We'll Take Manhattan (2012)

A look at the love affair between 1960s supermodel Jean Shrimpton and photographer David Bailey.

Director:

John McKay

Writer:

John McKay

Stars:

Sascha Bailey, Frances Barber, Aneurin Barnard

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sascha Bailey	...	Studio Assistant
Frances Barber	...	Diana Vreeland
Aneurin Barnard	...	David Bailey
Fiona Button	...	Lavinia
Anna Chancellor	...	Lucie Clayton
Allan Corduner	...	Alex Liberman
Clemmie Dugdale	...	Chrissie Shrimpton
Karen Gillan	...	Jean Shrimpton
Robert Glenister	...	Ted Shrimpton
Louise Gold	...	Ailsa Garland
Alex Jennings	...	John Parsons
Dominic Le Moignan	...	Vogue Art Junior
Natasha Little	...	Peggy Shrimpton
Joseph May	...	Larry Schwartz
Helen McCrory	...	Lady Clare Rendlesham

Storyline

In 1962 budding young photographer David Bailey gets a fifteen guinea contract working for 'Vogue' magazine. For his first shoot,an Acrylan advert,he picks inexperienced teenage model Jean Shrimpton,who has left home to escape a bullying father and moves in with Bailey,despite his having a wife. When the magazine launches its Young Ideas feature,to capture a youth readership, Bailey and Jean are sent on a photo shoot to New York with the magazine's fashion editor Lady Clare Rendlesham. Lady Clare is incensed when Bailey defies her orders and shoots impressively unorthodox photos of his nervous muse,demanding his removal from the magazine. Vogue editor Ailsa Garland,however,recognises the innovative nature of Bailey's work and over-rules Lady Clare,giving rise to one of the most famous partnerships of the Swinging Sixties.

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Plot Keywords:

love | fashion | 1960s | model | photo shoot | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 March 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kudos Film and Television, Ovation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

1960s supermodel, Jean Shrimpton, on whose modeling life this telefeature is based, refrained from all creative input with the production. After she'd seen the film, she called to congratulate Karen Gillan on the accuracy of her portrayal.

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Crazy Credits

Opening caption: "In 1962, no one had heard of the Beatles. No one expected to be famous, who was not born rich or titled. And there was no such thing as youth culture. But then David Bailey and Jean Shrimpton went to New York".

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #17.15 (2012)

User Reviews

Styled but Not Delivered

Lordy, what can one say that is positive about this farcical retro-homage to the rise of the 60's first supermodel Jean Shrimpton and bad boy photographer, David Bailey. Swinging 60s London was yet to happen when the stuffy, privileged world of British Vogue was invaded by the street-wise Bailey whose black and white grainy high contrast fashion sense was yet the norm. Shrimpton as depicted by Doctor Who's Karen Gillian is a moon-face, country virgin who falls for the brash photog and is promptly toss to the curb by her screaming, conservative middle class father who sees his daughter as a fallen woman. It was after all the era of the new pill and good girls were still pure until marriage!! Given the assignment to photograph a new spread for Vogue in New York City, Bailey and Shrimp head out with the uptight, Lady Clare Rendlesham (Helen McCrory) to recreate the tired, status quo look which British Vogue had presented since WWII. With lots of head butting between Bailey and Rendlesham over tasteful lady-like poses, camera focal range, and the NYC skyline, Shrimpton sees her budding career going down in flames. Slightly idiotic dialogue is meant to convey the class differences between the blue collar Bailey and Shrimpton and Rendlesham, the "posh" women he finds unwilling to give him the opportunity as the innovative artist with the camera. But the work speaks for itself as contact sheets arrive in London and the situation comes to a head with the expected happy ending. Bailey forever alters British Vogue, Jean becomes the exquisite iconic face of the 60s, and London swings despite the conservative government.

Barnard as confrontational Bailey is heavy fisted but charming, and the venerable Helen McCrory as the staid Lady Tasteful Clare Rendlesham offers a strident performance that is almost laughable. However, it is the woeful Ms. Gillian as The Shrimp who makes the production painful to view. Jean Shrimpton had not evolved into the staggering beauty in the New York photographs that Bailey took of her, but in Ms. Gillian is absent the kind of potential Shrimpton already possessed as a leggy young model. The teased bouffant hair, pudgy eyes, and the askew legs did characterize the early Jean, but Gillian misses on every point thanks to woeful styling. To observe Karen Gillian is to see the Dr. Who companion in 60s "clobber" and the wrong eye shadow applications -- sadly, even the teddy bear photographed better. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the show is they used David Bailey's actual photographs from the New York shoot of Jean Shrimpton in the closing credits. That was worth sitting though the program.