Leading Lady (2014)

An idealistic British drama school teacher, Jodi Rutherford, persuades a cynical South African farmer to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine. In return Jodi ... See full summary »

Director:

Henk Pretorius

Writers:

Henk Pretorius, Tina Kruger

Stars:

Katie McGrath, Bok van Blerk, Gil Bellows

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Katie McGrath	...	Jodi Rutherford
Bok van Blerk	...	Kobus Willemse
Gil Bellows	...	Daniel Taylor
Brümilda van Rensburg	...	Magdaleen Willemse
André Stolz	...	Japie van der Merwe
Eduan van Jaarsveldt	...	Johan Willemse
Craig Palm	...	Petrus Engelbreght
Mary Twala	...	Sarah Novuka
Jana Strydom	...	Linda van der Merwe
Tina Kruger	...	Wilmien du Plooy
Carien Botha	...	Katie Krizinger
Ruby Carr	...	Bow Dean
Melt Sieberhagen	...	Piet Griek
Morné du Toit	...	Dassie van Wyk
Ilze du Plooy	...	Elize Viljoen (as Ilse du Plooy)

Storyline

An idealistic British drama school teacher, Jodi Rutherford, persuades a cynical South African farmer to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine. In return Jodi undertakes to direct the annual concert on the Willemse farm. Jodi's interaction with the quirky small town citizens and the stubborn Kobus, teaches her that: "there is more to life than lights... camera... and action!"

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Plot Keywords:

actress | two word title | lightning | dance | student | 

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Taglines:

There's more to life than lights... camera... and action!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK South Africa

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 October 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Hauptsache Liebe

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dark Matter Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bok van Blerk is better known as an Afrikaans singer but has several film roles under his belt

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Connections

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Soundtracks

Same Parts Same Heart
Written and Performed by Matthew Mole

User Reviews

An absolute shocker

Maybe it is a cultural thing, I'm from New York originally and now live in LA, but this is an absolute shocker of a movie. I assumed it was a first time director who'd raided his daddies piggy bank, but it seems he's made movies before! (I still stick with the piggy bank view though, because who else would give this guy money).

I think I'm probably ranting more than usual because of the overall sexist view the film takes, which in this day and age should just not be a thing. I shouldn't be surprised coming from a TV movie, but the screenplay was nowhere near good enough to shoot from. I don't think they were trying to be outdated and sexist, but those feelings are just there in plain sight.

I found this when I was travelling with a movie in Europe and thought it would be a nice gentle movie to fall asleep to, but I ended up writing my first ever review on IMDB just for it!

If you care about more modern ways of viewing women, and quite frankly good movies, avoid this at all costs. I feel sorry for some of the cast though, they had a tough time with that screenplay and I don't blame them at all!