{"product_id":"mike-leigh-sean-osullivan-9780252036385","title":"Mike Leigh","description":"In this much needed examination of Mike Leigh, Sean O'Sullivan reclaims the British director as a practicing theorist--a filmmaker deeply invested in cinema's formal, conceptual, and narrative dimensions. In contrast with Leigh's prevailing reputation as a straightforward crafter of social realist movies, O'Sullivan illuminates the visual tropes and storytelling investigations that position Leigh as an experimental filmmaker who uses the art and artifice of cinema to frame tales of the everyday and the extraordinary alike. \u003cp\u003eO'Sullivan challenges the prevailing characterizations of Leigh's cinema by detailing the complicated constructions of his realism, positing his films not as transparent records of life but as aesthetic transformations of it. Concentrating on the most recent two decades of Leigh's career, the study examines how \u003ci\u003eNaked, Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake, \u003c\/i\u003e and other films engage narrative convergence and narrative diffusion, the tension between character and plot, the interplay of coincidence and design, cinema's relationship to other systems of representation, and the filmic rendering of the human figure. The book also spotlights such earlier, less-discussed works as \u003ci\u003eFour Days in July\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Short and Curlies\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrating the recurring visual and storytelling concerns of Leigh's cinema. With a detailed filmography, this volume also includes key selections from O'Sullivan's several interviews with Leigh.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sean O'Sullivan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0252036387\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780252036385\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Illinois Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/24\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.88lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2011 pg. 91\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2012","brand":"Sean O'Sullivan","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48064801898751,"sku":"9780252036385","price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_25fb08be-f08c-4c31-9239-fd8aa8b95b83.jpg?v=1768671123","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/mike-leigh-sean-osullivan-9780252036385","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}