Birdsong (BBC)...

"Sebastian Faulks' epic love story set against the First World War, which became a modern classic when it was published in 1993, has been adapted for the screen, for the first time by Abi Morgan.

The action of the two part movie, moves between 1910 and 1916, telling the story of Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman who arrives in Amiens in Northern France to stay with the Azaire family and falls desperately in love with Isabelle Azaire. They begin an illicit and all consuming affair, but the relationship falters. Years later, Stephen finds himself serving on the Western Front in the very area where he experienced his great love. As he battles amidst the blood and gore of the trenches he meets Jack Firebrace, a tunneller who unexpectedly helps him endure the ravages of war and enables him to make peace with his feelings for Isabelle."

Interview with Clémence Poésy, who plays Isabelle-

“You can’t make anything good with too much pressure,” suggests Clémence on taking on the role of Isabelle. “Everyone has their own idea of who these characters are and if you are worrying about what it should be, you’ll never make it what it could be.” The French actress Clémence hadn’t read Birdsong before she met director Phillip Martin, but when she did she fell in love with the story of Stephen Wraysford and Isabelle Azaire. -“Birdsong isn’t as big in France as it is in England, but when I spoke to my English friends about the book I found that they were completely obsessed by it. I had no idea it was such a modern classic, so when I read it myself I thought, oh my god!”-“It’s a brilliant story about love, passion, life at its peak and then death. I think it explores such extremes and describes them beautifully and so truthfully. The characters are very modern and you don’t really realise that you’re in a period drama. That’s what we tried to get across when filming.”Although Isabelle eventually leaves Stephen, when they meet there is an incredible connection between the two characters.“There is a great sense of freedom that this passion brings to her life. Like Stephen, it’s probably the first time Isabelle has had any connection with anyone, as her life with her husband is quite miserable. I think women have that thing at some point in their life that makes them feel like a woman and this is Isabelle’s moment for that. “I have huge respect for Isabelle. I really loved how that passion makes her free. She’s not just someone’s wife or someone’s lover, she’s her own person and she leaves both her husband and her lover. When I saw how my girlfriends were talking about her I knew that I had to be true to that, because that is probably what touched them the most.”

A lot of First World War literature focuses on the huge change that society goes through as a result of the war. In Birdsong Stephen and Isabelle are not only changed by the war, but they are also transformed by meeting each other.“The people we meet in life and the loves of our life are very, very important in terms of what or who we become. Change when it is right is probably for the best, but I think when Isabelle leaves Stephen she probably goes on to become more depressed than she was before she met him.“I think Stephen is changed in a different way to Isabelle. He is a beautiful character because he is moved by love and by life and he is changed deeply by his experience in the trenches.“Anyone who has gone through that trauma lives with it, so although I think Stephen is changed by Isabelle, he is also made a completely different man by what he has seen. He has witnessed people dying and he has watched what men can do to each other. It is seeing how love can help and hatred can destroy.”Stephen and Isabelle have an amazing chemistry and Eddie and Clémence bring this chemistry to life on screen.“What was great about Eddie is that he didn’t avoid the subject of the love scenes - we always felt we could talk to each other about them. Being completely scared before a scene is good though. It means that it isn’t just a regular sex scene that you have in other films; I felt that we were more ourselves. Philip insisted on spending a proper amount of time on the scenes and he stopped directing us at points, which was terrifying, hopefully they are okay though.“I suppose filming the scenes with Eddie made the job a bit easier, but it still wasn’t easy. Eddie makes everyone feel really special though. He’s lovely, gentle and genuinely interested in everyone. He’s great -he’s got everything that guy, it’s a bit annoying really.” (Interview from the BBC website).

Birdsong costumes designed by Charlotte Walter...

Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Wraysford and Clemence Poesy as Isabelle Azaire

Clemence Poesy as Isabelle Azaire

The first time Stephen sets eyes on Isabelle, she is dressed in the beautiful blue gown shown above. The embroidered detailing is exquisite and the shades of blue works beautifully paired with the cream under dress. The greek key belt adds a touch of gold to the costume, giving it a feeling of wealth. The colour palette for Isabelle really suits her pale complexion and blonde hair. The shawl (shown left) although muted in colour and print works really well with the pale blue and white of the gown.  The costume is gorgeous- in fact all of Isabelle's costumes are beautiful! 

Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Wraysford and the Birdsong Boys

"We couldn't find enough uniforms in London - and so decided to make them in Poland. Charlotte Walter the costume designer tracked down a company using looms that made exactly the same cloth the original uniforms, and under the watchful eye of the curator of costumes at the Imperial War Museum, Martin Boswell." says director Phillip Martin.

The costuming for Birdsong is exquisite from the gritty, distressed uniforms of the soldiers on the front to the crisp suits and beautiful gowns of pre-war France, Charlotte Walker has done a great job.

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