The infectious cinephile enthusiasm of Mark Cousins and the gentle and modest cinematic passion/knowledge of producer Jeremy Thomas merge perfectly as the pair take a road trip to the Cannes Film Festival, using the opportunity to shine a light on an independently-minded producer who craves controversial film opportunity and who has worked with some of the world’s most talented and individual filmmakers over the past 40 years.
Cousins embraced the concept of a documentary film about Thomas back in 2018. As he sat beside the producer during a beach lunch in Cannes he saw the genial producer’s passion for the elements when a storm hit town. Others raced for cover in the restaurant while Thomas relished the storm…and Cousins had a way into his subject.
For many in the film industry, Jeremy Thomas can appear a modest, reticent, man. As Cousins notes as they head off on their journey, “I look at the man beside me, the face beside me, the face does not give much away. He is inexpressive…a sentinel for a very different tradition of cinema.” But Thomas loves a controversy and a challenge. As he says: “When Crash (1996) was in Cannes in the maelstrom…it didn’t get any better for me, but created an incredible storm around me.”
As a producer he has worked with – and championed – the likes of Nicolas Roeg, David Cronenberg, Nagisa Oshima, Bernardo Bertolucci and most recently Takashi Miike, but Cousins also playfully reflects on Thomas’s childhood as a part of British cinema royalty (affectionately calling him ‘The Prince’) given that he is son and nephew, respectively, of directors Ralph Thomas and Gerald Thomas (of the Doctor and Carry On films fame).
The five-day journey from the UK to the South of France, with Thomas driving an über-cool Alfa Romeo, allows time to dwell on films, family, frustrations and the place he assumes in film history. All this is accompanied by an insightful voiceover by the director and a smattering of interviews with colleagues, including Tilda Swinton and Debra Winger.
An astute blend of road movie (there are travel-trip asides in Paris and along the route); examination of key films from Jeremy Thomas (the doc calls for serious rewatching of the likes of Eureka and Bad Timing) and interview (although Thomas’s contributions are mainly as voice-over, with no chat filmed actually in the car), The Storms of Jeremy Thomas confirms this modest, intelligent and reticent self-effacing man as a rare thing in an industry peopled by loud and over-confident individuals. His sense of film taste and his creative radar are always ‘on’ and his love for cinema and for the challenge is what ultimately shines through.
Towards the end of the film, Thomas and Cousins indulge in a little word-association. When Cousins shoots out the word “Cannes” the immediate response from Thomas is “Do”…and “Box Office” his response is “Ambivalence”. For Jeremy Thomas, working creatively and vigilantly behind the scenes to help his director make something special, is his great skill. That, and spotting talent. He talks about using Cannes as would a fisherman, of putting his “line out” to help reel in a fresh talent or a new idea.
UK, 2021, 94mins
Dir Mark Cousins
Production David P Kelly Films, Creative Scotland, Cyprus Avenue Films
International sales Visit Films
Producer David P Kelly
With Tilda Swinton, Debra Winger, Jeremy Thomas
