“The
Love Punch” sees middle aged and divorced, company owner Richard Jones
(Brosnan) looking forward to a worry-free existence as he arrives at his office
on his last day of work. Much to his dismay, he discovers that the management
buyout of his company was fraudulent. The company is now bankrupt and the
employee pension fund - including his own - has been embezzled. Enlisting the
help of his ex-wife Kate (Thompson), Richard sets out to track down the shady
business man behind this, Vincent Kruger. Before they know it, Richard and Kate
are caught up in a cat and mouse caper across Europe in a whirlwind of
intrigue, mad chases and jewelry theft during which they rekindle their
romance.
Five
years after “LAST Chance Harvey’s” international success, screenwriter and
director Joel Hopkins wished again to team up with Emma Thompson. Straight
away, the actress was excited about the story of a couple, divorced for eight
years, who embark on a roller-coaster journey. And just as she came up with the
name of Dustin Hoffman for “Last Chance Harvey,” it was she who thought of
Pierce Brosnan for this new project.
"I
got excited by the idea of this ‘classic’ movie couple," Hopkins explains.
"The starting point is to find a pairing that really excites me even
before writing the script and then build a story around them. I really like to
cast the movie in my head while I'm writing.”
Nicola Usborne, Hopkins's wife and producing partner, agrees:
"We've worked together for fifteen years and Joel always begins with
characters or preferably with actors and then builds an arc around them".
Pierce
Brosnan is enthusiastic about the filmmaker: "Joel as a director has a
very good ear for the rhythm of comedy and for the articulation of speech and
pacing of dialogue", he says.
Emma
Thompson compares the way Hopkins directs actors to the careful making of a
dessert: "It's very delicate and it's all about finding the right balance
of ingredients", she comments. "It's really like a soufflé doing this
kind of work - you have to get the air into the mix just to make something that
really rises. That's what you want in a director – someone who absolutely
collaborates and lets you try things but who also tells you 'I want it like
this and not like that'.”
The
director will look back fondly on the production of the film: "I've always
had a relationship with France", he admits. "I found the crew very
invested in the project as a whole, not just in their departments, but
interested in the whole project, helping the whole film come together. Perhaps
in England, people are a little more inside their departments and less
interested in the process as a whole".
Emma
Thompson agrees: " In France, I noticed that the camaraderie existed
between all the partners. You'll be at lunch, which is like a family thing, and
everybody sits down to eat and talk with each other, and even have a glass of
wine. Not me, though. I live like a nun when I’m shooting".
Pierce
Brosnan is just as excited about France as the director: "I've come here
over the years with James Bond, but this has been the most in-depth experience
with a 100% French shoot", he contends. "You're surrounded by this
sense of cinematic history, and it permeates your being.”
Producer
Clément Miserez concludes: "I dream of doing “Love Punch 2” and “Love
Punch 3” any time, and of working again with Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson,
because they're both nice and humble, and the whole crew would tell you just
the same!"
“The
Love Punch” will open at a cinema near you on April 19 (Saturday) from Axinite
Digicinema (with media partners Inquirer , 105.1 Crossover and GNN - Global News Network).
