Friends & Crocodiles

1981. Paul Reynolds is a Gatsby-like figure; owner of a magnificent house, a host of great parties, a collector of interesting people, a visionary with dreams of new urban landscapes, wind power, airships and questions about why the crocodile has survived unchanged for two millennia.

He persuades Lizzie Thomas, a secretary in local estate agents, to come and work for him as his assistant, to bring some order to his chaos.

Once at his country house at her world expands - she meets artists, historians and politicians. And, it is here that she first encounters Sneath - a social chameleon and born survivor, who is always there as events unfold and available to tell the story later.

Paul inspires Lizzie with his enthusiasm and imagination, and frustrates her with his apparent carelessness and destructiveness, which culminates in her calling the police as a great party is turned over by local troublemakers, seemingly with Paul's tacit approval.

A terrible row ensues between them and they part company vowing never to speak or see each other again.

But, some years later they do meet again, by chance, in London. Following this first awkward encounter their paths are destined to cross again and again as Lizzie, with the help of some of those she met at Paul's house, rises through the changing landscape of corporate Britain and Paul continues to pursue his dreams and create another Eden for himself.

Now the seemingly unstoppable impetus to change, rationalise and modernise has taken root, technology and everyone is moving on - nothing is permanent and constant.

However, eventually one certainty does become apparent and Lizzie and Paul come to accept that despite everything that has happened they were born to work together.

"Stephen Poliakoff's Friends and Crocodiles was like being slipped a slab of foie gras. If television had a calorific content, the audience would have put on a stone after the first 15 minutes..." Caitlin Moran, The Times "Stephen Poliakoff ... shows that it is still possible to write and direct fabulous, interesting drama. It was The Great Gatsby, then The Bonfire of the Vanities, then ... but that sounds like it wasn't original. It was ... Add to that two great performances from Jodhi May and Damian Lewis, and the result is a gem. Poliakoff is right out there on his own right now" Sam Woollaston, Guardian "Crocodiles has keen bite ... with its impressively lavish scenes of decadent spending, its three-dimensional and conflicted characters, and its themes of temptation, innovation and redemption ... it's a different story - and, from first scene to last, an excellent one ... This could be a dreadfully dull and pedantic exercise in sociopolitical drama, but Friends and Crocodiles is written and directed by Poliakoff, who with each effort strengthens his status as British TV's best auteur since Dennis Potter ... [it] also has, as its leads, the intensely charismatic Damian Lewis ... and the intensely intelligent Jodhi May." New York Daily News "...compelling ... the story of Lizzie and Paul turns out to be quite an intriguing - and by the end, unmissable - ride.” Chicago Tribune "The best reason to watch is [Jodhi] May, who does everything she can with every moment she's on screen.” Los Angeles Times "...meaty BBC drama..." West Australian "...both epic and extraordinary..." Campaign “Stephen Poliakoff's new drama works on a big canvas. It is so lavish and leisurely, you almost forget it is about the tricky subject of work ... The result is a fascinating critique of how wasteful the hedonism of the 1970s, and the greed-is-good attitude of the 1980s really were, and how a mismatched couple survive to try again.” -Sally Kinnes, Sunday Times
“...captivating drama by writer/director Stephen Poliakoff ... Lewis brings his customary charisma to the role but this is not a love story - which leaves the field clear for much perceptive observation about what makes Britain tick, and a bit of fun with all our yesterdays.” -Adrian Pettet, Sunday Express
“Stephen Poliakoff's impressive, beautifully filmic new drama, about a curious, challenging bond between colleagues, is a love story without romance ... Their later years carry the most emotional impact, but it's the early scenes - of Paul's magical gatherings (filmed at Castle Ashby near Northampton) and the vibrant use of red within each shot - and the languid, dreamlike pace that are the most haunting.”- Sunday Telegraph
“Stephen Poliakoff, a label that always guarantees flair of design ... Labelled or unlabelled, Friends & Crocodiles would have made you sit up and pay attention ... Jodhi May's performance was remarkable, too: her sense of period not just a matter of hair and costume but engrained in her manner. The label retains its reputation.” -Thomas Sutcliffe, Independent
“...riveting ... thought-provoking, well-made film.”- Emma Cox, Sun
“...nobody writes with such vision and flair...”- Richard Brooks, Sunday Times

Cast
Paul Reynolds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Damian Lewis
Lizzie Thomas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jodhi May
William Sneath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Lindsay
Anders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patrick Malahide
Butterworth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . Eddie Marsan
Marcus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Allan Corduner
Redfern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Larkin
Coyle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Warnaby
Albert Brother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Paul Hickey
Albert Brother. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Plester
Isabel Brook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Angela
Christine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sophie Hunter
Young Rachel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sasha Hardaway
Older Rachel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shannon Murray
Young Oliver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Harry Melling
Older Oliver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Tolputt
Graham. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .Giles Taylor
Carol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Olivia Poulet
Production Credits
Written by. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen Poliakoff
Directed by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stephen Poliakoff
Produced by. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .Nicolas Brown
Executive Producers. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .Peter Finchman, Stephen Poliakoff, David M. Thompson
Cinematography by. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Clare Douglas

Following the triumphant success of The Lost Prince, Stephen Poliakoff returns with an intoxicating film which follows the shifting power balance between a boss and his secretary as their careers rise and fall through the changing corporate landscape of 80s and 90s Britain.

It is the early 1980s. Paul Reynolds is the young, wealthy owner of a magnificent house, a host of great parties, and a patron of eccentrics - academics, poets, artists, revolutionaries and libertarians. Lizzie, persuaded to become his secretary, manages to bring some structure to this chaotic, visionary and hedonistic existence, but Paul's Eden seems destined to self-destruct. Lizzie and Paul fall out, but somehow inevitably, their paths are set to cross again and again...

In his inimitable style, Poliakoff combines cinematic panorama with moments of great intimacy as he takes an epic sweep through our recent past and creates an unforgettable story.