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And he writes with such an incredibly
accurate ear that, to compete with his
ear -- and his inimitable way of putting
the English language together -- is a
pretty perilous thing to do. But there are
plenty of opportunities where you are
away from the big confrontations and it
was perfectly possible to go where the
situation seems to lead you.
There’s a great moment in the
film where we see the usually
cantankerous Miss Shepherd gleefully
splashing a fresh coat of paint on her
van.Was there a moment making this
film where you recall Maggie similarly
relishing the experience of playing this
character?
Oh, she relished it all the time.
Actually, the great thing about Miss
Shepherd was that she was magnificent
in her refusal to acknowledge that any
help was being given to her. [Her life]
was a pretty wretched one but it was
the life that she was determined to live
and she lived it on her terms and she
never said, “Thank you.” She was never
gracious and she was often cantankerous
and aggressive. And Maggie relished
playing that. She relished Miss
Shepherd’s refusal to give an inch as
much as she relished…freewheeling
down the hill in her wheelchair.
What was it like filming in Camden
Town, the neighborhood where these
events originally occurred?Were the
current residents accommodating?
They were very accommodating.
Although I think they had mixed feelings
when they saw the van reappear. The
two vans we used – actually, there were
four vans, in total – were exactly the
models that she had. So when the van
reappeared… I think that was pretty
horrifying for the many neighbours who
remembered her. But, no, they were well
up for it.
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