HOLLYWOOD, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 11/9/2022 – Ali: “Are you scared?” Ava: “Yeah.” Ali: “What are you scared of?” Ava: “How much I like you.”
The story of Ali and Ava, is set in northern England in the working class town of Bradford. It is here, one can see the vibrancy of an immigrant community among the billowing smoke stacks from the local factories. Bradford is also known to have high levels of unemployment as well and it is this town that the title characters of Ali and Ava call home.
Ava (Claire Rushbrook) works at a school as a one-on-one teaching assistant to a little girl, Sofia. Ali (Adeel Akhtar) owns the property where Sofia’s parents rent an apartment. One especially rainy day, as a favor to his tenants, Ali goes to pick up Sofia from school. This is when he sees Ava for the first time and offers to drive her home as well. From this chance encounter, sparks fly between two very unlikely lovers.
Ava is a grandmother, “five times over, “albeit a youthful-looking one. Ali is younger and is separated from his wife. His marriage has fallen apart and both he and his spouse understand that the damage is irreparable. And yet, he goes about his daily life with as much joy as he can. True, at times, the isolation gets to him. So much so that even when it happens to be the darkest part of the night, Ali will race outside of his home, jump on the roof of his car and seek sanctuary in the hypnotic beat of the music that he loves so much. A beat that harkens back to his days as a young DJ in the clubs of Manchester.
The fact that neither Ava nor Ali have given up on love is a miracle onto itself as both have suffered tragedy within their respective relationships. However, Ali and Ava leads us to understand the depth of the loneliness that propels the title characters together. A loneliness powerful enough to make up for the fact that on the surface, the two are very unlikely lovers.
And while they might seem to have little in common, they are open to discovering the wonderful secrets that exist within each other. When Ali first discovers that Ava is a grandmother, he gazes at her in wonder and you just know that he is pondering how is it possible that she could still look so young and pretty?
That this relationship develops as truthfully as it does is due to the writing by writer/director Clio Barnard as well as the performances by the lead actors. Within the spoken words, there is very much the honesty and the hope that revealing all will not result in rejection or judgement. The audience can appreciate the courage that it takes to put it all on the line for love.
The performances by Akhtar and Rushbrook, illuminate the complexities that lie within Ali and Ava. Through Akhtar, we feel the longing and regret that is so much a part of Ali, such as when he gazes at a happy family that is not his own. Rushbrook’s Ava is strong enough to come to terms with the brutality of a past relationship. And she is also a woman who won’t let the past rob her of still being able to feel the intense spark of infatuation. A sparkle that brings such life to her eyes and her smile and it is no wonder that Ali falls for her.
Not everyone sees the potential in Ava and Ali and this of course threatens the harmony of their blossoming romance. Ava’s son is grappling with the death of his father and in his confrontations with Ali who is of South Asian descent, one senses an element of racism. Ali’s sister sizes Ava up as being poor, working-class and lets her know it.
Will these two go the distance? Whether they do or whether they don’t one thing is for sure: You will find yourself rooting for them.
We reached out to writer/director Clio Barnard to learn more about the inspiration for her film, Ali and Ava.
“The characters of Ali and Ava are inspired by real people I met whilst making my previous films,” says Barnard. “Rio was the inspiration for Ava who I met when I was making The Selfish Giant. Like Ava she’s a mother and grandmother (she had her children in her early 20”s), a matriarch who knows all the neighbourhood kids. She suffered domestic abuse and like Ava she turned her life around, leaving her abusive partner and going to university. She got a degree snd a masters in sociology and now works in education. Moey was the inspiration for Ali and I met him through making my film The Arbor. Like Ali he’s an ex DJ and now a landlord. He has Slovakian tenants who have become his friends who play themselves in the film. Like Ali his mother lived next door to him and his family live all around him. I wanted to make a film that celebrates Moey, Rio and their neighbourhoods.”
“I was also inspired by Brief Encounter a tightly structured love story which takes place over a month and was shot in the north of England (though set in the South). Ali and Ava takes place over a lunar month and is set in the north of England. I think of the film as ‘bio-fiction’ (fictionalized biography). Biographical details of Moey and Rio’s lives are represented as are their neighbourhoods but they don’t know each other and didn’t fall in love. The screenplay was developed in collaboration with Moey and Rio and through workshops with them and the actors.”
Ali and Ava screened at the 2021 AFI Film Festival as part of the World Cinema slate. You can view the trailer right here:
This article has been updated to include commentary from director Clio Barnard.
Ali and Ava Running Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Director Clio Barnard
Writer Clio Barnard
Cast:
Adeel Akhtar Ali
Claire Rushbrook Ava
Ellora Torchia Runa
Shaun Thomas Callum
Cinematographer Ole Bratt Birkeland
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