Interview: Gerard Johnson & Polly Maberly On Odyssey, Film Influences, Continued Importance Of Cinemas & More
To celebrate the release of ODYSSEY, the new film from acclaimed filmmaker Gerard Johnson that is in UK cinemas now, we had the pleasure of chatting to him and his star, Polly Maberly, about this explosive new film set in London.
Gerard Johnson’s gritty urban thriller, Odyssey, amplifies the greed and ruthlessness of the London property market into a cacophony of bloody violence.
READ OUR REVIEW OF THE FILM HERE
Ambitious cocaine and champagne enthusiast Natasha Flynn has grand plans for her beloved estate agency. However, her life starts to unravel due to the vicious vultures circling her success. Struggling with the dry socket aftermath of dental surgery, bullied by volatile sociopaths, and plagued by motivational meme-spouting dickheads, she has no choice but to seek out The Viking, a methodical killing machine from her shadowy past.
The realist approach of Odyssey is engrossing. Somewhere in the netherworld between a fly on the wall documentary and Loachian social commentary, it flirts lovingly with London’s underbelly and cavorts openly with property business stereotypes. Emotional manipulation and mercenary deal closing drive the narrative, and our antiheroine Natasha is just as cold-hearted. Her staff are more sympathetically portrayed, yet the film suggests it’s just a matter of time before they become property parasites.
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Check out our chat below where we discuss poster art, cinemas, the art of black humour, London, shooting on a budget and more:
Odyssey is in UK cinemas now.
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