“After nourishment, shelter and companionship,” the author Philip Pullman once said, “stories are the thing we need most in the world.” With the focus of his latest documentary, Waterloo Sunset, shining a light on a community of older people living in the heart of London, experienced journalist turned filmmaker, Harvey Marcus, couldn’t agree more.
An inspirational oasis
About 10 years ago, Harvey was working in magazines in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames in London, situated near to Tate Modern. From the windows of his offices, he saw a fascinating collection of buildings, untouched by the hustle and bustle all around. As time passed, Harvey would notice luxury flats appear, changing the cityscape. But this ornate collection of buildings, Hopton’s Almshouses, remained unchanged – a bubble of loveliness, with beautiful brick buildings framing picturesque gardens, harking back to a bygone era.
“It was like watching the cartoon film Up,” recalls Harvey, likening the view to the home of the character Carl in the Pixar classic, “only this was real life. And the old being smothered by the new was happening outside my office window.”
Hopton’s tells the story of change and regeneration. It embodies generations having to cope with change.
Documenting history
Harvey had made short films before dealing with similar themes – in particular the 45-minute featurette, Beneath The Clocktower. Made in 2018, and later acquired by the National Film Archive, the documentary focussed on a street of independent shops in North London’s Crouch End and their fight for survival. “One by one, you saw these shops closing,” remembers Harvey, “and with them, stories that in some cases, went back generations. Part of the motivation behind Beneath The Clocktower was to document, even save, these stories for the future.”
Fast forward several years, and a similar impulse saw him return Hopton’s Almshouse, a collection of now 20, Grade II listed, cottages built with money left by the philanthropist Charles Hopton in 1752 and overseen by United St Saviour’s Charity, to provide affordable, sheltered housing for older people.
Harvey therefore approached United St Saviour’s to explain his desire to make a film about the almshouses and the people who live there. “With all these things you need a little bit of luck,” says Harvey of trying to find an inroad with his enquiries. “And the luck was, I found Jude Leighton, who is one of the senior managers in the charity, who immediately said yes.”
Why does Harvey think the charity was so enthusiastic about the idea? “What Hopton’s does is tell the story of change and regeneration. It embodies generations having to cope with change, this community living in a canyon of modernity. [The charity] put no pressure on me whatsoever. It was a case of, ‘Come on in’. The entry point for all this was the buildings, but the story was always going to be about the people and their lives.”
Harvey’s next task, then, was to meet the residents and get them on board with the project. To do so, Harvey arranged a screening of Beneath The Clocktower to the residents in the committee room, which is the main building in the heart of the almshouses, to give them an idea of the tone he wanted to strike.
“One or two residents were reluctant to take part,” recalls Harvey, “but even they were enthusiastic about the concept behind the film of giving voice to a section of society that is often overlooked.”
I knew that if you spent enough time with people their stories would emerge. If you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life then you have plenty of experience and stories to share!
Waterloo Sunset
The resulting film, Waterloo Sunset, is 90 minutes long, cut down from the 60 hours of footage Harvey had shot. Billed as ‘A coming of age story with a difference’, it’s a naturalist portrait of six main ‘characters’, dipping in and out of their lives via a series of unhurried interviews in their homes, their gardens, and as they go about their everyday errands away from the almshouses. These encounters deal with everything from living on your own to relationships, loss and health struggles – as well as hot-button topics that older people have equally complicated opinions on.
“When I started filming,” says Harvey, “there was no agenda. I knew that if you spent enough time with people their stories would emerge. And if you’re lucky enough to have lived a long life then you have plenty of experience and stories to share!” Filmed over three months, Harvey was keen to allow the documentary to evolve organically, rather than rush the process.
“It’s basically about making people feel comfortable to speak – and it takes time,” explains Harvey. “I wanted the film to breathe. I wanted those moments in there where people talk about things like struggles with advancing technology, but amid everything else.”
Many of the interviews result in revelations that we won’t spoil here. Shamus, for instance, is a 76-year-old musician who reveals he enjoyed a level of success in the past. He remains passionate about his art, and we see him in the early morning hours working on his craft. As Waterloo Sunset unfolds, Shamus becomes a central and inspirational character, epitomising the ebb and flows of growing older, and eventually is bravely willing to speak about his life in way that surprises both himself and the filmmaker.
In similar fashion, there’s 92-year-old Jenny, who had only recently moved to the Hopton’s when the filming was taking place. Harvey came across her while walking around the gardens and was struck by what an extraordinary wellspring of positivity she was, though her determination and self-sufficiency belied some dark times in her life, which she discusses openly.
“There was a level of intimacy in my questions that you can’t ask your parents or grandparents, so you probably never do,” reveals Harvey. “Of all the conversations I had, possibly asking someone of advanced age their thoughts on life after death somehow seemed the most intrusive. And yet, all were happy to talk about a subject that is almost taboo in our society."
Society too often writes off a whole swathe of the population at retirement age. It’s so wrong.
A political film?
“I’ve been asked on a number of occasions whether it’s a political film ,” Harvey says of Waterloo Sunset, “and it’s isn’t. It’s simply about people and how they live. But, I guess, in some ways, its very existence makes it political, and I was keen to make it accessible to younger audiences as well as older. If the film has an overriding message, it’s that how we view older people as a society needs to change – and by extension, the part that older people play in society needs attention. We have this vast resource of experience and knowledge that is criminally undervalued and underused. At the same time, society too often writes off a whole swathe of the population at retirement age. It’s so wrong.”
The film has gained some traction independent cinemas from Hastings to the Orkneys, with London showings selling out to audiences across the city. Currently now available to audiences via community cinema platforms such as Moviola, ArtsAlive and the Film Hub Wales. Made on a shoestring budget, the documentary continues to grow.
“The film has exceeded expectations,” says Harvey, “but it’s the reaction from audiences that gives me hope the film can have an even wider impact. The many Q&As, where people not only talk about the film but their own experiences of growing older, tell me Waterloo Sunset can play an important part in the conversation about how society deals with old age. Ageing should not be a taboo subject.”
Harvey is currently working on his new documentary, PARIS 75, the story of Leeds United infamous defeat to Bayern Munich in 1975; central to the film is unseen footage taken by fans at the time, and sees Harvey explore similar themes of living history that makes Waterloo Sunset such rich and rewarding viewing.
As to what’s been the most satisfying aspect, personally, the filmmaker points to a screening at the Electric Palace Hastings. “I’ve seen the film a hundred times,” Harvey recalls, “but it just dawned me what Waterloo Sunset’s biggest achievement has been. It's putting these so-called ‘ordinary’ people on a big screen and seeing the audience enthralled with what they had to say that gives me the most satisfaction. I think everyone has a story to tell, and if you live that long, you have more stories than others. And in them there is wisdom and history and opinions that matter as much as everyone else’s.”
Waterloo Sunset can be viewed at independent cinemas, community cinemas and film clubs via: filmhubwales.org, www.moviola.org/ and artsalive.co.uk/
More information on the film is available here.
