MovieChat Forums > Dreams of a Life (2012) Discussion > Was it the actual bedsit? - and other qu...

Was it the actual bedsit? - and other questions.

posted 12 years ago by testacorsa
6 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie/documenatry a week ago, and it still haunts me. I can´t stop thinking about Joyce, and can´t stop looking for new clues. It is absolutely clear that some informations about Joyce are left untold, and I think that is what haunts me the most.

In a Guardian interview, Carol Morley made clear that some things were off the record, and some thing she did no believe had any importance. (I will find the link if somebody wants to read it.)

I think she did a good job with the film, and although I admire her will to protect Joyce´s legacy, and her family, I still think it is the wrong decision to leave something out. I mean how much worse could it make things, if we knew the last secrets? I would not think less of Joyce no matter what.
In a way it is not fair for the viewer of a documentary, not to have all the info available - after all a documentary is factual by definition.
I see documentary films, because I see them as "all in" project, which is why I love the genre so much.

This evening I´m seeing the documentary for a second time, and I wondered if the reconstructions of Joyce in the bedsit was actually the real bedsit where Joyce lived. I can see that the entrance door looks like the real one, but other that that I haven´t found any mentions of it, although I looked for clues, both in the film and on the internet. If it is the actual bedsit, that would make the film even more eerie. Does any one know?

[–] Mrs_Mills 12 years ago

The bedsit wasn't the actual bedsit that Joyce died in but was reconstructed in a film studio in Ireland - I'm assuming the interior shots. Carol Morley said in one of her interviews that although she never got the chance to enter and view the actual bedsit, she did visit one of the neighbouring flats in Sky City to get an impression.

I completely share your thoughts and frustrations. Carol Morley did say that she'd found a lot of information on Joyce but chose not to use it in the documentary as she already knew what type of film she wanted to make. The main problem for her was that people she talked to didn't want to be filmed, and Morley didn't want to narrate Joyce's story - the result is that the film is really based on a few recollections of the people who did agree to be filmed - which may not necessarily paint an accurate picture of Joyce's life. I thought there were several omissions that were very important and that tell another story.

Films, even documentary films, are a construction. Elements are often presented in the most intriguing/entertaining/mysterious/sensationalist way to tell a good story, even if it isn't there. I think Carol Morley found herself in a very difficult position about respecting Joyce's privacy.

In Kidman's case, it's nice to see her lately immovable forehead participating in her performance

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

I mean how much worse could it make things, if we knew the last secrets?

We don't know who else might be affected by the secrets. Also Joyce deserves some privacy even as the victim of a publicised death.

In a way it is not fair for the viewer of a documentary, not to have all the info available - after all a documentary is factual by definition.

This isn't a documentary. It combines documentary with fiction. That's the joy of it.

I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl

[–] testacorsa 12 years ago

thanks for the reply, and sorry for my late one!

Not a documentary? I can´t seem to remember anything fictional, other than the recreations when Joyce was alone in the bedsit. This was such a small part of the feature, that i would still call it a documentary. Everything else was either fact, or interviews with people, sharing their memories.

[–] EverythingInItsRightPlace 11 years ago

I loved this movie and I, too, have become obsessed with Joyce. I've told everyone about her and this story. Looking for clues online when I stand feeling so emotional.

I think it's ridiculous that Morley choose to leave things out. I do acknowledge that it is a film, documentary or not, and there are creative liberates and framed story telling. All the recreation are obviously assumptions of Joyce's personality and her "true" self. I found it to be annoying after a while, but I guess she needed to fill more time since she didn't want to reveal everything.

[–] britwrit 11 years ago

It was a great film but that flat wasn't a bedsit (which, in American terms, is a studio apartment that shares bathroom facilities with other bedsits in a building.) Nor was it that bad a place. It had, what, a separate bedroom living room, kitchen and bathroom?

I've lived in London for over twenty years. I've seen far worse places and heck, I've lived in far worse places. We're not talking about a palace here but again, with some paint and a little effort, a fairly non-squalid apartment.

[–] luckylogicgirl 10 years ago

It took me about a half hour in to realize that when they said "bedsit" they were talking about the studio apartment. I didn't know it is called a bedsit in the UK. I kept thinking they were talking about something in the apartment, like a couch or windowseat.