Radiohead Doc Director Grant Gee Turns to Bill Evans for Debut Feature
British director Grant Gee — best known for the Radiohead documentary Meeting People Is Easy — has made his first narrative feature, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, about the jazz pianist Bill Evans. The film opens in UK cinemas on September 11, with Anders Danielsen Lie (Personal Shopper) in the lead role. It's adapted from Owen Martell's 2013 novel Intermission and shot largely in black and white.
Film details
- Director: Grant Gee
- Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Valene Kane, Bill Pullman
- Release: September 11 (UK cinemas)
- Source material: Owen Martell's novel Intermission (2013)
Opening at the Village Vanguard
The film opens in 1961 at the New York jazz club the Village Vanguard, where Evans, at the piano, looks toward bassist Scott LaFaro — the two are portrayed as musical soulmates, a rapport Lie conveys without dialogue. That scene is intercut with footage of a car crash, foreshadowing LaFaro's death.
After losing LaFaro, and with his longtime partner Ellaine (Valene Kane) also leaving, Evans first stays with his brother Harry (Barry Ward) before being sent to Florida to get clean with his father (Bill Pullman) and mother (Laurie Metcalf). The film also includes three color flash-forward sequences.
Low budget, high atmosphere
According to an NME review, the film was shot on a very low budget in West Cork, Ireland, with cinematographer Piers McGrail still managing to evoke Florida's dry white light — though the 20-day shoot leaves some of the family scenes feeling stiff. The review notes that what lingers is Evans's talent rather than his tragedy, citing a scene where he listens with his parents to the classic album Sunday At The Village Vanguard, recorded from that same 1961 performance, with a palpable sense of wonder.