Described as “a performance film” and “part film, part theatre, part fever dream”, The Extraordinary Miss Flower chronicles the inspiration of a suitcase full of letters that sent acclaimed Icelandic singer/songwriter Emiliana Torrini back to the studio.
Shown last night at the BFI’s screening rooms, this film was briefly introduced by Torrini, but we were left to make our own assessment on the 75-minute enterprise that followed.
Geraldine Flower was the mother of Torrini’s good friend Zoe, who serves as main producer on The Extraordinary Miss Flower. Although the film – co-directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard – utilises letters from Flower’s past, it stops short in revealing why she should be called ‘extraordinary’.
Her story is largely told through the male gaze and letters from her paramours, and her voice is only heard twice in an impassioned letter to her brother after being arrested for drug possession, and in a highly sensual love poem.
Caroline Catz plays Miss Flower, and at one point she and Torrini almost morph into one as a song is presented. Made in just two days, which is a feat we must applaud, The Extraordinary Miss Flower feels like a collection of music videos at times, punctuated by letter readings.
Directors Forsyth and Pollard brought their friends into the project, so you have singer Nick Cave reading a letter from Flower’s Australian lover and choreographer Kate Coyne offering interpretative dance and a sense of fun.
Angus Sampson, an actor who reads a letter from Geraldine to her brother, Paddy, has another connection to the story as Paddy’s son was his best friend growing up. It’s just that kind of film.
There’s a curious beauty in this film, a sense of otherworldliness. Whether Flower is truly and fully represented remains a question unanswered, as Torrini has clearly used artistic licence in both her interpretation of this woman’s life and in her development of the songs.
As well as Coyne, Viva Seifert and Saaed Esmali offer movement and vibrancy, while a number of filming tricks give an uneasy focus to the fragmentary nature of the enterprise.
A section with Alice Lowe fronting a mock documentary about Flower doesn’t quite work, while the powerhouse band (Simon Byrt, Mara Carlyle, Liam Hutton, Ian Kellett and Lovisa Sigrunardottir) keep the musical ideas flowing.
Torrini certainly presents her sense of fun, drama and creativity in her ten songs, written with Simon Byrt. She almost tastes and savours the words and finds a sense of playfulness in teasing out who Miss Flower may have been.
Ultimately, this film feels a little long and at times disorienting (a sequence on the number of telexes that passed between Geraldine and a lover is harsh on the eyes), while allowing a window into the soul of two powerful women.
The Extraordinary Miss Flower is released in UK & Ireland cinemas on 9 May. More details on the film can be found here.