REVIEWS:

Among the best, One Life Stand, May Miles Thomas' self-financed, first ever British digital feature, is a wonderfully acted drama of ordinary lives struggling for respect in soul-destroying surroundings. Time Out

A poignant tale, told with gentle humour and considerable understatement, One Life Stand is filled with compassion and insight. Thomas' future films will be eagerly awaited. 
 Screen international

Among 'Contemporary Films from Britain' at the Lincoln Centre the stand-out is One Life Stand, by May Miles Thomas, a major discovery from Glasgow. New York Daily Times

The acting is uniformly superb, and while the film is socially engaged, it doesn’t take the Ken Loach route of spelling things out for us. It’s a moot point whether our film and TV industry currently has room for a hard-boiled case like Thomas - but it should.  Guardian

It's a sad state of affairs when such a brave and quintessentially British movie like May Miles Thomas's haunting One Life Stand gets kinder treatment at festivals abroad than in cinemas at home.  Writer-director Thomas has created a harrowing and poignant film that could be the Scottish equivalent to Requiem for a Dream. In the lead, Maureen Carr contributes a performance as heartbreaking as Ellen Burstyn's in Darren Aronofsky's equally stylized film. Toronto Globe & Mail

May Miles Thomas has triumphed with One Life Stand. Beautifully composed, keenly scripted and framed in deep-focus black and white, the look is 35mm Vistavision and the story a perceptive study of the loneliness and dislocation of modern times. It is embellished by a tremendous, fragile yet funny performance from Maureen Carr as a single mother (Trise) trying to help her son, John Paul, find a successful future while fending off her ex-husband Jackie (the ever-present and excellent Gary Lewis).
 May has delivered the find of the (Edinburgh) Festival. One Life Stand is a lyrical masterpiece.  Scotsman

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ONE LIFE STAND’ -
In 2000 JOHN had a lead role in the critically acclaimed independent & award winning film 'One Life Stand'. There will be screenings & promo upcoming.

John played the son of a single mother. The film was acclaimed for its ground-breaking production, subtle direction and powerful acting. 'One Life Stand 'is an Elemental Films production starring Maureen Carr, John Kielty, Archie Lal & Gary Lewis and scored by Bobby James Henry, produced by Karen M. Smyth & Owen Thomas.
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Elemental Direct is the exciting new distribution venture from Elemental Films, the pioneering UK digital film company. These days the best films don't make it to the cinema. Including ours. So we're releasing them ourselves. First our films, then other people's. There's plenty of great stuff out there, but it's not getting seen. We plan to change that. Offering the best overlooked films, direct from producers to audiences, Elemental Direct believes in only one thing – good stories, well told.

One Life Stand
The best reviewed British independent film of 2000, One Life Stand made history as the first ever UK digital feature. From conception to exhibition the film broke new ground in digital production, opening the way for a new generation of independent filmmakers. Heartfelt and disturbing, One Life Stand centres on a fraught mother and son relationship; Trise Clarke, a loving but deluded single mother, unwittingly propels her 18-year-old son, John Paul, into a career as a male escort. Then she tries to seduce him back. Acclaimed for its subtle direction and powerful performances, the multiple award-winning One Life Stand remains an unequalled achievement. Written, photographed, edited, and directed by May Miles Thomas, the movie was not only an audacious debut but stands as a pragmatic demonstration of how to get a script off the page and on the screen. One Life Stand is an Elemental Films production starring Maureen Carr, John Kielty, Archie Lal & Gary Lewis and scored by Bobby James Henry, produced by Karen M. Smyth and executive produced by Owen Thomas.

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QUOTE: Its worth reading the making of OLS on the site – an organic film (extract)
 Written and conceived by May Miles Thomas.

Then we had a great piece of luck. Puzzling over how to screen the finished movie, we became aware of Digital Projection, the company that pioneered DLP Cinema. We contacted their Marketing Director, Mike Hood, with a view to testing sample scenes. With great foresight, he knew a good movie when he saw one and agreed to support our efforts to get OLS screened in cinemas at the highest possible quality. On January 14, 2000, we held our cast and crew screening at the Glasgow Film Theatre and passed into history as the first ever digital feature screening in the UK.

After completion OLS played its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. From there it immediately went to New York, where it won SAFF Warner Bros. Best Picture and Best Actor prizes, gaining us an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles for a private screening for executives on the Warner’s lot, where our efforts were received with courtesy and bafflement.
Subsequently the movie played numerous international festivals, many of which had never accepted video before, but which applauded OLS as an achievement of true cinema. Along the way it picked up numerous awards and nominations, and received universal critical and public acclaim. All without a budget and, between us, no idea of the ground breaking path we had embarked upon only a year before.
Whilst OLS attracted all of this attention and praise no distributor ever came forward with a serious offer. But the fact is, it was never made for a conventional release. The profound truth is: if we had expected a sale, we would never have pursued it so innocently, and we would never have got it made. The movie was made for many reasons - to see the script on screen, to work with actors, as a calling card par excellence and to test the technology. But mostly I made One Life Stand because I love what I do and I believed in myself enough to do it. I said at the time, It is not what it costs, its what its worth, because as experiences go, I could never have put a price on it.

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REVIEWS:
Hoping to add your reivews of this exciting new DVD starring John to the site -
please post or email me your reviews.

REVIEWS; Feb 2006
It was very strange to see John in a new way, as Owen predicted! wide-eyed, chubbier, a bit sulky and morose at times – and NOT at all the John we see on stage! I thought John was excellent, as was the rest of the cast.
One Life Stand is a stark drama that through it's pace, black and white shots and atmospheric music, paints a very compelling and honest picture. It's a story about life's dilemma's around power, sex and control highlighted by a few sad lonely lives. The mother (very well acted by Maureen Carr) is uptight and drawn in on herself. The father only appears on the side-lines, and yet is a powerful and pivotal part of the drama. Money is hidden in boxes and shoes.

The writing was superb, and I liked the sensual close-up shots of details such as nails, red lips, a candle, mirrors etc. The way the camera was used made it very intimate. It's a harrowing tale, with sexual undertones, while the Glasgow drizzle on the dark streets adds to the despair of the sad characters. There are some highly memorable shots conveyed simply by a walk, or a dropped shoulder - such as Trise walking away under the bridge. And the stunned and hurt look on Trise's face in the call centre, which hopes to helps people through using tarot cards, as she listens to a caller talk of her own abuse. The film works on several layers. It also looks at the dislocation people feel in our modern way of life - moving from extended families, living in flats, and turning to strangers for friendship instead.

At the start we see John Paul, wide-eyed and innocent, having photos shot as he wants to try modelling. Trise, his mother, is deluded and making poor choices for him, in a way pushing him away while she tries to keep him. John Paul's modelling turns into escort work and Trise's boss offers her money, and eventually they go on a date. There are also moments of humour and subtle irony. One excellent scene is when they are having a fairly normal meal, and starting to open up a bit, when the father appears with his dark presence and clouds everything over. But this, and other things offer moments of hope.

I felt at times the pacing of the film was a shade too intense, but this is a small detail in another wise challenging and memorable film, and something a bit different. It stands in start contrast to most American films which are either total fantasy, or the real' world' as seen through tainted glasses. This film depicts life with all its rough edges and displays unforgettable images.

This isn't 'light entertainment' but a thought provoking and real life drama.
One Life Stand is a truly involving and emotionally honest film.

'The credit you give yourself is not worth having.'

PS
I forgot, there are several funny bits… the cracker on John’s nose is brilliant! John played that really well! And his reciting from Shakespeare. I’d like to have seen more of John’s humour in the film. I can totally understand OLS winning awards

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John's acting is amazing it is a very compelling story and quite dark, for me it was much more than a mother/son relationship I found the father/son relationship quite compelling as well.

This film really does deserve a wider audience, it is a film that makes you think I esp found the Chloe scene very thought provoking.

John was brilliant as were all the cast and Maureen Carr was amazing as John's mother.

John looked so young but after a couple of minutes you forgot you were watching John and just got engrossed in the story. Marian

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I thought it might be depressing but I found it tense but amusing in places. Maureen Carr was excellent and so was John. in fact all the actors were good. I thought the film was about how difficult it is to communicate with people closest to you but easier to talk to strangers.
I thought the way it was filmed and in black and white aided the story.

 I thought the acting was very good (of course I loved John in it). I
liked the way the film was edited/cut ie the scene changes and the use of
lighting in certain scenes was clever. Some of the music was very
interesting.
My interpretation of the film (without giving too much away) was that it
explored communication through the vehicle of relationships especially
between Trice and John Paul, Trice and her ex-husband, Trice and
Justine, Trice and her boss and John Paul and his father and also in
situations such as the "dinner party". I think that the job that was
chosen for the character Trice was significant ie it fits in with my
idea of the film. How not getting your message across can lead to
difficult relationships and embarrassing situations and how we find it
sometimes easier to talk to strangers than those we love.

So for me the ending shows that John Paul, at least, found a situation
in which he found communication easy and was happy

I think I probably have seen the film differently from what was
intended. I think how life treats us and how we deal with certain
situations depends on our ability to communicate with other people. Eg
we as women must be assertive so as not to be victims - eg Trice does
this with her husband at the door - non-verbal communication by blocking
the door - a bit risky though - but she has stood up to him. Trice is
very successful at her job which, of course is communicating with people
over the phone, but I feel she and her son can't open up to each other -
hence the silence over John Paul's job at first. Her husband also
doesn't know how to communicate with John Paul and can only ridicule him
in the "dinner party" scene. Also when Trice and Justine speak they don't
really say what they mean or elaborate. Trice and her boss don't
communicate properly and this leads to a misunderstanding which
fortunately turns out OK. At the end it appears that, through his job,
John Paul has found someone who respects him for what he is and who he
can talk to.

I'm not sure whether I am reading too much into this. I think there is
a contrast between how the successful people talk in the film eg the
head of the agency, the taxi driver and Trice, John Paul etc but this
may just be part of their characterisation.
I need to watch the film again with this idea in mind to see if my
interpretation works. Rosemary

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