Since her turn as ditzy doc Liz Asher (AKA Madeleine Wool) in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Alice Lowe has continued to delight, amuse and doing fine acting in movies from Sightseers to Paddington. The latter was only a small turn, so hardcore Lowe-ists will be happy to hear she’s back in a chunkier role in the wonderfully silly-looking low-budget British comedy Black Mountain Poets. Here’s an exclusive new look at what’s in store. Lots of really terrible improv poety, basically.
The title riffs on the Black Mountain group, a group of American avant-garde poets who rose to pre-eminence in the mid-20th century with their postmodern odes. But none of them tried reciting Tesco receipts. That’s what Lowe’s Lisa is reduced to in trying to prove that she’s a bona fide poet rather than, say, an utter fraudster posing as such with her sister Claire (Dolly Wells). Except, well, she is. Hence the Tesco poem.
The pair are on the lam after trying to steal a JBC digger. To hide from the authorities, they assume the identities of The Wilding Sisters, star turns at a Poet’s Poetry Society retreat in the Black Mountains of Wales. But then the dishy Richard (Downton Abbey’s Tom Cullen), another poet, his jealous girlfriend, and the prospect of a big cash prize cloud things further.
Directed by Jamie Adams (Benny & Jolene), the film was improvised and shot over a lightning five days in Wales. It hits UK cinemas on April 1. Lowe also has her own directorial debut, Prevenge, in the pipeline.