The director took the script as conceived and made into a really powerful film by unpacking what was most important. He made the community real and not overly ‘addy’. It has a working class vibe, which feels honest.

In all decisions about cast and approach, he sought to make them ring true. For example, our leading actor needed to feel old and somewhat vulnerable, not spritely and even a little lonely. The young lad across the street needed to feel a little intimidating, not overly friendly. So, he does not interact with Mrs. Higgins.

This called for a strong vision and a high degree of persuasiveness from the director to win all these small battles in pre-production. The director persuaded agency and client to trust him in taking the film to a place which was new territory for them but ultimately made it a stand-out piece of work.