Second Best (1994)

Director:

Chris Menges

Writers:

David Cook (novel)
David Cook (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 September 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Graham Holt is a lonely middle-aged man who runs a postal substation in a small village in England. He decides to adopt a son...

Plot Keywords:

Bed Ridden | Wales | Village | Post Office | Social Worker

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

William Hurt	...	Graham Holt
Nathan Yapp	...	Jimmy
Keith Allen	...	John
Chris Cleary Miles	...	James
Doris Irving	...	Adoption Shop Volunteer
James Warrior	...	Senior Social Worker
Jane Horrocks	...	Debbie
Alfred Lynch	...	Edward
Rachel Freeman	...	Elsie
Gus Troakes	...	Jeffo
Mossie Smith	...	Lynn
Martin Troakes	...	Colin
Shaun Dingwall	...	Graham, age 20
Paul Wilson	...	Colin, age 20
Alan Cumming	...	Bernard
Jake Owen	...	Jimmy, age 3
Sophie Dix	...	Mary
Prunella Scales	...	Margery
Jennifer Whitefoot	...	Tina
Jubal Bright	...	Leggo
Colin Bufton	...	Rusty
Richard Storr	...	Jed
Owen Shepherd	...	Fang
Richard Murray	...	Vernon
Ross Edwards	...	Pimple
Bryn Askham	...	Chris
Geoffrey Leesley	...	Eric
Doris Hare	...	Mrs. Hawkins
Adam Wills	...	Graham, age 12
Shirley King	...	Enid
Giles Emmerson	...	Vicar
Mrs. George	...	Herself
Nerys Hughes	...	Maureen
Philip Swancote	...	Policeman
Ann Morrish	...	Lizzie
Peter Copley	...	Percy
Esther Coles	...	Staff Nurse
John Hurt	...	Uncle Turpin
Jodhi May	...	Alice
Tessa Gearing	...	Mrs. Hilliard

Directed by
Chris Menges

Writing credits
David Cook		(novel)
David Cook		(screenplay)

Produced by
Judy Freeman	....	associate producer
Dixie Linder	....	assistant producer
Arnon Milchan	....	executive producer
Sarah Radclyffe	....	producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell

Cinematography by
Ashley Rowe

Film Editing by
George Akers

Casting by
Susie Figgis

Production Design by
Michael Howells

Art Direction by
Roger Thomas

Set Decoration by
Sam Riley

Costume Design by
Nic Ede

Makeup Department
Ivana Primorac	....	hair stylist
Ivana Primorac	....	makeup artist
Jenny Shircore	....	hair designer
Jenny Shircore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Victoria Pearman	....	executive in charge of production
Michael Solinger	....	post-production supervisor
Chris Thompson	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Max Keene	....	second assistant director
Stuart Renfrew	....	third assistant director
Waldo Roeg	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Kevin Bailey	....	head scene painter
Wayne Day	....	stand-by carpenter
Samantha Heskia	....	assistant art director
Brad Lochore	....	art/construction coordinator
Graham Nunn	....	assistant carpenter
Graeme Purdy	....	property master
Totty Whately	....	production buyer
Steven Wilson	....	head carpenter

Sound Department
Peter Best	....	supervising sound editor
Ray Gillon	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Peter Glossop	....	production sound mixer
Dominic Lester	....	assistant dubbing mixer
Luke Menges	....	assistant sound editor
Bob Mullen	....	first assistant sound editor
Robin O'Donoghue	....	dubbing mixer
Martin Trevis	....	boom operator
Ean Wood	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Simon Alderton	....	stand-by rigger
Andrew Bailey	....	electrician
Clive Coote	....	still photographer
Simon Finney	....	focus puller
Kevin Fraser	....	key grip
Jeremy Gee	....	camera operator
Andrew Long	....	best boy
Oona Menges	....	clapper loader
Chris Plevin	....	focus puller
Peter Robertson	....	steadicam operator
Xandy Sahla	....	camera operator: time-lapse photography (as Alexander Sahla)
Alex Scott	....	gaffer
Andy Shuttleworth	....	steadicam operator
Richard Stevens	....	electrician
Richard Stone	....	electrical rigger
Chris Thompson	....	generator operator

Casting Department
Sarah Bird	....	additional casting
Suzy Freeman	....	extras casting (as Suzanne Freeman)
Romany Turner	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Camilla Fiddian-Green	....	wardrobe assistant
Stewart Meachem	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Jay Coquillon	....	second assistant editor
Dennis McTaggart	....	first assistant editor

Music Department
Simon Boswell	....	music arranger
Christopher Essex-Hill	....	orchestral contractor
Simon Gabriel	....	music arranger
Jupiter Sen	....	music editor
Neil Thomson	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Gerry Gore	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Shauna Beal	....	assistant: Milchan
Mary Daley	....	assistant to director
Nick Dunne	....	location assistant
Penny Eyles	....	script supervisor
Bobbie Johnson	....	production accountant
Lionel Johnson	....	cutting room trainee
Deborah Leakey	....	assistant accountant
Andrew Litvin	....	runner
Jason Miles	....	chaperone
Matthew Nasatir	....	assistant: Ms. Pearman
Tori Parry	....	production coordinator
Patty Reid	....	assistant: Milchan
Guy Roderick	....	children's workshop
Jacobus Rose	....	production executive
Guy Tannahill	....	location manager
Peter Thompson	....	publicist
Damiano Vukotic	....	production assistant
Joan Washington	....	dialect coach
Shirley Wright	....	tutor
Joanne Yapp	....	chaperone

Thanks
Bonnie Daniels	....	thanks
Carol Dantuono	....	thanks
Dena Fischer	....	thanks
Birdie George	....	thanks
Herbie Gwilt	....	thanks
Rene Gwilt	....	thanks
Pat Johnson	....	thanks
Tony Johnson	....	thanks
Caryn Landau	....	thanks
Bill Matheson	....	thanks
Adam Platnick	....	thanks
Steven Reuther	....	thanks (as Steve Reuther)
Howard Vaughan	....	thanks
Sally Vaughan	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Alcor Films
• Fron Film Production
• Regency Enterprises

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Warner Bros. (Spain)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (video)

Special Effects

• Computer Film Company, The (CFC) (paint work)

Other Companies

• Angels & Bermans  costumes
• Central Film Facilities  action vehicles
• Completion Bond Company  completion guarantee
• Computer Film Company, The (CFC)  opticals
• Goldcrest Post Production London  post-production facilities
• Grip House  grip equipment
• Horse and Jockey  thanks
• Knighton Medical Services  thanks
• Kodak  Eastman color film supplied by
• Lansdowne Studios  orchestra recorded at
• Lee Lighting  electrical equipment
• Lloyds Bank, Witney  banking by
• Location Facilities  facilities supplied by
• Maincrest  transport supplied by
• People of Knighton, The  special thanks
• People of Llangunllo, The  special thanks
• Peter Watson Associates  titles
• Ruben Entertainment Insurance Services  insurance
• Sammy's  camera equipment
• Set Meals  catering
• Simon Olswang and Company  legal representation
• Sylvia Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting
• Twickenham Film Studios  sound re-recording

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Germany:12 (w) | Spain:18 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK

Company:

Alcor Films

Trivia:

Last film of Alfred Lynch.

Quotes:

[Remembering his mother's death]
Graham: Dad wasn't making much sense. His hands were like injured birds looking for a safe place to roost.

Soundtrack:

The Wren

As a Father's Day gift: The Best and Second to none

David Cook, author of the novel of the same title and also involved in the film, is known for his sensitive and probing treatments of characters marginalized in society. After seeing the film, I made a point of searching for the book, and at long last spotted a "galley proof edition" in a used bookstore in Oxford. The picture is faithful to the novel-- if anything, excessively so. Much dialogue is reproduced intact. A number of small incidents and gestures which seem inconsequential or puzzling in the movie were revealed as symbols or evocations of episodes which the book had fleshed out. Directors themselves so immersed in every detail are at risk of assuming too much understanding from the audience, depriving them of just another few words, or a brief camera close-up, which would have put a point across coherently. But these are quibbles, for there is enough depth and quiet eloquence left here to call for a rare ten stars out of ten.

This is the story of an unlikely relationship which succeeds as the mutual balm for unusual wounds. The man Graham and the boy Jamie both suffer profoundly from separation from their fathers-- physical separation in Jamie's case (his adored dad is in prison), emotional in Graham's. Each discovers that the other cherishes the memory of just a few days of filial closeness, shattered shards of supreme bliss sparkling in the dismal landscape of their emotional lives. Yet not only does Graham, a candidate to adopt Jamie, lack the primary qualification for a stepfather: a wife. He is a shy nerd with no obvious charisma whatsoever for a hyperactive, street-wise, cynical kid.

But traumas in his past have stamped this boy with a vehement misogyny. As little as he fancies anyone presuming to take his father's place, he craves having a stepmother even less. Graham's bachelorhood is a relative advantage. Graham proves himself gradually with humility, honesty, and a quality of unfailing respect for the person struggling underneath Jamie's sullenness which one can only describe as reverence. A "special-ed" teacher of my acquaintance called Jamie (and Chris Cleary Miles' passionate characterization) very realistic, and pronounced Graham (as brought to life masterfully by William Hurt) "a genius" in his approach to the developing relationship.

While some will complain that this film drags, others will value its quiet atmosphere in which heart-codes are patiently decrypted. The more important the dialogue is, the likelier it is to approach whispers. One crucial central scene, barely audible, as the haunting strains of the score's "rift" theme echo away more faintly still, never to be heard again, must be one of the tenderest moments ever captured on celluloid.

Perhaps Graham has been plagued by a touch of agoraphobia. The cinematography deftly suggests this world view: interiors of small rooms, fussy wallpaper, obtrusive props, brilliant curtains covering the windows; exteriors somehow painting scenes of ravishing beauty with brushstrokes of vague terror.

Graham Holt is an unlikely hero, but a true one. If more people treated one another the way he does, the world would be a better place.