This week Chris Deacy is joined in the studio by Isabelle Miller to discuss the films; Pride and Prejudice, Mulan, The Proposal, and Top Gun: Maverick.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Film Club. I'm Chris Deasey and each week I'll be joined by a guest
00:18from Kent to dive deep into the impact certain films have had on their life. Each guest will
00:23reflect on the films which have meant the most to them over the years. And every week
00:27there will be a Kent Film Trivia, where we quiz you at home about a film that has a connection
00:32to the county. And now let me introduce you to my guest for this week. She is a head producer
00:38here at KMTV working on TV series and documentaries. She is Isabel Miller. Great to have you on
00:46the programme Izzy and your first choice is Pride and Prejudice. Yes, so this comes first
00:54because it really is my favourite film. When I was asked to do this, this is the film that
00:58came to my head immediately. Definitely specifically the Keira Knightley version of it. So this
01:03is what 2005? 2005, correct. Yes and I guess it's just kind of something that when I was
01:11growing up I loved. It was an influence from my sister. So she's an English teacher and
01:16she loves books. So loves Jane Austen and she just loves period dramas as well. So she
01:22obviously clearly influenced me being my older sister. And yeah, I just watch it and
01:28it's one of those films I don't very often want to watch a film more than once. Normally
01:32I'm like, I am done. This film has been completed. But no, I could watch this every year. It's
01:39just, I don't know, it's kind of like, it's kind of dreamy rom-com but broody, you know,
01:47he's a bit moody to begin with and she's all like independent. It's like very feminist
01:51and stuff like that. Because when I studied Emma at A-Level and there were so many Jane
01:57Austen adaptations around that period, including the one Emma that Gwyneth Paltrow played,
02:01that when this one came out in 2005, I sort of thought, oh here we go again. And we'd
02:05already had Sense and Sensibility. But this one got Oscar nominations, Keira Knightley
02:09was nominated. So there was a sense that this was different. But tell me what makes this
02:14adaptation so special?
02:17I think it's the story and how you connect to the characters. I think the actors have
02:23really great chemistry. I think, I don't really watch this film, okay there are maybe a few
02:29people I'm like, oh I don't like you or you're annoying. But all of the characters that are
02:33central to the story, you can really like feel their stories. And I think it's something
02:40that I'm just like, yeah right, it's great, I want you to end up with you. Oh no, it's
02:44not going to happen. Oh no. And it's just, you know, talking about class at the time
02:50as well. I just think it's really relevant. I think it's quite timeless, just like the
02:56author Jane Austen is obviously as well. It's always relevant. And I mean, to be fair, I
03:01was quite young when it came out. So I obviously got into it a little bit later. But yeah,
03:06it's just special to me because of how it makes me feel. And the story is, you know,
03:11this woman who's actually really independent for the time.
03:14Because I was talking about Clueless on a previous episode with a member of the KMTV
03:21team. And we were talking about how there was something timeless about the world of
03:25Jane Austen. And yet that came out in the 90s, in 95. And yet that feels dated by today.
03:32And yet there will always be these adaptations. But we can go back to the source material
03:35and find something new. We've had Jane Austen adaptations where the characters, where the
03:39ethnicities have changed or the languages have changed. And they've done it with Charles
03:43Dickens as well. So there's something eminently relatable and updatable about it.
03:48Yeah. And it's just, you root for the characters. I love a romantic story. I'm a bit cheesy
03:55like that. I want, by the end of a film, I want to feel good by the end of it, generally.
04:00You know, working in journalism every day, it can be quite intense. So when I watch this,
04:04it's like, ah, a nice love story. It's great that they ended up together. Gives you hope.
04:10You know, those kind of things. And yeah, I don't know, I guess maybe the way it was
04:14shot as well, if we want to go into that, I mean, it was very nicely shot. The scene
04:18at the end where it's like really early morning and, you know, in fact, this shot near the
04:24very end and it's all very dramatic and like it's dawn. It's like, oh, they're going to
04:28end up together. And it's just, yeah, love it. Drama.
04:31From a journalism point of view, we had it when Sophia was on the programme a year ago
04:36and she chose to holiday. There's something in this, isn't there, about a job that can
04:42be on a day-to-day basis. I suppose you never know what's around the corner, what you're
04:46going to be looking at. But that sort of wider goal of life and the excitement and the sort
04:52of life goals and who will work out with whom and when will it happen. And Jane Austen preceded
04:57video journalism by a few centuries. But there is something in there, isn't there, about
05:03there's something that matters to all and it matters to us as much today as it did way
05:07back in her era.
05:09Yeah, I think so. Very much so. And yeah, as a woman, you know, growing up, I think
05:17it kind of offered that kind of, you know, you don't need a man or whoever you like,
05:24but you can and you can be happy and you can have everything if you really want.
05:28But also for me, because as a male studying Jane Austen, I loved it. I completely bought
05:33into that universe and read all of the novels. And I think there's something in there because
05:39it's interesting that she is almost as though what she was writing, what, 18th century,
05:44she sort of really got to the heart of the human condition and we haven't changed that
05:48much.
05:50No, we all want to be loved and we all want it to be big. But also the small moments,
06:00you know, I guess, yeah, it just gives you an appreciation for that side of humanity,
06:05which I like.
06:06Fantastic. Well, it is time now to move on to your second chosen film. And you've gone
06:10for Mulan.
06:11Yes.
06:12Now, I saw this at the cinema in, well, this would have been very late 90s.
06:17Yes, it was indeed. Yeah, again, very pivotal growing up, you know, I'm clearly going for
06:25a theme here, an independent woman doing stuff, you know, she's getting it done. Yeah, the
06:31music, love it. Again, sisters influence, they know every single word to the songs.
06:38I'm like not that dedicated. I love the film, but I just don't know the words. But yeah,
06:42very influential. I love Disney, but this particular story, there was just everything
06:47that I wanted in it. And yeah, it's just a great story.
06:51And do you think that the, I mean, because there's always something about Disney films,
06:55you know, this is an animated version and that there may be some historical, you know,
07:00background here, which has obviously been modified, etc. But do you find that the way
07:04into this story was through the use of animation? Accessible, because I think you watched this
07:11as a child, is that right?
07:13Yeah, definitely. I think so. Yeah. And it kind of, it's like trying to tell history
07:19in a story in a relatable way, which I love seeing. And yeah, I think it does that very
07:24well because I guess that's what music, I mean, young people growing up, children, they
07:28love music, they love singing, and it captures that message and her emotions and everyone's
07:33emotions in it. And I thought, you know, it teaches really good values for someone that's
07:38really young, you know, the importance of family, the importance of, you know, sacrifice,
07:45dedication, those kind of things.
07:47But similar to what we were saying about Jane Austen, because here you've got the interplay
07:53between different cultural configurations, you know, that can you get as much out of
07:58this growing up in the UK? You know, what is the hook in all of this? Is it because
08:05this is not in itself without its particular sort of geographical sort of roots, but there's
08:13something that transcends that. So talk me through that.
08:16Yeah. And I think that's the case with lots of Disney stories, that ultimately there is
08:21just an underlying story that everyone can relate to. You can boil it down to, you know,
08:28this woman is independent and she loves her family. And when she's a bit goofy, you know,
08:35gets things wrong. You know, there's funny elements to it, humour, but also it's serious.
08:42There's a love story again, which I like. As a child, I mean, clearly I love love. But
08:47yeah, it just it has all of the ingredients to the recipe, I guess.
08:53Is there a template, though, in this? I mean, in watching this, I mean, I don't know if
08:56you've got something different out of it if you've watched this as an adult to when you
09:00first saw it. Are those expectations still there? You know, do you sort of watch it and
09:05think, yeah, you know, the journey is still carrying on? Or do you sort of see this through
09:09the lens of the child that you were when you first saw this?
09:12I guess I guess with a lot of films like this, I watch it when a child and then when I watch
09:17it as an adult, there are things that I miss. Like, you know, there are some jokes in there
09:20that I didn't realise that I can't name one, but I know that I felt it, you know, and a
09:26real appreciation for different things. So I guess as a child, the humour, the dragon,
09:33the I don't know, I guess it is it is just relatable, you know, and she was really cool.
09:39And I was like, I want to be her.
09:41Because we grow up with films, but the films grow up with us. And I sometimes feel in a
09:45way that it's almost like the films, though, made in a particular time, that there's almost
09:50something in in in a really good film that you can always go back to. And as you say,
09:56you get something different out of it each time.
09:58Yeah, I think so. And ultimately, there's a happy ending, you know, which is which is
10:03lovely. And, you know, I can I can watch films that, you know, end in a sad way. But I do
10:09like happy ending.
10:10But as a journalist, is that something that belongs in the filmic universe or can that
10:16seep into everything else? Because there is, I remember, certainly in the 90s, that big
10:20debate about, you know, should should is there as much a place for good news as there is
10:24for bad news in in media?
10:28And yet, you know, you can deal with horrible stuff. Yeah. But this is the thing to look
10:34up to. You never lose sight of it. Is that what role does a film like this play for you
10:39as a journalist?
10:40Yeah, I think there are moments of, you know, educating someone about a different culture,
10:46firstly. And then there are serious moments. The scary as a child, there are scary moments
10:52because, you know, the avalanche and the attacks and the war, you know, war. So there are lots
10:57of elements of that. But I don't see why at the end of the day, something can't make you
11:02feel good. There are things that you need to know about and you need to feel informed
11:07about, which is, you know, in my job, I feel very passionately that everyone should have
11:11all the information they want. But it can be a lot. And I think there's place for good.
11:15I think you can usually find a good story within a bad story eventually, because if
11:20something bad happens, people come together and try to make it good. I mean, there's always
11:24a positive. I'm maybe I'm that kind of person, but there's always a positive in there somewhere.
11:28Yes, there's tragedy. But if it's just sad all the time, we'd be miserable.
11:32Brilliant. Well, that's about all the time we have for this first half of the show. However,
11:36before we go to the break, we have a Kent film trivia question for you at home. Which
11:41war film utilised an Ashford location within its filming? Was it A, The Monuments Men,
11:47B, Dunkirk, or C, 1917? We'll reveal the answer right after this break. Don't go away.
12:06Hello and welcome back to Kent Film Club. Just before that ad break, we asked you at
12:10home a Kent film trivia question. Which war film utilised an Ashford location within its
12:16filming? I asked, was it A, The Monuments Men, B, Dunkirk, or C, 1917? And now I can
12:23reveal to you that the answer was, in fact, A, The Monuments Men. The production visited
12:28a farm in High Holden in Ashford, where they filmed establishing shots of the farmland.
12:35Did you get the answer right? Well, it is time now, Isabel, to move on to your next
12:39chosen film. And you have gone for The Proposal. Yes, another rom-com. Yes, and I watched this
12:50again recently. I said earlier in the show that there aren't many films that I would
12:54watch again. I would watch this again as well. Pride and Prejudice, then The Proposal. Just,
12:58that would be a great day if I watched them both. How many times do you think you have
13:01watched The Proposal? Several. I don't think it's double digits yet, but yeah, no.
13:09I love this film. And was this a big screen? Was it a small screen? Have you watched it
13:14in multiple formats? Oh, so this would have been small screen. But yeah, because, what
13:19was it, 2009, this one? So I still would have been a little bit young to watch it. But,
13:24you know, growing up, I watched it again and again and again. You know, it evolved in meaning
13:29for me. And yeah, it was just funny as well that I chose this because I was also proposed
13:33to recently. So I thought this would be an interesting... Well, the obvious answer is
13:38congratulations. But of course, I don't know. And you haven't given away what your answer
13:42was. But tell me, but you can either tell me as much or as little as you want to, but
13:46through the lens of this film. Because what happens and how does it relate to you? So,
13:51I mean, generally the story growing up, I loved Sandra Bullock in this film and I loved
13:57Ryan Reynolds. I mean, I think Ryan Reynolds just planted the seed of sarcasm in me that
14:04is still here to this day and grows in me. And Sandra Bullock, you know, she's the boss.
14:09And I just, yeah, I love her in it. They're both really funny. I think they had great
14:13chemistry. There were really like few moments that you can really laugh at and it's feel
14:17good. And obviously, I think similar with other films, it was funny. But then when I
14:22grew up, it had meaning, especially the bit at the end where, because they propose, well,
14:27she proposes to him because she's from Canada and she wanted to stay in America. Obviously,
14:32it wasn't for the best reasons to start off with. But yeah, it was just those scenes of,
14:36because I'm having to do that interview scene and it was just really funny. I don't think
14:41I'll be asked the same questions and I definitely know what my partner does for a living and
14:45his favourite colour, I think. But yeah, it's just re-watching it since I've been proposed
14:50to, it's given a new meaning. I just think it's really funny.
14:52Oh, that's amazing. And I love the fact that this is a film that preceded your proposal.
15:00And yet, now that you have been proposed to, and now I'm getting the vibe I'm getting,
15:03I can properly say congratulations. Because you might have said, I was proposed to, but
15:07we're not going down that path. But it obviously sounds like what happened in the film actually
15:11is giving you a life lesson.
15:14Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think just the way that they interact with each other, I think
15:21it can be light-hearted. You can poke fun at someone without being mean. It's just,
15:28you need to remember to have fun, as a person and as a couple. So yeah, I think that's about
15:35it.
15:36Isn't that the thing though, on a previous episode we had planes, trains and automobiles,
15:41the mismatched pair who end up finding they have a lot in common. But isn't that the way
15:46sometimes that you find somebody maybe completely, maybe wrongly suited to you, but they end
15:53up being the perfect match?
15:55Yeah, and they knew each other for years before the proposal actually happened. And then it
16:00only took them a weekend, I don't know whether this quite relates to how it would go in real
16:05life, to realise, I guess all of that three year history came to this weekend and they
16:10clearly just realised that they loved each other. Even though she was really horrible
16:14to him as a boss, but really I think they just grew an understanding of each other.
16:18You know that old adage about whether life could really be like the movies? It sounds
16:22like in your case that you really believe in that. And you're not the first journalist
16:27at KMTV who has chosen similar kind of films, you know, rom-coms, where love is actually
16:34kind of the objective, the goal, which may not be what the day-to-day job sort of entails,
16:39but there's something beyond that which is transcendent. And it sounds as though this
16:44has huge meaning for you.
16:45Yeah, and I don't think she even especially needed, well maybe she needed love, but it
16:52wasn't the main part of her life. Her job was, her career and her ambition was. And
16:57I think growing up that was quite important. I guess maybe subconsciously, choosing these
17:02films I didn't realise they were all subconsciously like really good female role models, but it's
17:06just clearly what I've gravitated towards. And yeah, someone that I'd be like, I'd like
17:11to be like her, you know?
17:13So do you kind of feel that, you know that whole thing about role models in film, do
17:17you kind of feel that in your life you are able, maybe even now, to sort of look at this
17:22film and say yeah, this, you know, never lose sight of those goals. Because I think that
17:27what you said is very true, that the film ends and sometimes our lives often don't align
17:33in a way that maybe we should perhaps be more careful to ensure that they do.
17:38Yeah, I think so. And you know, it's not like, I mean I have chosen ones where the couple
17:43ends up together, but it's not the main reason. I liked that it's not the main reason. It's
17:47just like a result of, which I like, you know, everyone deserves their person if they want
17:53one kind of thing. And this, you know, gives, I think it's also mindset. So if it gives
17:58you a positive mindset, then you're going to go out in life and you're going to carry
18:01that mindset with you, which I like and I have clearly done.
18:06Well it is time now to move on to your final chosen film and you've gone for Top Gun Maverick.
18:11Yes.
18:13There is a female role model in this, of course.
18:16Yes, that is important, yes. But I actually chose this because, again, I think maybe this
18:24is how they all link, of how it made me feel by the end of it. And this is the only one
18:28that I went to the cinema to watch and I came out thinking, wow, I've never felt this way
18:33about a film before because I felt so immersed in the adventure. And I do really like adventure
18:38films. I mean, I love rom-coms, they're my number one. And there is a bit of romance
18:42in this, to be fair.
18:43Totally is.
18:44Yeah, and the original. But I picked the latest version of it because, yeah, it's just the
18:49way they took you through their plan and then you lived it. And I felt like I really did
18:55live it and they captured how they felt. And, you know, I don't like planes, but it was
19:00just, yeah, immersive. And I loved that.
19:03It's Jennifer Connelly, isn't it, in this version? And she's in Old Flame, is that right?
19:08And they unexpectedly meet up at the aerodrome as a military base.
19:12Yeah, at the bar. And, you know, yeah, I like the back and forth. And again, she's pretty
19:17strong-willed. She wasn't like, oh, my gosh, I've missed you. She's like, ugh, you know,
19:23I think he had to pay some sort of fine for doing something in the bar. But yeah, and
19:31he couldn't, so he got kicked out. You know, she's, yeah, I want to be her too. All of
19:36these different women and people, they're all just kind of making pieces of me.
19:40No, but that matters because we've had Indiana Jones as a choice of some of our guests before
19:45and female guests choosing Indiana Jones as their role model. But here, it's interesting
19:51that of course, you know, although Tom Cruise's character, Maverick, is essential to this
19:56film, there's a lot that's going on there that actually, as you say, really well put
19:59actually, there's like all the different pieces come together. And of course, you need all
20:02those ingredients because he wouldn't be whole without, in this case, the Jennifer
20:07Connelly character.
20:08Yeah, and the people in his life. I also appreciated this film because I thought it was good male
20:14role models as well. I thought there was a kind of unity of the team. Yeah, there was
20:19always that person who's like, oh, he's a jerk, you know, kind of thing. But eventually,
20:25they come together at the end. They can live with each other and their personalities. I
20:31guess there's a sense of, you know, forgiveness in this film between the main characters and
20:36Tom Cruise. And yeah, I thought they were really strong as well. But yeah, I thought
20:43that was a positive thing as well because as much as I liked the female character, I
20:48also liked every character actually.
20:51Have you seen the original?
20:52Yes.
20:53Yeah, because I oddly didn't see it when it came, well, not when I was only about 13,
20:57but I didn't see it for many years. And actually, I saw it on the big screen here in Kent.
21:01At The View in about 2021. And a few months, I think, before this one came out.
21:07Yeah.
21:08And very much shot in the same kind of style. And so are you familiar with the original?
21:13Yes. Yeah. The same amount of drama, risk. Obviously, this latest one has the son of
21:20Tom Cruise's character's best friend and mate. So yeah, I thought, I think, I don't know.
21:25I did obviously connect with the original one, but maybe because I saw this one in the
21:29cinema and it was just epic, I think that's why I connected to it. But I liked the way
21:35that they continued and actually did mention the past and connected it all. I like that.
21:42What really surprised me is at the very beginning, because he looks so young in this, I honestly
21:46thought, I think it may have been a preview screening, and I honestly thought that they
21:50may have put up the wrong film. They may have put the 1986 original because he looked unchanged
21:56in that.
21:57He's doing great.
21:58I mean, it was almost, you know, it was so, you know, sometimes when you watch a sequel
22:01to a film and you're thinking, oh no, you know, it's almost like it destroys the original
22:05because they've done something different with it. But here it felt, as you say, seamless.
22:09Yeah, I think so. And I think it's always like teaching the importance of having people
22:15in your life that can have your back and working on your own doesn't really work out very well.
22:20Being selfish doesn't work out very well. So thinking of others and thinking of ways
22:24that you can work together to an end goal, I thought was prevalent in both of the films
22:30and that's what I think I enjoyed about them both. But yeah, I thought it was great.
22:36Are there particular scenes as well? You mentioned the bar scene and the fine, but anything that
22:40particularly stands out, any lines, any particular scenes that make you sort of go away and mull
22:44it over?
22:45I mean, the beach scene was fun because it was so serious and then it lightened up. That's
22:51why I liked it. And it was the scene of them, are they going to make it over the mountain
22:57because, you know, it's impossible. And I really liked the way that everyone thought
23:01it was impossible. And then Tom Cruise was like, no, I'm going to just show everyone
23:05that it's totally possible, even though, you know, he doesn't follow the rules. But yeah,
23:08the way that he showed everyone and everyone was like, oh my gosh, wow, he is really as
23:11great as he says he is. It was really impressive. And you're like, well, if he can do it, then
23:15they need to work as a team to achieve it together. And they did. And then they made
23:20it around the mountain. But then, you know, the enemy was alerted. Yeah, it's all very
23:24dramatic. But that whole scene of the plane going where it needed to go, they made it.
23:28Brilliant. Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. But before we go,
23:32if you live in Kent and want the chance to share four films of your choice, reach out
23:36to us at KMTV and you might be invited in to be my next guest. But for now, many thanks
23:41to Isabel Miller for joining us and being such a brilliant guest. And many thanks to
23:45you all for tuning in. Until next time, that's all from us. Goodbye.