Ray and Liz
Synopsis
Turner Prize-nominee and Deutsche Börse Prize-winner, Richard Billingham returns to the subject of the striking photographs that he captured of his family during Thatcher era Britain in this drama recounting his childhood in a Birmingham council flat.
At times shocking and laced with an unsettling humour, three interlinking episodes unfold thematically rather than chronologically as a powerful evocation of the artist's personal experience of growing up.
In 1990, alcohol makes Richard's father Ray a prisoner in his own bedroom. Ray’s estranged wife Liz and neighbour Sid battle for control of Ray, who remains hopeful that Liz will return to him if he manipulates her through his self-destruction.
A decade or so earlier, Richard’s younger brother Jason – then three years old – is left alone with his hapless Uncle Lol. The lodger tricks Lol into drinking the stash of alcohol hidden in the house and neglecting Jason. Liz violently punishes him upon her return.
In the mid-‘80s Jason, now 10 years old, goes out with a friend on Bonfire Night but can’t find his way home and ends up sleeping in a shed. He is finally taken into care. When a social worker breaks the news to Ray and Liz, Liz cries a little, but quickly forgets…
'Ray & Liz' tells a universal story of everyday conflicts, loneliness, love and loss.
Details
- Year
- 2017
- Type of film
- Features
- Director
- Richard Billingham 1st Feature
- Producer
- Jacqui Davies, Ben Rivers
- Director of Photography
- Daniel Landin
- Principal Cast
- Patrick Romer, Deidre Kelly, Justin Salinger, Ella Smith, Tony Way
Genre
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Last updated 5th May 2017
