‘Rud’s Wife’

Press, 27 September 1986, Page 19

‘Rud’s Wife’

“Rud’s Wife,” screening tomorrow (Sunday) on One at 10 p.m., is a densely textured portrait of a middle class New Zealand family seen through the eyes of a 75-year-old woman, recently widowed and taking tentative steps toward emancipation. The film combines fabricated documentary sequences, complete with snapshots from the family album, and a narrative in which Nan treats her idolised son, Mark, and his disconnected family to a Sunday roast dinner. “Rud’s Wife,” was produced and directed by Alison Maclean, with funding from both the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and the Short Film Fund. Alison Maclean wanted to look "with humour, at the drama of an ordinary New Zealand family — at the manners and codes of behaviour, the subtle pressures that define and inhibit, and at the middle class values of secrecy, orderliness, propriety ... and just plain niceness.”

The film is unusual for its use of both actors and non-actors in the principal roles. Yvonne Lawley was an obvious choice for the

lead role because of her ability as an actress, and experience in both film and theatre. The decision to use nonactors for the other parts arose from a desire to cast people with a strong New Zealand accent, who weren’t familiar as television or theatre “faces.” The film was originally conceived as a 15-minute short, late in 1983, but difficulties in raising finance meant that filming was not under way until December 1985. By this time the script had undergone a series of permutations and become a more substantial project.