We meet Una while she is having casual, passionless sex with a man in the bathroom of a club. When she returns home early in the morning somewhere in suburban England, where she lives with her mother, she appears to be equally indifferent. There is only one person capable of evoking an emotional response from her: her first love, the first man in her life, Ray. She was only 13 when he took her innocence, while he was already an adult. After serving out his prison sentence, he made a new life for himself. He disappeared, changed his name, got married. But Una has not forgotten him. She is living with the conviction-the same one that she had as a little girl who was unable to understand the pathological nature of his actions-that they are linked by an extraordinary bond. Is that madness or love? When Una unexpectedly appears at his workplace, the specter of inevitable tragedy becomes palpable. Andrews adapts David Harrow's controversial play, staged on Broadway, among other places, starring Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams in the lead roles. This cold, morally ambiguous film-light compared to which, Lolita makes for light reading-is carried along by an intriguing soundtrack.
A stage and film director, Benedict Andrews was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1972, where he graduated from the Flinders University Drama Centre. He has authored numerous recognized stage adaptations of the classics-Shakespeare, Chekhov, Genet-as well as of works by contemporary artists, including Sarah Kane, Martin Crimp, and Mario von Mayerburg. He has also worked on several successful opera productions. Una is his only feature film. He lives in Reykjavik.
2014 National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire
2016 Una