- 5 months ago
This week Chris Deacy is joined by Nicola Hodges to discuss the films; The Sixth Sense, Split, The Village, and Unbreakable.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Film Club. I'm Chris Deesey and each week I'll be joined by a guest
00:18to dive deep into the impact certain films have had on their life. Each guest will reflect on
00:23the films which have meant the most to them over the years. And every week there will be a Kent
00:28Film Trivia where we quiz you at home about a film that has a connection to the county.
00:33And now let me introduce you to my guest for this week. After suffering a coma and brain damage
00:39she wrote a series of novels to recover and is now an advocate for disabled writers and those
00:45with mental health issues. She is Nicola Hodges. Great to have you on the show Nicola. Hi thanks
00:51for having me. Absolute pleasure to meet you. Well I don't know your films in advance but I remember
00:56seeing this at the cinema when it came out in 1999. Why The Sixth Sense? I love the director's
01:05choice of his very slow exposition. I love the foreshadowing throughout the whole book. The
01:14whole, sorry film, the whole way through the film you are wondering what is it you know and I think
01:21that's what good films do. They have you wondering right until the last minute and bit by bit you
01:28piece together. But I think it's so clever the way that he, that M. Night Shyamalan does this and you
01:35don't realise until you go and watch it back a couple of times then you can see that I'm sure everybody
01:43has seen it by now and the main character is in fact, is passed away by the end of it. And it's only when you go back
01:51through the film that you realise that nobody else interacts with Bruce Willis' character throughout the
01:57entire film. Not his wife, not the little boy's mother. Nobody else interacts with him and it's small pieces like that
02:07that really, that bring it to life ironically for a character that's dead.
02:13The funny thing is because even though you know the twist after you've seen it once, you're absolutely right. When you go back
02:20over the film, you pick out so many things like it's almost like all the pieces of the jigsaw are there but they're not necessarily in the right order.
02:26Absolutely. And then when you watch it again, actually it's a very soulful, very quite reflective, quite poignant film.
02:33And I think in a way it cheapens the film. Yes, there's a huge twist, which is really everything, you know, what we all know about.
02:39But the journey there is I think as fascinating as that twist when it comes in those last few minutes.
02:44And the growth of the child as well to see Hayley Joel Osment's character from the beginning of the film to the end.
02:53And seeing his transformation is really beautiful as well so that they kind of almost swap roles really
03:01because Bruce Willis is, in his eyes, his marriage is falling apart and things are getting worse for him
03:08the more that he devotes to Hayley Joel Osment's character and Hayley Joel Osment is taking more from him
03:14and growing more from him. So one of them's gaining, one of them's losing more.
03:17There's a really good give and take there.
03:19And also that whole, almost like, in a way it is like a teacher-pupil relationship
03:24because, you know, the counsellor and the boy, and the boy is troubled and traumatised
03:30and yet he is the healer. He's the one, he's healing the therapist.
03:35Yes.
03:35And I think, and it's almost like he knows that and he's picked up on it already
03:39but it's like he's withholding that almost to protect the man who's supposed to be protecting him.
03:46Yeah, absolutely. Like, when Hayley Joel Osment's character, when they sort of reach a turning point in the film
03:55Bruce Willis, you know, says to him, well, why don't you ask them what they want, ask them what they need
04:02and it's again, M Night Shyamalan's great way of, you look back on it and Hayley Joel Osment's character
04:11has already done that already. So he is already asking people what he needs
04:16because he's already talking to Bruce Willis and gaining his needs and understanding more about his wife
04:22and offering advice to him and his wife and it's only once Bruce Willis accepts all of this
04:32and is able to understand everything as a whole and understand that the last thing that he was meant to do
04:41was help this child and then he can move on and, you know, that's his sort of moment where, I don't know,
04:47he passes on or passes to the, I don't know, wherever you believe, wherever he goes.
04:52Well, and also that's what makes it work is because it doesn't show us that that's for our...
04:56Yeah, it's everybody's interpretation.
04:59Yeah. And can you remember the first time, Nicola, that you saw this film?
05:03Probably when I was a teenager. I think I saw it when it was quite new out
05:06and it was one of those films where everybody just, what, Bruce Willis is dead?
05:12Like, you just sort of, it's one of, you just sit in shock almost afterwards
05:16and you're just like, wow, like, what did I just watch?
05:20And I love films like that that really make you feel something, you know,
05:25after the film's over and, you know, films that make you talk about it.
05:30Because I'm amazed that, because I saw it more than once
05:33and I think I saw it with my parents the second time
05:35and yet somehow people must, but like the mousetrap as well,
05:39you know, when there's a big twist, but you don't tell people what it is.
05:43And that must have sustained for quite a while
05:44because I think a lot of people have those, you know, first-time viewing experience
05:49and it wasn't sullied by the knowledge of what was to come
05:53because looking back, we just remember more than anything the twist
05:56because it was so huge.
05:58Yeah. I mean, the films that do this best, you know,
06:00those great twist films are the ones, you know, that get us talking,
06:04that get us interacting more and discussing things.
06:08And I think it makes you look at yourself as well
06:11and look at your, not yourself maybe so much,
06:13but your own beliefs, like the end of the film,
06:17like, does he, you know, where does he go?
06:19Is that over? And, yeah.
06:21Well, it is time now, Nicola, to move on to your second chosen film.
06:25Oh, and you've gone for Split,
06:28which is not dissimilar from The Sixth Sense.
06:31I'm a big M. Night Shyamalan fan,
06:34so all of my suggestions today are M. Night Shyamalan films
06:39because I just, I love his style of writing.
06:43The foreshadowing is just not so much in Split,
06:47but, you know, in Sixth Sense.
06:48But the thing that stood out to me in Split was James McAvoy.
06:52The fact that he is portraying these 27 characters
06:56and he is able to do each one complete justice
07:00and he's able to just switch on, just, you know, like that with no warning
07:08and even when, you know, there's no costume change or anything like that.
07:12A lot of them, like, there's a little boy
07:15and he has, like, this big sort of, like, yellow jacket
07:18and there's the, you know, the women have, you know,
07:21people who put on women's clothing and stuff like that
07:24and there are other characters, there's, like, a really tidy character
07:27that has everything clean and is constantly cleaning.
07:29So they all have their own little sort of bits and pieces
07:33that they do and focus on.
07:36But he's, I was just struck by how he can just change his face
07:42with just, even just, you know, his eyes or his face,
07:47you'll just see and you'll just know, oh, he's changed character now.
07:51You don't sort of need, you don't need him to tell you,
07:54oh, I'm so-and-so now and so they, the characters sort of come into the light
08:00which is them taking control of Kevin's body.
08:06But you don't need each character to identify themselves
08:10or, hi, I'm so-and-so each time.
08:11You just, you know, after you've met them once,
08:14you know who they are and you recognise them
08:16and those changes are just so, just so slight sometimes
08:22but really striking in others.
08:25It's like the sixth sense in that sense
08:27in terms of the way we're almost given a glimpse
08:30into maybe somebody's troubled mind
08:33but this is a journey where you've got a character
08:37who, of course, is playing many roles
08:38and I guess there's something in there,
08:40I mean, I suppose it says something about what it means to be an actor
08:43but also in all of our lives, I mean,
08:45there's something heavily relatable about this,
08:47that idea that we all have to, you know,
08:49we all have different, you know, at different times.
08:52And this film, yes, obviously it does it in a more accentuated way
08:55but the way in which in different situations
08:58somebody can contrive to control that situation
09:01by taking on a particular persona,
09:03I thought really clicked.
09:05Yeah, absolutely.
09:07I think we all have different faces
09:09and different masks that we wear in different situations,
09:11obviously not as extreme as split
09:13but, yeah, no, I 100% agree with you.
09:17We're all different people at different times,
09:19two different people as well in different situations
09:21but, you know, that's part of what being a human is, I guess.
09:25You've got to adapt and, yeah,
09:27I think some people might struggle to sometimes
09:30and relate to something like that
09:32but, yeah, I think most people would agree.
09:35And is this a film that, did you go into this,
09:38because I'm guessing that obviously you saw this after The Sixth Sense,
09:42but did you sort of go into this with, you know,
09:45any kind of sense that you knew how it might play out
09:49or were you trying to second-guess how it might go
09:52or were you just completely sort of in the moment
09:54and just thought, this is incredible?
09:56With M. Night Shyamalan's films,
09:59I just, I try and just be there in the moment
10:03and just enjoy it
10:04and I try and look out for, you know, key bits,
10:08you know, sort of, I think as a storyteller as well,
10:12you're able to identify certain things
10:15that are, you know, it might be a particular shot of something
10:20and you think, that's not for nothing,
10:22that must be for a reason that he's taken a photo,
10:25you know, they've focused in on that glass of water
10:27or that table or what have you,
10:30there's a reason for it,
10:31they wouldn't have just put that shot in there for no reason.
10:33So I do try and find myself,
10:36since I've started writing,
10:37I've started guessing more about what's going on in stories,
10:41but I do try and just enjoy the ride kind of thing.
10:44Because I've got a confession to make,
10:45because I watch, I review lots of films,
10:47but often I don't get it for, like, first time.
10:49Often I'm with my children sometimes
10:50and they'll pick up on things before I do.
10:53Yeah.
10:53But for me, that's the joy of going back over something
10:56and then it's almost like,
10:57OK, I missed it the first time and I'll look out for it.
10:59Yeah.
10:59And it's, I think, far more satisfying to do it that way.
11:03I think so.
11:04Like, you're able to see,
11:06I mean, a film's only, you know,
11:08an hour, an hour and a half,
11:10an hour and a half, two hours long
11:11and you can't, your eyes can't be everywhere all at once.
11:15And with the director's films,
11:18there are so many different things that you miss
11:22and so many things I've probably still missed of his films,
11:25even, you know, my favourites.
11:27But that's why I always,
11:28they are films that I will always go back
11:30and keep watching and keep watching.
11:31Yeah.
11:32Well, that's about all the time we have
11:34for this first half of the show.
11:36However, before we go to the break,
11:37we have a Kent Film Trivia question for you at home.
11:53We'll reveal the answer right after this break.
11:55Don't go away.
11:56Hello, and welcome back to Kent Film Club.
12:09Just before the ad break,
12:10we asked you at home a Kent Film Trivia question.
12:14Which 2009 detector film used Chatham Dockyard
12:17for a filming location?
12:18Was it A, Harry Brown,
12:20B, Sherlock Holmes,
12:21or C, State of Play?
12:23And now I can reveal to you
12:24that the answer was, in fact, B, Sherlock Holmes.
12:27This 2009 Guy Ritchie rendition
12:29of the popular crime solver
12:31used the Victorian ropery section
12:33of the dockyard within its scenes.
12:35Did you get the answer right?
12:37Well, it is time now to move on
12:39to your next chosen film, Nicola,
12:41and, ooh, continuing the M. Night Shyamalan theme,
12:44you've gone for The Village.
12:46Yes.
12:47It's one of his earlier films.
12:49Again, one of those films
12:53that you have to piece everything together,
12:55big shocker right at the end
12:56that you just do not expect.
12:59You think it's a very small,
13:02sort of very rural,
13:04almost sort of 19th century sort of village
13:09has, you know, no electricity.
13:11They're all making their own clothes.
13:17Sort of very self-sufficient
13:18in this tiny, tiny village
13:20in the middle of the woods.
13:22And there's a big beastie,
13:24excuse me,
13:26sort of a big beastie
13:28and they can't leave the area,
13:30they can't leave the village
13:31because of this thing
13:33and it will, it will,
13:34it's, you know, dangerous to anybody
13:36that goes wandering off.
13:37And it's not till the end
13:39that you realise
13:40that there is nothing,
13:43that the beast was just a way
13:44of keeping the villagers in
13:47and in this secluded environment
13:52and they, I think somebody is injured
13:58and so that somebody needs to go
14:01get proper medical help,
14:03like modern medical help.
14:05So they send a blind girl
14:07through the woods to,
14:10because she can't relate
14:12what she's seen.
14:13She's the only person
14:14that can go and do this,
14:16go and fetch this medicine
14:17and come back
14:17without actually knowing the truth.
14:20So they can keep their secret going,
14:23which is that it is,
14:26you know, modern times,
14:27there's a huge wall
14:28and they are blocked in
14:31because of this sort of millionaire.
14:34The millionaire has set up this village.
14:36He wants to sort of,
14:37everyone to sort of go back
14:40to sort of more olden,
14:43I don't know,
14:44sort of fashions and styles.
14:48Oh, but you think it's set
14:50in, I don't know,
14:51like 17th century or something.
14:52Yeah, yeah.
14:54And yeah, it's not at all.
14:55And the wall is sort of policed
14:59by the people that set up the village.
15:02Well, I think the village
15:03was either the last or one
15:05of the last films that I saw
15:06before I moved to Kent back in 2004.
15:09And I knew with it being
15:11an M Night Shyamalan film
15:12that there was going to be a twist
15:13and I didn't see this coming.
15:15And also, I haven't seen it since,
15:18but also very clever
15:19and very, you know,
15:21in terms of all these sort of issues
15:22about what we do,
15:23insiders, outsiders,
15:25there's a real strong
15:26political subtext to that film.
15:28Yeah, absolutely.
15:29There's only a few people
15:30that actually know sort of the secret.
15:34Even though that it is
15:35causing people harm,
15:37it's putting people at risk,
15:39they still want to keep
15:40this sort of community
15:42and in their eyes,
15:47they're keeping them safe
15:48from, you know,
15:51sins of the modern era
15:53or, you know, media
15:54and all that sort of stuff.
15:57And really, they're just,
16:00they're making themselves sicker
16:02by being so isolated
16:05and only, you know,
16:07interacting with each other
16:08is not healthy.
16:11And when they start
16:12obviously hurting each other
16:13to the point where
16:14they have to go get medical help,
16:16I think they know
16:17things are starting to fall apart.
16:19Yeah, I mean,
16:20it's that interesting idea.
16:21I mean, I remember
16:22growing up sometimes,
16:23people would say,
16:24you know,
16:24don't shop in that particular place
16:25or don't go there,
16:26don't go there.
16:27But the Truman Show
16:28does the same thing.
16:29Oh, great film.
16:29If you don't know
16:31what's on the outside,
16:33you'll be protected.
16:34But actually,
16:34it doesn't work that way.
16:35Yeah.
16:35Even if you've never experienced
16:37life outside the village,
16:39in this case.
16:39You still have a right to
16:40if you want to.
16:41Yeah, absolutely.
16:42And in that sense,
16:42it's almost as though
16:43the facade at some point
16:45is going to crumble.
16:46Yeah, I think it's something,
16:48a secret that big
16:49and especially when
16:52the community
16:52is always growing
16:54year by year.
16:55There's children born
16:56and what have you.
16:58There's only,
17:00they can only,
17:01they must have known
17:01that they can only
17:02keep it secret
17:03for so long
17:04before it goes wrong.
17:06But also when you think about,
17:07the damage that that's going to do
17:08to those behind
17:09in the sense that
17:11suddenly they realise
17:12that they've been brought up
17:12in this sham environment.
17:14So I thought it was
17:15a very clever film.
17:16Yeah.
17:17Again, the twist was the one
17:18that I was only thinking
17:19about afterwards.
17:20But when you reflect on it,
17:21the film made a lot more sense
17:23in the light of that twist.
17:25Yeah.
17:26Yeah, absolutely.
17:27I feel like M. Night Shyamalan
17:29films do.
17:31They are,
17:33everything is,
17:35I mean, you don't,
17:37he has such a good way
17:39of doing those twists
17:41that you,
17:43you,
17:44there is no point
17:45trying to figure out
17:46one of his films
17:47before the point
17:48where he wants you
17:50to,
17:50to know,
17:52to know everything.
17:53There is no point
17:54trying to work it out
17:56and trying to,
17:56I mean,
17:57you might be able,
17:57but you would never have been
17:58able to piece together
18:00that
18:00they're,
18:02they're a gated community
18:03technically
18:04and they're,
18:05it's all set up
18:06by the,
18:07the own,
18:08sort of the people,
18:08the elders
18:09of this village.
18:11Well,
18:12it is time now
18:13to move on
18:13to your final
18:14chosen film.
18:15Oh,
18:16I'm so glad.
18:16I was hoping
18:17that you'd go for
18:18Unbreakable
18:19because I saw that
18:20obviously after
18:21The Sixth Sense.
18:22Yeah.
18:23I thought if anything
18:24it was a stronger film.
18:26I fell in love with it
18:27when I saw it in,
18:28gosh,
18:28would have been
18:28about 2001.
18:31I,
18:32yeah,
18:32I think I fell in love
18:33with it as a teenager.
18:34It's making me feel
18:35very old now.
18:37But it's really,
18:39it's a lovely take,
18:41like a modern take
18:42on a sort of
18:44a traditional superhero
18:45and what it would mean
18:46to be a superhero
18:48in a modern age.
18:49You know,
18:49one that's not Marvel
18:50or DC
18:51or anything like that.
18:53Like a,
18:53like a,
18:54like a normal
18:55superhero kind of thing
18:57that sort of walks
18:58among you
18:59and,
18:59and is just like
19:01other people.
19:03And also very similar
19:04to The Sixth Sense
19:04in one respect
19:05that it's almost like
19:06the character
19:07doesn't know
19:08that he has
19:10a particular gift.
19:11You know,
19:11it's almost as though
19:12he has a gift,
19:13doesn't realise he has it
19:15and then starts reflecting
19:16on how he got
19:18to this point.
19:18And I think,
19:19I think we're allowed
19:20to give it away now
19:21after so long.
19:22He's never been ill,
19:23is that right?
19:23Yeah,
19:24never been ill,
19:25he's never had an accident.
19:27The one accident
19:29that is sort of
19:29on his records
19:30as being an accident
19:31is something
19:33that he faked
19:34so that he could
19:35go to college
19:36with his,
19:38at the time
19:39of the film,
19:40his wife.
19:42Yeah.
19:42And when you saw this,
19:44I mean,
19:44I thought it was a really,
19:46again,
19:46like The Sixth Sense,
19:47a very poignant film.
19:49And I saw this
19:50and you're right,
19:50it was,
19:51I mean,
19:51these days,
19:52there's so many
19:52Marvel and DC
19:53superhero films,
19:54but this one
19:55is almost like
19:57the inversion of that.
19:58Yeah.
19:58And it's almost
19:58the sort of
19:59superhero films
20:00for people
20:00who don't necessarily
20:01like superheroes.
20:02Yeah.
20:02You know,
20:03like I like
20:03when there was
20:03the Avengers
20:04and that a lot,
20:05like,
20:05I liked that,
20:06but it's gone
20:07a bit wild now
20:08and I think
20:08everybody has sort
20:10of had enough
20:10of that.
20:11So,
20:11I mean,
20:12Unbreakable,
20:13I loved it.
20:14It was just
20:15bringing it down
20:15to a really human level
20:17and in really
20:18simple ways,
20:20not any crazy
20:21superpowers,
20:22just,
20:23you know,
20:23stuff that,
20:23you know,
20:24normal people
20:24can have
20:25and build on.
20:26So it makes you
20:27sort of feel
20:28like,
20:28well,
20:28you know,
20:29I could be a little
20:29bit more like him.
20:31It makes it more
20:32attainable almost.
20:34Yeah,
20:34I think that's
20:35actually really
20:35well put
20:36because it's
20:37almost like
20:38if somebody
20:39is a superhero,
20:40how do they
20:41function day to day?
20:42And that's the clever
20:43bit.
20:43It's not just
20:44showing them
20:44save the world.
20:45It's actually
20:46showing that they
20:46don't even realise
20:47that they have
20:48that capacity
20:49and it's
20:50the journey,
20:51the character arc
20:52in that character
20:54which is very
20:54different from
20:55anything I've seen
20:56in so many
20:57superhero movies.
20:58And it was just
20:59back in its day
21:00in the very early
21:012000s,
21:02this felt really
21:03ahead of its time.
21:04We mentioned
21:07the character arc.
21:08I really enjoyed
21:10that as well.
21:11He was able
21:11to incorporate
21:13these abilities
21:14that he
21:15constantly pushes
21:17against his son.
21:18It's his son
21:18that's really
21:19pushing the idea
21:20of you've never
21:21been sick
21:21and you're
21:22super strong
21:23and there's
21:25a scene
21:26at I think
21:26it's a stadium
21:27and so he's
21:28able to incorporate
21:29what he thinks.
21:31He's sort of
21:32not sure
21:32he's on the fence
21:33about oh maybe
21:34I have these
21:35abilities,
21:36maybe I don't.
21:36So he follows
21:37this sort of
21:38character into
21:39the toilet
21:39when he's in
21:40the stadium.
21:41So he's
21:41incorporating
21:42these abilities
21:43into his
21:44daily life
21:45and a random
21:46random little
21:48tidbit of
21:49information.
21:50The character
21:51in that stadium
21:52scene that Bruce
21:54was pursuing
21:54was the director.
21:56So he's always
21:57in one of his
21:58films in some
21:59small aspect.
22:00He always has a
22:01very small role
22:02in his films.
22:03Yes, he does
22:04like Hitchcock
22:04and the most
22:06recent one he
22:07did as well
22:07which is all
22:08set in the
22:08stadium.
22:08Yes, you're
22:09right, he does
22:10tend to appear
22:12in his films.
22:13And have you
22:14watched this
22:15since and
22:16have you,
22:18has it changed
22:19the way that
22:20you see the
22:21film?
22:21Do you get
22:22more out of
22:23it on each
22:23viewing?
22:24Well, I
22:25went and
22:26watched the,
22:27because it's
22:27actually a
22:28trilogy, so
22:29it's Unbreakable
22:30then Split
22:30then Glass.
22:33But nobody
22:34had any idea
22:35that Split
22:36was anything
22:37to do with
22:37Unbreakable
22:38until the
22:39post-credits
22:39scene where
22:40you've got
22:40Bruce Willis
22:41in the diner
22:42and immediately
22:44it's one of
22:45those moments
22:46that the
22:47director has
22:48just been an
22:48absolute genius
22:49with just
22:50putting it in
22:50right at the
22:51end there
22:51so that he's
22:54able to put
22:55all of these
22:55characters together
22:56in Glass.
22:57I mean,
22:58everybody tries
22:59to do a
22:59twist,
23:00but it's
23:01such a hard
23:01thing to do.
23:02I've tried to
23:03write them
23:03myself and
23:04it's easier in
23:05a book because
23:05you've got more
23:06time to piece
23:07things in,
23:08but in a film
23:08you have such
23:09a small amount
23:10of time and
23:11you need to
23:11be really
23:12conscious of
23:13what our
23:15viewers are
23:15going to be
23:15looking at.
23:16If I put
23:17this glass on
23:17the table,
23:18are they going
23:18to notice the
23:18glass or are
23:19they going to
23:19notice the
23:20cabinet over
23:21there or how
23:22am I going to
23:22film this and
23:23frame this?
23:23There is so much
23:24more to think
23:25of in a film.
23:26Well, I'm
23:27afraid that's all
23:27the time we
23:28have for today,
23:29but before we
23:30go, if you
23:31live in Kent
23:31and want the
23:32chance to share
23:33four films of
23:34your choice,
23:35reach out to
23:35us at KMTV
23:36and you might
23:37be invited in
23:38to be my next
23:39guest.
23:39But for now,
23:40many thanks to
23:41Nicola Hodges
23:41for joining us
23:42and being such
23:43a brilliant guest
23:44and many thanks
23:45to you all for
23:46tuning in.
23:46Until then,
23:47that's all from
23:48us.
23:48Goodbye.
23:48Bye.
23:49Bye.
23:49Bye.
23:49Bye.
23:50Bye.
23:50Bye.
23:50Bye.
23:51Bye.
23:51Bye.
23:51Bye.
23:51Bye.
23:52Bye.
23:52Bye.
23:52Bye.
23:53Bye.
23:53Bye.
23:53Bye.
23:54Bye.
23:54Bye.
23:55Bye.
23:55Bye.
23:55Bye.
23:55Bye.
24:00Bye.
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