Growing up, you make so many mistakes...
AS COMING-OF-AGE COMEDY OUR LADIES HITS CINEMAS, DANIELLE DE WOLFE LEARNS MORE ABOUT TEENAGE LOVE, LIFE AND LUST FROM ITS CAST AND DIRECTOR
OUR Ladies is a project some 20 years in the making.
Based on Alan Warner’s critically acclaimed novel The Sopranos and the subsequent theatrical adaptation, director Michael Caton-Jones first became aware of the project when he chanced upon it while living in Hollywood.
“I wanted to make films that were reflective of what I grew up with,” says Michael, 63, who also directed Rob Roy and Basic Instinct 2.
“I found Alan Warner’s manuscript and thought it was absolutely magnificent. I thought, ‘I have to make this!’ It was about my childhood, it was about my big sister, about her mates, it was a love letter to everything I grew up with, everything I know.”
A timeless tale that’s just as relevant to the youth of today as it was when it was penned in 1998, it stands as testament to the unchanging obstacles of teenage life.
“I’d heard of the play years before – I think it was when it was at The Fringe, because I’m from Edinburgh,” says Our Ladies actress Tallulah Greive, 23, best known for her roles in Channel 5 thriller Penance and forthcoming Amazon Original Movie Cinderella.
“This is the best script that I’ve read about young Scottish women for such a long time. You read so many scripts about teenage girls and I just felt there was something realistic in the way that they related to each other, the way that they spoke. Sometimes they’re casually cruel to each other as well, which is a very specific teenage thing.”
Set in the 1990s and centred around a group of small-town Catholic schoolgirls from the Scottish Highlands, Our Ladies sees the friends handed an opportunity to rebel on a visit to the bright lights of Edinburgh, as the girls compete in a school choir competition.
Stepping into the shoes of Orla, a schoolgirl whose sole aim is to purchase a pair of thigh-high boots following the news that she’s now cancer-free, Tallulah stars alongside Fearless actress Eve Austin, who plays Kay, a head girl attempting to shake off her good girl image.
“We were listening to the Olivia Rodrigo album Sour the other day,” says Tallulah, nodding to her costar-turned-flatmate Eve, who is sitting beside her.
“You have all these teenage girls now that are writing about their experiences authentically – and that’s really nice as I feel teenage girls should be taken seriously.”
“I think when you’re young, those feelings that you have are possibly some of the most real things that you ever feel,” agrees Eve.
“And it’s not seen as such, because you’re young. So, when you have a crush on a boy or you get into a first relationship, it’s like, ‘Oh, she’s only a kid, it doesn’t matter’. And actually that stuff carries you through for the rest of your life – you never forget those feelings and those experiences.”
Highlighting the lifestyle changes experienced by teenagers since the source material’s publication, Tallulah reflects on the book’s depiction of a bygone era involving the trawling of magazines for make-up “tips and tricks”. “You’re not sitting there with YouTube tutorials, like ‘Here’s how you do the perfect smoky eye’,” says the actress.
Describing the film’s ‘90s wardrobe as “so much fun”, she reveals that she “took a few things” at the end of the shoot “with permission, obviously”.
“There’s the boots, the headscarf, a little necklace, and a little ring. But the headscarf was such a massive thing for me – there must have been about 50 by the end,” says the actress, reflecting on the significance of the scarf given her character’s recent battle with cancer.
“People were bringing in different headscarves from home; we had someone in the crew that had quite a similar experience to Orla when she was a teenager, so she actually brought in some of hers and taught me how to tie it and stuff.”
Also featuring Tin Star actress Abigail Lawrie, Artemis Fowl’s Sally Messham, Ready Player One actress Rona Morison and Alex Rider star Marli Siu, Our Ladies certainly captures the fervent excitement and naivety that accompanies a teenage adventure.
Describing the vibrant energy of the movie’s “bolshy” and “unashamed” characters, Sally explains that the film is simply “six women and their story”, and that “the male counterparts are their love interests, rather than it being the other way around, which is what I’ve always experienced”.
It’s a view seconded by Rona, who reflects on the film’s relatability.
“Growing up, you make so many mistakes – it’s a horrible time being a teenager. You’re trying to work out who you are, where you fit in,” explains the actress.
“I remember going through such a weird time when I was 15 or 16, comparing myself to other people that had b**bs, or had hips, or boyfriends, girlfriends, and I think the good thing about the film is the girls make mistakes.”
Our Ladies is in cinemas now