A SUPERNOVA in the Lakes
How a powerful new film turned a moody Lake District into the perfect backdrop…
YOU’LL OFTEN HEAR of movie stars being difficult to work with; stubborn, moody, even hostile. But in new movie Supernova, it wasn’t the human actors who caused the aggro. It was the Lake District.
“We had very nice weather the day we arrived,” says Oscar-nominated cinematographer Dick Pope. “Then on the second morning it rained, and it rained non-stop for six weeks. I’ve never seen rain like it.”
Cue six weeks of filming in cloud and mizzle, cameras getting saturated and cars sliding off hillside lanes – punctuated by the occasional break in which the scenery revealed itself in all its glory.
But as it turns out, the unruly behaviour of the Lake District and its weather has worked out just fine, because it perfectly reflects the emotional storm going on in the film.
Supernova is a powerful and moving story about a couple (pianist Colin Firth and writer Stanley Tucci) who take a road trip to the Lakes to reconnect with family and friends as they face the heartbreaking truth that Tucci’s character has young-onset dementia. It’s a film full of sadness and anguish, warmth and compassion, and the changing conditions suit the story perfectly.
“There were plenty of times when we didn’t want the sun; we wanted it to be foreboding, bleak and brutal, and it was all of that,” says
Dick. “But it was fascinating to watch it change. From grey and threatening to beautiful sunshine; cloud shadows skimming across the walls of a valley, light picking out farmhouses. In terms of technical film-making it was a nightmare, but from a storytelling point of view, it was perfect.”
Supernova was written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Harry Macqueen, and was inspired by his encounters with two people who were diagnosed with young-onset dementia. The story explores the condition in an unflinching way, examining its effects on relationships and the questions it provokes around end-of-life choices.
Throughout the film, the brooding background is contrasted with the cosy intimacy inside Firth and Tucci’s campervan as it trundles around the fells.
From the outset, Harry knew where he wanted to set the story.
“I know the Lake District very well as my uncle lives there, and I knew that its scope and scale would provide the right background,” he explains.
“I wrote scenes with specific places in mind, and just hoped the location team would be able to make those places work. And they did.” Lakes fans will enjoy spotting places they know throughout the film. Key scenes happen on the
Honister and
Whinlatter
Passes, and an isolated holiday cottage called The Dash, near the Whitewater Dash waterfall on the northern flanks of Skiddaw – is a key location.
There’s also a beautiful scene on the shore of Crummock Water, filmed on one of the rare days in which the area showed off its best self.
“It was originally meant to be Ennerdale Water,” says Harry. “But the little beach we wanted was being used by a team of scientists who had given their whole lives to studying a particular kind of rare mussel and this was their one big chance to study it, so we had to move the whole location.
Thankfully I think Crummock worked even better.” “We got musselled out,” quips Dick.
“I haven’t eaten a mussel since. But when the sun broke out, that was the day I really understood all the fuss about the Lake District.”
He wasn’t the only one. New York native Stanley Tucci was blown away, too.
“I have to say I was in awe,” he explains.
“I’d never been before and it wasn’t the kind of landscape I associated with England. It was a revelation to me.”
Colin Firth was just as bewitched: “There’s a particular vibe to the Lake District that we all felt. We were all tuned to the same frequency. It never felt like a day at the office.”
The film was shot pre-Covid, but Harry went back to the Lakes late last autumn during the break in lockdowns, just to enjoy it on its own terms. “The Lakes behaved that day,” he says.
“I climbed Hay Stacks. It had snowed the night before but there was beautiful sunshine all around so it looked fantastic. I sent Dick a photo saying, ‘this is what it’s meant to look like’.”
“It looked incredible,” agrees Dick.
“I think we should go back and do a sequel in deep winter. Supernova Reloaded.”
The freshwater pearl mussel; Ennerdale Water is one of a select few UK sites where it thrives.
Supernova goes on general release on June 25th and is well worth watching, as much for the powerful story as the magnificent photography. The Dash, where the lead characters stay, is available for holiday hire; see thedash.co.uk