Tom Conran with his thoughts on an early screening in Sheffield and Q&A with Shane Meadows, Paddy Considine and Mark Herbert…
Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee (2009).
Directed by Shane Meadows.
Starring Paddy Considine, Dean Palinczuk and Olivia Coleman.
Shane Meadows and Paddy Considine reunite for the first time since Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) in this co –creation of a mocku-mentary style, micro budget, comedy movie. I was lucky enough to be present in the audience at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield for an intimate, early screening of the film before its release into the U.K box office, and not just because my ticket didn’t cost me a penny. Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee was originally intended to be released straight onto DVD but the reaction it received at the Edinburgh Film Festival forced the production team to re-think their strategy. This was explained by Mark Herbert (Producer) who along with Meadows and Considine attended the screening for a Q&A afterwards, adding more glamour to the occasion. More on that later but first to the film itself.
Meadows’ acclaimed films to date are associated with being thought provoking pieces of social realism (This is England 2007, Somers Town 2008). Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee couldn’t possibly be any further away. The story follows the paths of Le Donk (Considine); an eccentric, crude, attention seeking roadie/‘musician manager’ and the oddly named, real life Nottingham rapper Scor-Zay-Zee (Dean Palinczuk) a shy yet talented, aspiring artist. Meadows and Herbert are also ever present in the film, playing themselves. The early stages are mainly focused around the carelessly extravagant Le Donk, including his general views on life (which are quite hilarious) and the complex situation of his own; his ex-girlfriend (Olivia Coleman) is about to give birth to his child but also has a new boyfriend. Apart from one extremely comical moment, Scor-Zay-Zee makes little input initially, mainly because he can’t get a word in next to Le Donk. Although he is generously hyped up by his ‘manager’ we are left in the dark as to Scor-Zay-Zee’s true capabilities as a lyricist.
On the surface, the main agenda of the film concerns Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee’s ambitious attempt to perform in front of thousands as a warm up act for the Arctic Monkeys, who also have a cameo role. As the story progresses, the mock rock-umentary reveals itself to be more of a character study on the complex personality of Le Donk. Le Donk is clearly jealous of his talented side kick, speaking over Scor-Zay-Zee in rehearsals with readings of random names (such as Worzel Gummidge) which although very funny are completely pointless. Le Donk continuously draws attention to himself and it becomes evident that he is holding Scor-Zay-Zee back. Despite protesting his significance, the film crew wonders what purpose Le Donk actually holds in the ‘double act’. I would stress to the reader not to be frightened off by descriptions such as ‘character study’ the film never feels like a deep exploration of inner demons and even the rare emotional moments are extremely amusing. Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee is silly, fun and fast paced, a tempo that is undoubtedly a result of the speed of its production (it was shot in five days).
The Q&A after the screening was just as entertaining as the film itself; the three men clearly share a common bond and comical perspective which is refreshing to see in modern cinema. Mark Herbert revealed that much of the production side of Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee was last minute and spontaneous; performing on stage before the Arctic Monkeys at a real life gig was not confirmed until very late on. Despite being quite ridiculous at times, the moderate authenticity of the production helps the film seem more believable; Olivia Coleman was actually pregnant during the filming and the baby used for the birth was actually her own. I say moderately authentic because the baby that had apparently just arrived was actually nine months old in real life, rather than being a hindrance, it’s exaggerations like this that enhance the films comedic value.
In my review of Somers Town I mentioned that the montage technique was an ever present device in the work of Shane Meadows, and low and behold it appeared numerously in Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee. After the Q&A in Sheffield I spoke with Shane Meadows himself and asked him why he used the montage technique so frequently. A down to earth and friendly man, his response was honest and humorous “In my early films, if things turned out crap I used it to cover up mistakes” – basically to paper over the cracks, not the answer I was expecting. At one point in the Q&A Paddy Considine stated “We wanted to have some fun, to do a film that we found funny, and didn’t care if other people liked it or not”. I can say safely say that most people won’t like Le Donk and Score-Zay-Zee, they will love it.
Tom Conran
Related:
British Cinema: Dead Man’s Shoes (2004)
British Cinema: Somers Town (2008)
A Time to Belong – This is England and the subversion of the skinhead
