This moving and emotional story was shot in a Liverpool
winter and also in London and at Shepperton studios. For the actors
playing the du Pré family, that unique version of British 1950s Received
Pronunciation had to be recreated. For Rachel Griffiths (Hilary), this
meant losing her native Australian accent and concentrating on 1950s/60s
RP. Emily Watson (Jackie) graduated from this first accent which was very
English to one influenced by the Israeli/Argentinean Daniel Barenboim
played by James Frain. The progress of Mutiple Sclerosis led to a
deterioration in Jackie's speech later on in the film. James Frain and I
studied videotapes of Barenboim to be as authentic as possible with this
unusual accent with which he did a remarkable job. David Morrissey (Kieffer
Finzi) had that hardest of jobs for actors, that of having to lose one's
own accent whilst working surrounded by people speaking it 24 hours a day
in his native Liverpool. The actors playing young Jackie (Auriol Evans)
and young Hilary (Keeley Flanders) worked on set alongside their older
counterparts on several occasions in order to achieve a similar sound.
Charles Dance (Derek du Pré) and Celia Imrie (Iris du Pré) needed almost
no help at all as they developed their middle class 50s accents.
Anand Tucker, who directed Hilary and Jackie, was a joy to work with, his unfailing courtesy and good humour were appreciated by each individual working on this movie.
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