2005: Tristram Shandy

Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story (Winterbottom, 2005) 8/10

"Tristram Shandy, it was actually number eight in The Observer's top one-hundred books of all time" (Steve Coogan)

" That list was chronological" (Tony Wilson)

Laurence Sterne's 18th century novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy is generally assumed to be an unfilmable novel. Within its metafictional and self-reflexive narrative structure, Sterne's novel is told from the first-person perspective of the title character, who in his tangent-filled randomness can never cohesively explain anything without diverting into colourful anecdotes about whatever falls into his torrid stream of consciousness.

In 2005, English independent director Michael Winterbottom released Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story: a fantastical absurdist self-referential comedy about the failed attempt to film British literature's most pervasive unfilmable project. The end-product is a film-within-a film, which features Steve Coogan playing a fictionalized version of Steve Coogan who is playing Tristram Shandy in a fictional film adaptation. Additionally, the film also contains Rob Brydon, Shirley Henderson, Gillian Anderson and Tony Wilson all playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Comprende?

After earning acclaim in Hollywood for his portrayal of Factory records magnate Tony Wilson in his previous collaboration with Michael Winterbottom in 2002's 24 Hour Party People, Steve Coogan (Steve Coogan) returns from Hollywood to participate in a low-budget British film adaptation of Sterne's novel. Cast in the eponymous title role alongside British actor Rob Brydon (Rob Brydon), Coogan plays upon his tabloid reputation as a narcisstic philanderer. Fretting over such egotistical idiosyncracies as the height of his shoes, Coogan continually berates his lesser known co-star; whose performance as Shandy's Uncle Toby he soon realizes is arguably the film's plum role.

The off-screen tensions between Coogan and Brydon are excerbated by the problems in translating the film from paper to celluloid. Desperate to condense the picture, the film's director Martin (Jeremy Northam) and screenwriter (Ian Hart) attempt to eliminate the film's costly battle sequences and take further attention away from Coogan's character by re-inserting Uncle Toby's romantic subplot with the Widow Wadman. When a crew member mentions that X-Files star Gillian Anderson is an ardent fan of the novel, the producers are able to secure her services to play Wadman: a move, which unfortunately scuppers the Gillian Anderson-obsessed Brydon's attempts to remain composed.

In this inventive part adaptation, part-backstage drama, Michael Winterbottom exposes the egotistical nature of filmmaking, while having themes and events in Sterne's novel mirror those in the film's scenes of verité. Fresh from Hollywood, Coogan continually stresses his newly acquired star power by emphasizing the concept of size. Salivating his ego, Coogan demands shoes that are slightly taller than Brydon's and more dialogue, while continually reminding his colleagues of his status as a not-quite-yet Hollywood star.

Yearning for sex, Coogan's girlfriend Jenny (Kelly MacDonald) joins him on the set from Scotland. Yet, like in Sterne's book life's interruptions and the chaotic nature of life itself thwarts Jenny's desire to be with her lover. Off-set, Coogan is hounded by tabloid reporters, reshoots, meetings and a flirtatous relationship with his assistant Jennie (Naomie Harris), a world cinema junkie who "wants his babies". The disorganized nature of the production minimalizes Coogan's time with Jenny and their infant son and puts the completion of the film in doubt.

The acquisition of Gillian Anderson to the project dents Coogan's starpower and intensifies his squabbles with Brydon for more control and influence over the project's direction. In reality, the only sense of agency Coogan appears to have is in his ability to choose whom he sleeps with; but even this is flawed by the tabloid's desire to uncover his latest fornication and his inability to demonstrate any notion of high cultural intelligence: demonstrated in his feigned knowledge of German cinema to win over Jennie and the subtle notion that Coogan has never read Sterne's book prior or during filming until Anderson arrives on the scene.

Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story is not a faithful adaptation, but rather an extension of the motifs and themes of Sterne's novel as applied to the cinematic medium. Furthermore, Winterbottom's film satires the process of adaptation. The film's cast and producers complain over the direction of the film; the film's historical recreationists moan over inaccuracies and clothing belonging to another period; while key characters and scenes are deleted or re-inserted in order to make the picture more marketable.

Thus in its absurdist nature Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story manages to parody and satirizes the aesthetic truths within this genre of film as well as several Hollywood period films including The Patriot and Cold Mountain. By having many of the actors essentially play themselves, Winterbottom is able to expand the cheeky nature of his film through the utilization of scores used in other literary adaptations and back-stage films such as Kubrick's Barry Lyndon and Fellini's 8½. Not only does Winterbottom include a cameo from Tony Wilson whom Coogan played in 24 Hour Party People, but he also has literary critic and actor Stephen Fry essentially play a fictionalized version of himself named Patrick Curator.

The selfless nature of Winterbottom's cast allows the film's tongue and cheek aspect to remain remarkably fresh, while the director's structural innovations and filmic approach enables Tristram Shandy: A Cock And Bull Story to offer multiple insights into the difficulties of adaptation. By infusing the script with a brisk wit and a combativeness, Winterbottom's film is often achingly funny, but also intelligent in its design and subtextual commentary on the nature of film itself.

In the hands of a lesser director, this ingenious film could have very easily gone awry, or become painfully unfunny. But with his trademark edginess, Michael Winterbottom and his screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce manage to balance surrealism with gripping lifelike authenticity. Although Winterbottom is currently preparing his first major Hollywood production in the Angelina Jolie film A Mighty Heart, one hopes that Winterbottom stays true to his clever and belligerent trademark approach and that like Bloody Sunday director Paul Greengrass, he can infuse these aesthetic aspects into his future films.