Films for writers, by Deborah Jenkins

We writers need all the motivation we can get. I have been inspired variously by books, friends, blog posts, magazines and solitary walks between trees, to say nothing of ACW and the wonderful posts and conversations there - online or otherwise. I also love watching films, especially films about writers, writing and all things bookish. Bereft of anything original or interesting to say about writing this month, a friend reminded me I'm always sending her details of films I've watched, and maybe I should write a post about my favourite 'films for writers'. So here goes. My top five films for writers (in no particular order - I love them all) are as follows : -

1. Stranger than Fiction
"Everyone knows that your life is a story but what if the story is your life?" the lexter

Synopsis
I could watch this film over and over again partly because the story line is so clever and partly because Emma Thompson gives such a crisp performance as a frustrated writer who can't work out how to end her novel. At the same time, Harold Crick (Will Ferrell), who works for the IRS (American equivalent of HMRC) and is lonely and bored, begins to hear an author inside his head, narrating his life. Driven crazy by some of the things he hears about himself - all of which are true - and recognising 'the voice' when the author is interviewed on TV, he sets out to unravel what is going on.

Why you should watch it
It's clever, funny and a lesson in how to write screenplay creatively. I could never have imagined that this plot would work, but it does, brilliantly. It's also refreshing to see another writer screaming at the keyboard. I love the interplay between the writer and the IRS agent, extreme opposites and an inspiration in how to write characters so different from ourselves.

I saw a great interview with Emma Thomspon about this film in which she describes the writer she portrays: "We're depressives I think by nature - writers, I mean, and British people..." Classic.

2. Goodbye Christopher Robin
"Doing nothing often leads to the very best of something" Winnie- the-Pooh

Synopsis
I love this film because it gave me such an insight into the life of A A Milne. It's also set down the road from me in the Ashdown Forest where you can play Pooh-sticks on the same bridge that A A Milne and Billy did. The house they moved to is still there too.
Leaving London for the countryside, A A Milne starts making up stories about his son's stuffed animals when he is left alone after his wife, hating the country, returns to London.

Why you should watch it 
It reminds us that inspiration and ideas can be found in the most mundane and unlikely places. It's also an object lesson in how careful we should be when involving our families in our writing work. An extreme case (which would probably never happen today), it nevertheless warns against the heady excitement of success (be that world-wide fame or a well supported book launch) which can sour relationships with our nearest and dearest, if we temporarily forget their primary role in life is NOT to boost our book sales.

3. The man who invented Christmas
"No space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunity misused."
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Synopsis
Charles Dickens is at a low point in his career with three flops behind him. He decides to write a story himself, in two months, and self publish it in time for Christmas. His difficult relationship with his parents, who come to stay, bring back memories of a painful childhood and he begins to face his demons through the characters he creates - namely, Ebenezer Scrooge and the three ghosts.

Why you should watch it
It's fascinating to see how yet another great writer had huge setbacks and emotional baggage, yet somehow, through his writing managed to overcome them. Not that everything was a bed or roses after that (just in case anyone thinks this is what publication gives you), but the writing itself became the healer. I'm sure others can relate to this too.

4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
"We clung to our books and to our friends; they reminded us that we had another part to us"

Synopsis
In 1946, a London writer begins to exchange letters with a small book group on the island of Guernsey and finds out some intriguing details about their Literary Society which formed while the island was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. Commissioned to write an article for the Times Literary Supplement, she decides to go to the island to meet them but the visit uncovers some dark secrets about some of the group members. Juliet also realises something life-changing about herself and the life she has committed herself to, back in London.

Why you should watch it
It shows how writing about real events, with all their complicated layers of fact and opinion, can be both rewarding and terrifying. Research may lead us to all kinds of places, to new relationships and a radical rethink of our own position in the world. Apart from that, there's a stellar cast, a good script and wonderful scenery from Gurensey which has made me determined to visit - writers' retreat anyone?

5. The Bookshop
"A good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life  beyond a life, and as such it must surely be a necessary commodity." Penelope Fitzgerald, The Bookshop

Synopsis
This beautiful film, based on the novel from Penelope Fitzgerald, tells the story of a 1950s widow who decides to move to Suffolk to open a bookshop. She acquires the Old House, a damp but atmospheric property which she sets about transforming into a community bookshop. Despite local warnings that the endeavour will fail, she enlists the support of a book-loving recluse whose seal of approval gives her the confidence she needs to pursue her dream. However, her efforts bring her into direct conflict with an influential woman who has her own ambitions for the Old House.

Why you should watch it
It's filled with beautiful quotes - such as the one above - and draws you into a bygone world where a local community in a far-flung corner of the country is quietly brought to life by the book choices of a local shop owner. It reminds us of the subtle influence of the written word without hiding the conflict it can produce. The film is quite slow and could hardly be described as action-packed but is so evocative, that you catch yourself virtually inhaling the scent of paper, wood and leather in this beautiful, old-world bookshop.

So that's my Top Five. Alright, I'm an incurable romantic. Forgive me. You know, this post has really put me in the mood for another 'film for writers'. Any recommendations?

Click on the link to view the novella on amazon
Deborah Jenkins is a freelance writer and teacher, who has written articles, text books, devotional notes and short stories. She also writes regularly for the tes. She has completed a novella, The Evenness of Things, available as an Amazon e-book and is currently working on a full length novel. Deborah loves hats, trees and small children. After years overseas with her family, who are now grown up, she lives in East Sussex with her husband, a Baptist minister, and a cat called Oliver.