TIFF 2011: Random

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19 September 2011 No Comments

By Angela Walcott

Every now and then there is a gem that comes along during TIFF that expands the mind, tests the boundaries of filmmaking and moves the viewer. That movie happens to be Random. Written by Debbie Tucker Green, the film is based on a stage play that debuted in 2008. The story traces the life of Sister, played brilliantly by Nadine Marshall, as she traverses her way around a family tragedy. Told in a multi-narrative format from Sister’s point of view, Nadine Marshall slips in and out of accents and characters that are as diverse as the rich lyrical dialogue, text and images interspersed throughout the film.

“In the 2008 stage play, it was just me playing all of the characters,” Marshall says of the character on which the film is based. “It was much more difficult because I didn’t have anyone to base any of my characters on. There were no faces.” In order to play the role of Mum accurately, Marshall chose different people and amalgamated them together to make up her own “mother character”.

For the film version of the play, Marshall says she was very lucky to have one day of rehearsal with key characters played by Daniel Kaluuya, Jay Byrd and Louis Mahoney. Marshall was able to sit down and watch how the characters moved for visual reference. In order to quickly transition from character to character, Marshall downloaded certain information about each person which helped to provide her with some direction. What resulted was an organic performance. “I couldn’t analyze it through the process. I had to trust it.”

Originally airing in the UK on Channel 4 Television, the TV-film version of Random was very different from what appeared on stage. Nadine Marshall played 10 characters simultaneously in the one-woman show, which was difficult at times because there weren’t any characters to interact with. The effortless transitions between Brother, Mum and then Dad were looked easy and the beauty of film editing made it all the more seamless. However, Marshall preferred the challenge of theatre to film. There was isolation and no safety net compared to the film version which offered the support of a cast. Nadine Marshall says she also had time to collect her thoughts.

There were times when Marshall thought that the execution should never work, but it did for all of the right reasons –mainly trust. Working with an actress to achieve prompts and cues for split screen performances was crucial for Marshall’s line delivery.

Her most challenging role yet, Marshall says Debbie Tucker Green’s writing is so specific and detailed. The punctuation tells another story. “Full stops mean something, commas and dashes mean another.

You have to see what’s in between the words. You can’t wing it. You have to be 100% truthful to every word.”

Nadine Marshall can be seen on The Gates, which is a sitcom about a group of parents and their lives throughout the school year.

Angela Walcott is a freelance writer and copyeditor. Visit issuu.com/perfectboundmag to view some of her work.