Within a couple of weeks earlier this year, I watched two period dramas: The Personal History of David Copperfield and Emma. The first, Armando Ianucci’s adaptation of Dickens’ classic with Dev Patel in the starring role; the second Autumn de Wilde’s vision starring Anya Taylor-Joy for Jane Austen’s equally classic piece of literature, Emma. Did you see them both? What a difference in approach!
Emma was everything you’d expect from a costume drama: high quality production, stunning visuals, gorgeous outfits, witty dialogue, beautiful performances and sharp direction.
It was as expected, and sits neatly in the long list of period dramas in exactly the same vein.
David Copperfield shared all those qualities of production, visuals, costume, dialogue and performance, but there was one distinct difference which set this film apart from every costume drama I have ever seen on the silver screen. It was a choice by the director to cast actors on the basis of what, in theatre, is called ‘colour-blind casting’. This opens the field so that the actor in any role may be of any skin colour: what suddenly matters most is each player’s unique approach to fleshing out the character that lives only on the page until the actor breathes life into it.
The result was storytelling that popped, buzzed and sparkled with fresh life and interest. For the first time, we cinema-goers watched actors playing characters in order to tell a story first and foremost as skilled professionals rather than as black or white or anything else. The playing field had been lifted to one, beautiful platform. The result was a vision of shared humanity: a classic story with themes that are as relevant to all of us today as they were to the Victorians.
When we are confronted visually by our shared humanity regardless of race, gender, age etc, it shapes us for the better. We connect, we embrace, we unite.
It left me deeply challenged: why have I never questioned before the fact that period dramas have always been cast entirely with white actors? A good actor is a good actor, regardless of the colour of their skin. The truth and subsequent believability in a performance comes from good story-telling and nothing else. Nothing else!
When you open up cinema in this way, it can be truly barrier-smashing. Film becomes a place where we celebrate life together as human beings involved in the eternal struggles of love and loss, life and death. We become one in our heartache and sorrow, as we do in our joy and triumph.
Film makers make choices. David Copperfield taught me that these choices can challenge and change perceptions or fail to question them and preserve the status quo. Emma was good, but in the light of David Copperfield, my eyes have been opened to its missed opportunity – the same opportunity missed by every period drama film I’ve ever seen.
Art can shine a light and show us the way. When film making begins again at some point (please, God!) I hope and pray that David Copperfield will have enthused and inspired more colour-blind casting in cinema.
Together, we are telling the story that future generations will call ‘history’. What story will we tell?
Absolutely love this, so true and beautifully expressed. (Also desperately been wanting to watch there movies for ages!)
Thanks Jess!