Leading Lady (film)

Leading Lady
Directed by Henk Pretorius
Produced by Llewelynn Greeff & Henk Pretorius
Screenplay by Henk Pretorius, Tina Kruger
Starring Katie McGrath
Bok van Blerk
Gil Bellows
Music by Benjamin Willem
Cinematography Trevor Calverley
Edited by Warwick Allan
Production
company
Dark Matter Studios
Distributed by Ster Kinekor Marvista
Release date
  • 29 November 2014 (2014-11-29) (South Africa)
Language

English, Afrikaans

(English subtitles provided)

Leading Lady is a comedy drama motion picture film that was filmed on location in South Africa and released in November 2014. Leading Lady is directed by Henk Pretorius (Fanie Fourie's Labola) and produced by Llewelynn Greeff (Blood & Glory) and Pretorius. Leading Lady is the first feature film that Pretorius and Greeff made together through their film company, Dark Matter Studios. Leading Lady stars Katie McGrath, Bok van Blerk and American actor Gil Bellows as the film's antagonist, Daniel Taylor, a fictional Hollywood movie director.

Plot summary

Leading Lady tells the story of an aspiring British actress, Jodi Rutherford (Katie McGrath), who persuades Kobus Willemse (Bok van Blerk), a farmer from Brandfort, to prepare her for a role in a major film as an Afrikaans war heroine. In return Jodi undertakes to arrange and direct the annual concert at the Willemse farm. Jodi's interaction with the quirky, small-town citizens of Brandfort and the stubborn Kobus teaches her that there is more to life than Hollywood's: lights, camera and action... or is there?

Cast

Distribution

Leading Lady was released to cinema in South Africa in November 2014 and amassed a total of R7.2 million rands at the box office. Shortly after, Leading Lady was released in North America by Marvista and Tomcat Films as distribution agents. While DVD sales in South Africa have amassed a total of over 20 000 units locally, the North American release secured distribution mainly through online streaming platforms, namely Netflix US and Amazon Prime in the USA and Canada territory.

Critical reception

Debashine Thangevelo from IOL writes: "Leading Lady is an infectiously charming tale that, in exploring the cultural clashes of two nationalities, provides oodles of hilarious moments amid dramatic undertones. It’s not trying to be anything more than an unfussy, relatable and entertaining distraction."[1]

A review via the entertainment website Spling writes: "Leading Lady is a captivating and compelling romantic comedy and passion project from Henk Pretorius. From cast to crew, there's an understanding and love for the characters and film, presenting a pleasing story with heart, humour and intrinsic entertainment value. Ultimately, solid performances, steady direction, artful cinematography and a typical-yet-not-so-typical "romcom" script drive an enjoyable and satisfying film."[2]

Mike McCahill from The Guardian writes " Both the blandest of romcoms and a film about film-making that displays zero feel for the way films are made". Also writing "Getting from A to B necessitates countless insipidly scored montages, and while director Henk Pretorius fills the frame with veldt, early glimpses of Big Ben establish the wider lack of ambition. It’s tourist-trap cinema, for gullible eyes only."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "MOVIE REVIEW: Leading Lady - IOL". iol.co.za. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  2. ↑ Spling. "Movie Review Leading Lady - Movie Reviews Trailers - SPLING - Movie Critic - Movie Reviews - Film News - Celeb Interviews". www.spling.co.za. Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  3. ↑ McCahill, Mike (2015-10-08). "Leading Lady review – romcom as tourist trap". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-12-26.
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