuss her grandfather was a great help in finding the character. "I
spent a lot of time talking to Rebekah and she was able to give me a lot of insight into William, says
Murphy. "She gave me letters he had written home and war reports that he had written in Greece. So
I took all that information on board and put it into the mix. John was very keen for us to own the
characters and not to be restricted by them as real people. So each of us also brought our own spin to
the characters.
Murphy re-iterates the liberating effect working with Maybury had on all the actors. "Working with John
you feel safe to try and experiment because you know you are in really capable hands, which is really
freeing as an actor. You can only do that as a director when you have a very confident vision of what
you want to achieve and when you have the confidence of your actors.
Sienna Miller, the final member of the quartet was cast as Caitlin Thomas. Gilbertson found
similarities between Caitlin and Sienna's own personality "Sienna has this wonderful vitality. She just
lets it all hang out and that`s what Caitlin was like, she lives her life to the full and has this incredible
energy. She is Caitlin to a tee. Aeronwy Thomas said that Caitlin used to say to her when she was a
little girl that all the biographies focussed on her darker side, the drinking etc, but they missed the fun
they had at that time in New Quay when they were in their 20`s and I think Sienna`s spirit captures
that."
Maybury is full of praise for Miller. "Shes an incredible actor. Shes been, in a way, burdened by the
media attention she gets about her private life, and the fact that she is a party girl and a fashion icon
and all of those things. But shes proved herself again and again. She really is astonishing in this film.
Maybury particularly enjoyed the relationship played out between Caitlin and Vera. "Whats interesting
is the dynamic between the two girls in this film, Keira playing Vera Phillips whos a simple Welsh
valley-girl, has an innocence and almost a naivet
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