“I got the fear when I realised I had to use a lot of myself in an improv film”: Sam Riley on She Is Love

She Is Love is the charming and whimsical, mostly improvised movie from prolific filmmaker Jamie Adams. Revolving around a trio of characters enclosed within the space of a British countryside manor house, it feels at times like a play. First introduced to the viewer is Patricia, (played by the luminous Hayley Bennett of Cyrano fame): clearly harried and unhappy with her current life, she’s unexpectedly been booked into a “boutique” hotel only to find, to her horror, that her ex-husband, beyond-his-prime DJ and music artist Idris (a brilliantly cast Sam Riley) is there too. Not only that, his girlfriend (Marisa Abela, who stole scenes in Industry and is set to play Amy Winehouse in the upcoming biopic), who is supposed to be running the hotel on behalf of her uncle, also shows up, making for some hilariously awkward and oh-so-British in their passive-aggressive “polite” interactions.

Soon, however, decorum fades, tee-total Idris is coaxed into hitting the bottle with Patricia, and they share an evening meandering down memory lane, complete with giggles, tears, smashed wine glasses, pretend ghosts and a good few musical numbers. Abela, in particular, nails the black humour that courses through veins of this film, while the raw and emotive performances from Riley and Bennett leave viewers in no doubt of the authenticity of the chemistry and layers of feeling between their characters (most poignantly conveyed when they sing together). Beneath the surface silliness, there’s something very real captured about the nature of lost love, faded youth and unfulfilled ambitions – that sense of connection that never fades with a soulmate and the reality that joy and sadness, love and pain can, and often do, coexist. At its heart, it suggests that revisiting the past to face our traumas, while uncomfortable, can help us find peace.

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking with Riley about the need to take a leap of faith and trust in each other to pull it out of the bag for this improvisational film, how he saw his character, and the importance of the musical element. We also discussed his upcoming projects, including Firebrand with Jude Law, and sharing the screen once again with Bennett.

Sarah Bradbury

She Is Love is released in cinemas and on digital platforms on 3^rd February 2023. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for She Is Love here: