Mike Leigh says Tender Loving Care will likely be his last film
Mike Leigh has said it is “more than probable” that Tender Loving Care will be his last film.
The British writer-director spoke via video link at a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival, where the film is playing in competition, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He pointed to health reasons. Leigh said he lives with myositis, a condition that affects muscular movement and makes moving around a film set difficult.
He did not travel to Spain. Producer Georgina Lowe, who oversees the film’s organisation and financing, appeared in person in San Sebastian alongside cast members Alice Bailey Johnson, Paul Jesson and Marion Bailey.
There is a family thread in the room and on screen. Marion Bailey is Leigh’s real-life partner and the mother of Alice Bailey Johnson. That connection gave the press conference an unusually personal tone, with three generations of a working relationship sitting at the same table while Leigh joined from a screen.
Kate O’Flynn, who co-leads the film, was unable to travel to the festival. Her absence was noted at the start of the session.
Tender Loving Care is a 107-minute production from the United Kingdom, listed by the San Sebastian Festival. That runtime is one hour and 47 minutes. Competition in San Sebastian means a place in the main selection, where films compete for the festival’s top award, the Golden Shell.
The film arrived in Spain after screenings at Telluride and the Toronto International Film Festival, known as TIFF. Those two North American events open the autumn festival circuit, where films meet critics, audiences and distributors ahead of cinema release.
The story centres on care work. O’Flynn plays social worker Amy and Bailey Johnson plays fellow social worker Rosie. The wider cast includes Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson. Variety has described the film as a tale of social workers, lonely hearts and dementia, and has listed it in connection with Bleecker Street in awards-season coverage.
Leigh is a Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner and an Academy Award nominee. The Palme d’Or is the top prize at Cannes, while the Academy Awards are the US film industry’s annual honours. The Hollywood Reporter called Tender Loving Care “a lovely addition and likely conclusion to an exceptional career”.
What makes this stand out is the setting. Festival press conferences usually sell what comes next. Leigh used his to explain why there may not be a next one.
