'A great film can make you feel less alone': Director Andrew Haigh talks lockdown and loneliness

Andrew Haigh discusses his fascination with loneliness, and leaning into the feeling during lockdown
Yorkshire-born director Andrew Haigh
The Agency
George Fenwick30 April 2020

Over four feature films and two TV shows, Yorkshire-born director Andrew Haigh has made a study of human isolation.

Whether his characters are facing literal solitude, or perhaps feeling unseen in a relationship, Haigh’s stories have tenderly captured the pain and fortitude that comes with loneliness, and the inherent need for human connection that drives us all.

In Weekend, it was two lonely souls finding connection; in 45 Years, it was a woman finding herself more alone than ever, as her long-standing marriage was thrown into question.

Human connection is currently in rare supply, but we’re all looking for ways to find it during lockdown - and for many, that involves consuming film and television. Who better to speak to right now than the director?

Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years (Curzon Artificial Eye)

Here, Haigh discusses his fascination with loneliness, whether society equips us to talk about it, and how he’s spending his time in lockdown...

Why does loneliness interest you in storytelling?

I don’t go into a project with the intention of exploring loneliness, but it inevitably becomes a theme. It’s certainly true that all my characters are driven by a fear of being alone, and I’m fascinated by how that drives us. We are all desperate to be accepted and understood not only by those close to us, but by the world at large.

I think most of us try to ignore it and I understand why. It can be overwhelming to confront how alone we may feel. It’s easier to fill our lives with distractions which is not necessarily a bad thing either.

It’s interesting because loneliness is a ubiquitous and common feeling, but it can still feel quite taboo to talk about openly.

We are told over and over again to be happy. We are told that happiness is attainable if we work hard or find the right person or buy the right things. We are made to feel that something is wrong if we can’t be happy. I will say that accepting that happiness is not some sustainable state is probably the best way to find some of it.

Yorkshire-born director Andrew Haigh
The Agency

It’s tempting to tell people to watch movies that take their mind off being alone right now - but I found watching Lean on Pete really comforting, even if I ended up in tears on my sofa. Do you think there’s power in leaning into feelings of isolation?

I’ve always been like that. If I’m feeling miserable I want to listen to music or watch something that burrows directly into that emotion. Crying when you watch a film can be incredibly cathartic. If someone else can express how you are feeling through a song or a film or a book then you feel infinitely less alone.

Sometimes, of course, you just want to escape. One day during this lockdown, I watched Todd Haynes' Safe, which is an extraordinary film about isolation, and then followed it with The First Wives Club directly afterwards and got drunk.

How do you think cinema encourages connection and empathy?

A good film can make you feel less alone. It’s probably as simple as that.

Deep universal feelings that are very hard to articulate can be felt when watching a film. We are always looking to be moved and when a film taps into those shared feelings it is very powerful.

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Another thing that can contribute to breeding loneliness is individualism - the ‘every man for himself’ mentality. Do you think art can play a role in combating that attitude?

Individualism can certainly breed loneliness. Capitalism has put us in constant competition with each other. Art can help this. It can certainly remind us of the things we share as a society and not just those things that pit us against each other. Of course, film is a money-making business and can often be part of the problem rather than the solution.

Your films show that there is no tidy answer or resolution to loneliness - it’s not about finding “The One” and no longer being alone. What kind of journey and payoff interests you?

It is more about tidy resolutions in general. Our lives are continually evolving. Things get better and get worse. Just because you find a partner, for example, it does not mean your struggle is over. If anything, it's just begun.

Tom Cullen and Chris New in Weekend

In Weekend, Russell is an isolated person, but he is open to love and wears his heart on his sleeve. How did you craft that character - where does his desire for connection come from?

For Russell it was a very deep need to be ‘seen’ and understood. He was looking for someone who made him feel valid. His short relationship with Glen showed Russell that he could feel comfortable with himself, comfortable enough to open up to someone else.

Lean on Pete almost feels like a subversion of the Western genre; you have the image of a boy and his horse journeying out alone into a great unknown, but the film examines the reality of that being a scary and isolating experience.

The western genre is about finding freedom, but this was about a boy searching for the opposite. He was looking for protection, to be cared for and cared about. The tragedy of the story was that the world does not care. The goal of any society should be to act like a family. It should be there to support and nurture those in need. You can't even begin to embrace any kind of freedom when you have no safety net.

Charlie Plummer in Lean on Pete
Scott Patrick Green

We’re using digital communication to reach out more than ever. Do you think it’s an effective way to feel less alone?

If we use it well, absolutely, if not, then it can make us feel infinitely worse.

Lastly - how are you spending your time in isolation?

I'm watching hundreds of films - high-brow and low-brow and everything in between. And the West Wing, all seven seasons. It's my third time watching it, but it's my ultimate comfort food.

Haigh's fillms are available to watch via Amazon Video, and Sky Store. His next project is the BBC Two adaptation of The North Water, starring Colin Farrell.

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