The Butterfly Tattoo

Synopsis

Director Phil Hawkins teams with screenwriter Stephen Potts to adapt Golden Compass author Philip Pullman’s novel detailing an adolescent romance gone horribly awry.

Chris and Jenny are teenage lovers from the gritty side of modern Oxford, England in this adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Philip Pullman (author of The Golden Compass). Chris, a naive lad, suspended between school and college, and Jenny, a free spirit fleeing a traumatized childhood. A disturbing series of flashbacks reveal why their romance may be headed for tragedy.
They are caught in the crossfire, as Carson, a gangster gunman with a grudge, comes looking for Chris’s boss, to avenge events from long ago. Heady romance gives way to growing suspense as Carson closes in until, in a final eruption of violence, the star-crossed lovers are sundered forever.

The music is from the original film score, with additional music from The Music Jar.

There are may scenes within the film that don’t have any character dialogue and so the music plays an integral part, telling the story.

I had to ensure that the crescendos were as taut as a piano string and each created a feeling of hopelessness, with a false climax, in order to build and then dash the audience’s sense of hope. Each crescendo had to use a different method of build and acceleration, without sounding repetitive or losing the all-important momentum of the scene.

A serious challenge – When you look at how music can and often does take over from dialogue or narration, you begin to realise how integral music can be to a film.

Production Company: Dynamic Entertainment
Director: Phil Hawkins
Novel by: Philip Pullman
Cinematography by: Michael Costelloe