Less than a year after “I Swear” helped explain the complexities of Tourette’s Syndrome on the big screen, “Onwards and Sideways” is looking to do the same for Parkinson’s Disease. From director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) and written by Paul Mayhew-Archer (who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2011), the film — released in U.K. cinemas on Friday — stars Welsh screen legend Rhys Ifans as Tony, a much-loved and deeply caring primary school teacher who is calmly told by a doctor he has “five good years” left before Parkinson’s takes over his life. At almost the same time and at the same clinic, musician Emma (Laura Linney) is given the same diagnoses, and the story follows the journey of the pair as they try to manage and come to terms with a disease that, as they’re both painfully aware, is only going to get worse.
Like “I Swear” before it, “Onwards and Sideways” is a film that’s deeply moving, at times upsetting to watch but frequently funny, and also one that brings to light various aspects of an incurable disorder that most viewers probably knew very little about. As it shows, among the various side-effects of the drugs used to help manage Parkinson’s is compulsive spending and gambling. For Ifans, known for playing Hugh Grant’s raucous housemate in “Notting Hill,” but also for “Mr Nice,” “Not Only But Always” (which saw him win a BAFTA TV award for playing Peter Cook) and numerous other screen and stage roles over a career spanning 30 years, the film — and working so closely with the “heaven-sent” Linney — was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
But, as he explains to Variety, it was also one that came with a deep responsibility to accurately portray a disease that people around the world live with each day. From “consuming everything” he could about the neurological disorder to attending a dance class with sufferers, Ifans details how he learned to “wear the Parkinson’s costume.” As an actor, it’s the perfect list: tender, dark, funny, moving, complicated and nuanced. I always respond well to anything where laughter and tears are often dancing together.
We were representing a vast worldwide demographic of people who live with Parkinson’s day by day, and will live with it for the rest of their lives. It’s something that won’t get better — it evolves. So there was no question that we had to do everything in our power to make the portrayal as authentic, real and tangible as possible.
Laura and I both went to great lengths, consuming everything we could about Parkinson’s. There’s a wonderful podcast called “Movers and Shakers,” which our writer, Paul Mayhew-Archer, is part of. I devoured their entire back catalogue, driving the length and breadth of England and Wales while listening to the experiences of people living with Parkinson’s.
I learned about everything, from how to get dressed to coping with sleep, and all the little details in between. On the physical side, our director John Madden brought in two wonderful women, Laura and Anna, from a group called Neuro Heroes. They’re neurophysiotherapists who work closely with the Parkinson’s community and people with other neurological conditions, helping them understand their bodies and the importance of exercise.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
