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I Love a Man in Uniform (alternate title: A Man in Uniform)
[This is the blurb from the inside of my I Love A Man In Uniform video, which only seems to be on the Tartan Video UK edition. ~Lonelywalker]
About the director...
I Love A Man In Uniform is a psychological thriller chronicling the downward spiral of a fledgling actor who looses his grip on reality when he becomes obsessed with his role as a policeman on a television series. Written and directed by David Wellington, the script grew out of his desire to explore the dramatic possibilities of a man wandering the streets impersonating a police officer. "The script grew from a very simple premise," explains Wellington, "What if an ordinary man took to the streets dressed as a policeman? When he puts on the uniform, people take notice of him. He's empowered." From this point Wellington developed a complex and layered screenplay about urban violence and the role of authority in contemporary society.
The themes of the film are explored through the central character of Henry Adler, a lonely bank clerk and aspiring actor who lands a role as a cop in a TV series called Crimewave and becomes obsessed with his on-screen alter ego. Henry in effect has two distinct personae and according to Wellington, “…he’s all about contrasts. Henry’s a slob with a wash compulsion. A champion of compassion with a quick temper.”
The character of Henry is central to the film’s point of view. “in this film, the camera expresses Henry’s perception of every situation,” explains Wellington. “The reality of the film is no more or less than Henry’s reality and we had to be true to that. The character motivates the camera, the cutting, everything.”
Henry’s journey into the depths of the city takes him into the back streets where he is confronted with the grim reality of the criminal world. “Henry sees only moral absolutes,” says the director, “… so we tried to exaggerate the good and the bad of the city. We wanted skyscrapers to look like churches and the alleyways to look like open sewers.”
A graduate of the film programmes at Concordia University in Montreal and of the directors’ programme at the Canadian Film Centre, Wellington has previously directed commercials, short films and two features.
About the star...
"Henry has an innocence about him," says McCamus of his character. "He has a real, basic belief in simple things, and he can't deal with the fact that the world doesn't see it that way." The complex role, which calls for a characterisation that is alternately withdrawn and unassuming (in the guise of Henry), and then aggressive and unpredictable (as Flanagan), is one that McCamus is clearly intrigued by. "Henry's looking for something to be and he works hard at his identity, whatever role he's playing- whether it's a cop, a bank teller or Charlie's boyfriend. When he's working at the bank, he's good at it. He's play acting at being a bank teller. He's not very socialised, but when he's playing a role he's got the conviction to pull it off, to cover his natural shyness."
This psychologically precise portrayal is the centrepiece of I Love A Man In Uniform and a perfect showcase for McCamus' talents. Appearing in almost every scene in the film, he is charismatic in this compelling role. "I knew when I read the script that this was an opportunity to create a real character, to not just come across as a film persona but to create a journey," says McCamus, "The script is extremely literate; it has a sense of language. It's not just grunts and images."
This role has provided McCamus with his most substantial feature film role to date, but he has been one of Canada's busiest and most accomplished stage actors for many years. He has performed in both classic and contemporary repertoires, playing almost every major theatre in Canada, starring in many productions ranging from "Hamlet" and "Saint Joan" to "Summer And Smoke" and "Burn This".
David Wellington Filmography
1987 The Carpenter
1989 Three Steps To Heaven
1989 Killing Time (short)
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