Film reel
"I didn't plan to be away as long as I was." Judging by his amused tone, the question of why he's not a made a film for the cinemas for 15 years or more is one that Stephen Poliakoff has been asked a lot. "It’s just that the TV work was successful, reached a lot of people, and people kept offering me the chance to do more."
That, as Stephen explains in our very interesting, tangent-heavy conversation, is part of the problem with British films: finding an audience. He's long been an outspoken critic of the UK's attitude to new drama, the paucity of options available to new playwrights, and the mostly American-owned cinema screens in the UK also come under fire. "The system is archaic, the exhibitors have the final say," he sighs. "It's not even financially-driven!" He lists a number of films that have done great business without major distribution, including his own Close My Eyes and Anthony Minghella's Truly Madly Deeply. He then stops himself with a wry laugh. "It's not financial. I think it's just habit..."
Happily, even with the frustrations of the system, Stephen did negotiate the problems to return to the cinema last year with the excellent Glorious 39.
"I was always searching for the project that would let me return to the cinema. I got more and more interested about what a close run thing it was that we actually entered the Second World War. It was an incredibly narrow squeak that history didn't go the other way: a lot – the majority, in fact - of the powerful forces in this country, the political and aristocratic elite, were on the side of appeasing Hitler and doing everything possible not to fight fascism."
It's this situation that forms the background of Glorious 39, a skilful mix of fascinating – and scary – history and Hitchcockian thriller. Set just before the start of the Second World War, it focuses on Anne Keyes (Romola Garai – "tremendous," says Stephen, "there's something of the 1940s film star about her"), the adopted daughter of the wealthy and powerful Keyes family. She stumbles across secret recordings of the pro-appeasement movement, and dark secrets that lead to the death of a close friend and, ultimately, her own, unexpected betrayal.
It's quite a different take on the usual wartime stories.
"We're so used to the heroic stories, our lone stand against fascism and I think that is a wonderful part of our history. But what happened a few months before that was much more murky. We could, so easily, have ended up a puppet state of the Nazis. Even during the first months of the war, and after Dunkirk, members of Churchill's cabinet wanted to do a deal with Hitler: you can have the rest of Europe, just leave us alone."
Anne having her life turned upside down, in a matter of hours, by the political beliefs of those closest to her has clear parallels with the treatment of the Jews in Europe, something obviously very close to Stephen's heart.
"Anne seems secure within her world, and of course discovers she isn't," explains Stephen, "and that does parallel what happened to so many people in mainland Europe. The Jews in Vienna, for example. One minute they're sitting at the cafes, then the Nazis walk in, and within hours, they're being pulled off trains, being beaten on the pavements.
"What happened there, could so easily have happened to my family here at that time. My mother was from a Jewish aristocratic family, and all the people she'd known growing up, they'd turned their backs on her, just like happened in the rest of Europe. It's a shocking thing to think about, but what happened in Vienna could have happened to my family here."
Sadly, with time running out, this fascinating conversation has to draw to an end, although it's clear that Stephen could discuss it for hours. However he must return to his current task: a new play.
"I've been away from the theatre for too long," he explains, "so I'm writing something. I'm also doing something for television and," he adds, "I have one or two movie ideas." There's another wry laugh. "Now I'm back in the cinema, I want to stay there."