Skellig (film)
Encyclopedia
Skellig known in North America as Skellig: The Owl Man is a 2009 British
fantasy
, drama
film directed by Annabel Jankel
and starring Tim Roth
and Bill Milner
. The screenplay
by Irena Brignull is based on the 1998 novel of the same name
by David Almond
.
), moves into an old house to make room for the new baby which his mother (Kelly Macdonald
) and father (John Simm
) are expecting. The house is old and it needs repairing. Immediately you get the impression he feels pushed out by his parents who are preoccupied with the state of the house and the new baby. Michael ventures out into the Garden and enters a shed. Whilst looking around the dark, gloomy and uninhabitable place he hears someone say "Who's there?" and runs out as fast as he can knocking almo
Michael's Mum goes into premature labour while cleaning, Michael was busy exploring the shed, and Michael blames himself for this. When she's born, the baby isn't very well. The baby comes home and his the mum wants to get rid of the shed where Michael was exploring. Michael's baby sister goes back into hospital with a serious heart problem and a possibility of dying. Michael finds a girl called Mina (Skye Bennett
) sitting on his wall and they become friends. During the time that the baby is at the hospital, the mum blames the dad for moving into the house. Michael's dad starts to drink beer. Late one night, his dad goes to the shed and starts to hit it. He goes to look for matches while Michael gets Skellig (Tim Roth
) out. The shed goes on fire, he places Skellig in the forest while he goes to Mina's house where he reveals that he burnt his hand. Michael and Mina place Skellig in what looks like a tall tower and this is when they see Skellig has wings. They take care of Skellig and provide him with food.
There is a special part where Mina and Michael all hold hands and fly around in a circle, it is revealed that Skellig can do magic things because Michael's hand is cured.
Michael's sister goes into operation and he talks to Grace, an old lady whom he talks to every time he is at the hospital, he promises her that he will come the next day to see her. The next day when his sister goes into operation, he goes to visit Grace, but she died in her sleep that night. he runs to Skellig and tells him to cure her like he did with his hand, to prove that he can fix his baby sister, he jumps off the tower, only to be caught by Skellig, Skellig tells him to fall asleep while flying and he does.
Skellig goes to the hospital and walks past everyone but no one sees him as no one appears to look in his direction, even Michael's mother doesn't notice when he walks into the baby's hospital room. Skellig picks the baby out of her cot and does the same process as before: flying off the ground and spinning around as the baby lay sleeping in his arms. This eventually cures the baby and is deemed a miracle, much to the family's delight. When Michael asks what the baby's name is, they tell him that they can't find the right one, he suggests Grace. Grace and her family go back to the house where her room is bright yellow, her dad had been working on it while she was gone.
At the end, Skellig (now revealed to be an angel) is at the tower with Michael and Mina, who ask him what he's going to do now, and leave him with a parting gift, a bottle of nectar ale. Skellig answers that he is going "somewhere".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film directed by Annabel Jankel
Annabel Jankel
Annabel Jankel is an award-winning British film and TV director who first came to prominence as a music video director and the co-creator and director of the pioneering cyber-character Max Headroom...
and starring Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
and Bill Milner
Bill Milner
William Henry "Bill" Milner is an English child actor, best known for his roles as Will Proudfoot in Son of Rambow, Edward in Is Anybody There? and the young Magneto in X-Men: First Class.-Life and career:...
. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Irena Brignull is based on the 1998 novel of the same name
Skellig
Skellig is a novel by David Almond, for which Almond was awarded the Carnegie Medal in 1998 and also the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. The book won the 2000 Michael L. Printz Honor from YALSA in the United States...
by David Almond
David Almond
David Almond is a British children's writer who has written several novels, each one to critical acclaim.-Early life:Almond was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia, he was born in 1951...
.
Plot
A young boy, Michael (Bill MilnerBill Milner
William Henry "Bill" Milner is an English child actor, best known for his roles as Will Proudfoot in Son of Rambow, Edward in Is Anybody There? and the young Magneto in X-Men: First Class.-Life and career:...
), moves into an old house to make room for the new baby which his mother (Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
) and father (John Simm
John Simm
John Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television...
) are expecting. The house is old and it needs repairing. Immediately you get the impression he feels pushed out by his parents who are preoccupied with the state of the house and the new baby. Michael ventures out into the Garden and enters a shed. Whilst looking around the dark, gloomy and uninhabitable place he hears someone say "Who's there?" and runs out as fast as he can knocking almo
Michael's Mum goes into premature labour while cleaning, Michael was busy exploring the shed, and Michael blames himself for this. When she's born, the baby isn't very well. The baby comes home and his the mum wants to get rid of the shed where Michael was exploring. Michael's baby sister goes back into hospital with a serious heart problem and a possibility of dying. Michael finds a girl called Mina (Skye Bennett
Skye Bennett
Skye Deva Bennett is an English teen actress, best known for her role as Sarah in the 2008 film Dark Floors, as well as for her role as Martha in The Pillars of the Earth.-Personal life:...
) sitting on his wall and they become friends. During the time that the baby is at the hospital, the mum blames the dad for moving into the house. Michael's dad starts to drink beer. Late one night, his dad goes to the shed and starts to hit it. He goes to look for matches while Michael gets Skellig (Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
) out. The shed goes on fire, he places Skellig in the forest while he goes to Mina's house where he reveals that he burnt his hand. Michael and Mina place Skellig in what looks like a tall tower and this is when they see Skellig has wings. They take care of Skellig and provide him with food.
There is a special part where Mina and Michael all hold hands and fly around in a circle, it is revealed that Skellig can do magic things because Michael's hand is cured.
Michael's sister goes into operation and he talks to Grace, an old lady whom he talks to every time he is at the hospital, he promises her that he will come the next day to see her. The next day when his sister goes into operation, he goes to visit Grace, but she died in her sleep that night. he runs to Skellig and tells him to cure her like he did with his hand, to prove that he can fix his baby sister, he jumps off the tower, only to be caught by Skellig, Skellig tells him to fall asleep while flying and he does.
Skellig goes to the hospital and walks past everyone but no one sees him as no one appears to look in his direction, even Michael's mother doesn't notice when he walks into the baby's hospital room. Skellig picks the baby out of her cot and does the same process as before: flying off the ground and spinning around as the baby lay sleeping in his arms. This eventually cures the baby and is deemed a miracle, much to the family's delight. When Michael asks what the baby's name is, they tell him that they can't find the right one, he suggests Grace. Grace and her family go back to the house where her room is bright yellow, her dad had been working on it while she was gone.
At the end, Skellig (now revealed to be an angel) is at the tower with Michael and Mina, who ask him what he's going to do now, and leave him with a parting gift, a bottle of nectar ale. Skellig answers that he is going "somewhere".
Cast
- Tim RothTim RothSimon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...
as Skellig - Bill MilnerBill MilnerWilliam Henry "Bill" Milner is an English child actor, best known for his roles as Will Proudfoot in Son of Rambow, Edward in Is Anybody There? and the young Magneto in X-Men: First Class.-Life and career:...
as Michael - Skye BennettSkye BennettSkye Deva Bennett is an English teen actress, best known for her role as Sarah in the 2008 film Dark Floors, as well as for her role as Martha in The Pillars of the Earth.-Personal life:...
as Mina - Kelly MacdonaldKelly MacdonaldKelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
as Louise/Mum - John SimmJohn SimmJohn Simm is an English stage and screen actor. In recent years he is best known for his roles as Sam Tyler in the detective drama Life on Mars and as The Master in the revival of the science fiction series Doctor Who, but he has also starred in many highly acclaimed award-winning television...
as Dave/Dad - Jermaine Allen as Leakey
- Edna DoréEdna DoréEdna Doré is a British actress. Doré is one of Britain's best known senior citizen actresses. She is known for her bit-part roles in situation comedies and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in the BBC soap opera EastEnders .- Career :She began her career as a chorus girl in ENSA, then spent...
as Grace - Eros Vlahos as Coot
- Alexander ArmstrongAlexander Armstrong (comedian)Alexander Henry Fenwick Armstrong is a British comedian, actor and television presenter.-Early life and career:Armstrong was born in Rothbury, Northumberland, the youngest of three children, to Henry Angus Armstrong and his wife Emma Virginia Peronnet Thompson-McCausland, daughter of Lucius...
as Mr Hunt - Navin ChowdhryNavin ChowdhryNavin Chowdhry is a British television actor.-Personal life:Navin Chowdhry was born and raised in Bristol, England. In 1994, Chowdhry graduated from Imperial College, London earning a 3 year degree in biochemistry, with 2:1 honours.-Career:...
as Mr Watson - Nickie Rainsford as Mina's mother
- Tameka EmpsonTameka EmpsonTameka Empson is a British actress and comedienne who is perhaps best known for being one of the three protagonists in the hidden-camera comedy sketch show 3 Non Blondes.Tameka also featured in a episode of MI High : Red Button Rampage, Series one...
as Nurse #1 - Lisa Zahra as Nurse #2
- Queenie Wren Dempsey as Baby Grace
Awards
- Won 2009 Cinekid Film Award - Honorable Mention
- Nominated 2009 RTS Television Award for Best Effects in Picture Enhancement
- Nominated 2009 RTS Television Award for Best Effects in Special Effects
- Nominated 2009 RTS Television Award for Best Make-Up Design
- Nominated 2010 VES Awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Mini-Series or Series