Interview with creative team behind Before We Die

An interview with the creative team of Before We Die

Conversation with:
Jo McGrath (Exec Producer and CCO / Founder of Eagle Eye Drama)
Walter Iuzzolino (Exec Producer and Founder of Eagle Eye Drama)
Jan Matthys (Director)

1. Why Before We Die? And why now?
   
   Jo: As the founders of Walter Presents, we have been bringing the best of foreign drama to UK and global audiences for the last five years. Our complete focus has been on scouting fantastic stories and discovering hidden gems that deserved the attention of a big international audience. Before We Die was one of the most compelling and distinctive premises we had ever come across, and we knew the moment we heard the pitch that this had potential to become a global hit way beyond Sweden, its country of origin.
   
   Jan: I watched the Swedish series before I was asked to direct the British adaptation. I also knew Walter from Walter Presents and I knew his taste palette and his eye for good drama. For us in Europe, Walter is the curator who brought European drama to the UK – so I was intrigued by the fact that he now wanted to adapt a Nordic series and turn it into a British show. I was also interested to see how the adaptation would be developed, so even before the creative dialogue started, I was incredibly interested in the synergies behind the idea. When I read the script, I found all the answers I had been seeking and the choice became an obvious one for me. Jo and Walter’s vision for the story and how it could be adapted completely resonated with me – they adapted and developed the story by stepping away from the certain tropes and embracing a much more nuanced and set of editorial values.
   
   Walter: I’ve been the curator of Walter Presents for a long time and that has allowed me to develop a really detailed overview of the best stories and scripted series from around the world – the concepts that work for millions of people in their country of origin but also the ones that have potential to travel way beyond that. It is rare to encounter a piece which is so universal in its essence that it could easily be adapted into any place, and almost any historical concept. Before We Die was one of these rare gems, and I fell in love with it the moment I heard the premise. The reason why I found the concept so intriguing is its blend of genres. The grammar and architecture of the story is that of a nail-biting crime thriller, but the actual content is a deeply emotional, psychological family drama etching out the dramatic conflict between a mother and a son.
    

2. Tell us about Before We Die, what is it about?
   
   Jo: At its heart, Before We Die is a story about a mother and son. The mother makes a difficult moral decision – she’s a cop. Her son is on a tricky path and she decides to give him a wake-up call and to have him arrested. That has huge implications for the rest of their relationship, which is now broken. At the start of the series, destiny brings them together again and they are now forced to work together – and through that they work out a way to try and heal their relationship.  One of the key themes is family love and the ties that bind mother and son – which is beautifully juxtaposed with the crime family who have a lot of immoral practices going on, yet they have a very closely knit family unit. I think that is the heart of this story - the conflicts in both families.
   
   Jan: What I also like about it as a viewer is the fact that you know more than the actual characters do. You’re always one step ahead. You’re on the edge of your sofa and that was clear for me when reading the scripts. I love family drama. This is not a typical police procedural show as it doesn’t involve a different case per episode. Our main characters are the case, it is all about them and their story plays out across all six episodes. This made it irresistible for me as a director. I remember telling my agent a few years ago ‘no more police dramas please’…but as this one was not procedural, I was instantly drawn to it.
   
   Jo: The story itself is incredibly emotional as well as being incredibly dramatic. It is full of OMG moments. You will gasp, but you will also be truly moved.
    

3. So how does this British adaptation differ from the original Swedish series that viewers can watch on Walter Presents on All 4?
   
   Jo: The Swedish version is fantastic. We wouldn’t be remaking it if it wasn’t so great. We are obviously paying homage to it. The Swedish version however did have a lot of sub-plots which are not necessarily relevant to a broader English audience.
   
   Jan: Stylistically, I was intrigued again by the thought of making it less dark and Scandi, but a little bit more stylised and cinematic, which is more my cup of tea. I’m not one who loves to take my camera over my shoulder all the time. We are telling the story from the characters’ point of view and most of the time it is Hannah’s but sometimes it shifts towards the other characters. This series has more colour and light, and the setting is more vibrant and visually inviting, which I think is an interesting choice because it makes such a contrast to the dark themes that are playing out in the narrative.
   
   Walter: In some ways, it is completely different. It feels like an incredibly British drama routed in Britishness. Adaptation always implies a reimagining which means that very often there are subplots and storylines from Nordic culture that don’t resonate in the UK. In the original concept, half of the story was focussed on a sub-plot about a criminal gang of bikers – which ended up being a red herring in the unfolding of the case. This wouldn’t have made much sense in the UK as biker gangs are a very big thing in the Nordics whilst in the UK they have a different ‘lifestyle’ connotation. So, there was quite a bit of extensive reworking in that sense, but we did follow the main architecture of the storyline when it comes to the drama of mother and son.
   
    
4. The show boasts some fantastic names, what was the casting process like for this series? What stood out for you?
   
   Jo: I absolutely love the casting process; it is one of my favourite bits of production. It started with the lead. I had seen Lesley in theatre not long before and was aware of her body of work. She’s such a brilliant, distinctive actor. When we met her, she had seen the original Swedish series and absolutely loved the potential in Hannah’s role. We hit it off straight away as she was animated by the same passion we had for the concept and its potential – we knew we would have a wonderful time crafting this together.
   
   Her performance in this series is everything we hoped it would be, and more. Patrick Gibson’s performance is absolutely stunning too. He is a relatively new talent but right from the audition he displayed an intoxicating blend of strength and vulnerability which was incredibly important for that character. You live his emotions. Vincent Regan who plays Billy, Toni Gojanović who plays Davor…I could go on! I feel bad highlighting any one performance as it is SUCH a strong ensemble performance from the actors.
   
   Jan: The cast became one lovely group. Praise to Jo and Walter for the casting. There were no egos involved in the cast. Lesley is so pure and emotionally honest as Hannah. If I think of the actors and the way we worked together, nostalgia is already starting to kick in. Everyone felt equal and everyone could have their say. The whole production felt like a proper family, so I hope that comes through in the scenes. The only thing I missed was having a beer with them in the evening!
   
   Walter: It was incredibly exciting. We absolutely were in love with Lesley Sharp from the start. She just was the character. When we first met her, we weren’t prepared for such an overwhelming response from her. She walked into the café where we were due to meet up, and told us there and then that she was utterly in love with the role, and that she felt this was the kind of part that doesn’t come very often to an actor. Before we had even shaken hands, we knew she was one of us – we were truly kindred spirits – we just wanted to work together. I think she understood the essence of the character immediately - on the one hand it is a very sexy ‘action hero’ part, where she needs to be physically tough and ready to strap her bullet proof vest on and grab her gun and shoot - on the other hand it is a highly sophisticated and emotional portrait of a mother. She saw and spotted these incredible opportunities in the role and used them to create something memorable on screen.
    
5. The series was obviously filmed during the Coronavirus pandemic, what were the challenges of filming this series?
   
   Jo: The challenges were huge. As a result, we had to be very fleet of foot and had to change scheduling around a lot and operate very tight COVID-19 protocols whilst filming. It was obviously testing and had negative aspects in that it put a lot of pressure on us all, however it did have a few unexpected benefits. One of these is how the cast and crew gelled together and I guess at the heart of that was trust. Everyone was relying on everyone else to follow the rules. It is all credit to Jan as the leader of the team that we made it through without any major interruptions.
   
   Jan: The most difficult moment for me was rehearsals. Due to the protocols we had to rehearse with masks on. This was really hard for me as a director as I could only see their eyes and hear their voices. In a way, if they could convey everything through their eyes and in their voices alone then very often during the first take without a face mask it was only added value that I got there – so it worked. Sometimes it did take us a little bit more shooting time, but we got used to it after a while.
   
   Walter: I have always believed that a problem can be turned into an opportunity. Putting in place incredibly strong and sophisticated protocols to make sure that everybody was safe and adhering to the rules gave us some unexpected advantages through the ability to bubble. This meant that the bubbles of creatives, actors and heads of departments were able to take themselves out of reality for a few months, living together to keep safe and keep working. They made the sacrifice, but it paid off because the performances were enhanced from all being together and living in this bubble whilst bonding on and off screen. I think this has truly resulted in great performances.

6. The series was filmed in Bristol and Belgium – why was it important for those two locations to be at the centre of the show?
   
   Jo: We wanted to set it in a port city, as that is important to the drug trafficking storyline. We were looking for something a little less familiar and Bristol is one of those cities that actually has been used as a backdrop for filming a lot, but you wouldn’t know it because a lot of series are filmed there but not set there. Bristol is such a visually interesting city and editorially it fitted with our storyline. Belgium also features in our drug trafficking storyline. Jan is Belgian too and we did shoot many of the interiors in Belgium.
   
   Jan: For me, part of the challenge was making Belgium match with the other scenes in Bristol – which was interesting. We became specialists in ‘Anglifying’ Belgium. It was simple things such as putting double yellow lines on the streets which made it instantly Bristol. I love the magic of my craft and this was a good way to bring the series to life.
   
   ​​​​​​​Walter: For me this was all about our ethos as a company. We want to make great British drama - but it has always been our mission to tap into some of the fantastic behind the screen talents from around Europe. Great directors like Jan, visionary DOPs, fantastic costume designers and art directors… a wealth of extraordinary creatives who can bring their vision to our great British stories. To me, it was important to ensure that this would be a great British drama with a great British cast, but the forces behind it would be truly international and bring a different flavour and vision to the screen. As a result, the series feels different and it is infused with the elegance of real cinema. I am very proud of it.

7. What are the main themes in the series? What is the central theme that brings everything together?
   
   Jo: We might have different interpretations of this, but there are many universal themes in the show. For me, the nature of loyalty when it comes to family and friends is a key theme. It is also about love, lust and betrayal. At the heart of it is the possibility of redemption. That is what brings it all together.
   
   Jan: One of the key themes for me is unconditional love. The mother and son – there’s something so special and unique there. Whatever happens, this is for eternity – and it is an important one. Redemption and reconciliation is another important ones for me. I love to bring these themes into the drama. You don’t often have the chance to explore these themes.
   
   Walter: I would say the central theme is to mend a broken family, acceptance and overcoming intolerance. I think that it is about the force of familiar love to overcome the dramas of life. In a way, emotion comes before the action thriller and then action thriller is the architecture around which this emotion is displayed.
    
8. Finally, what do you want viewers to take away from the series?
   
   Jo: First and foremost, I want them to be entertained. It is the sort of thriller that will keep you guessing right until the end. It is nail-biting. There are lots of twists and turns and many OMG moments. For me, it is a story that stays with you. This is going to stay with me.
   
   Jan: I hope that it is nail-biting and really entertaining for viewers.
   
   Walter: I want them to be moved and riveted. In my mind, this is the kind of thriller that makes you think about the complexity of human relationship within a family nucleus. The notion of how far a mother’s love can go is the most interesting pillar, that is what the show said to me. I am Italian, I love a family and I love a mother and son story - this was the biggest point of interest for me.