How Freddie Powell took a loving look at parental passion

A lot of romantic comedies tend to focus on the hookup. The meet-cute. The art of seduction. Well, not so for Freddie Powell...

With his personal short, Not Like Us, the Drool filmmaker invites us into the life of an ageing couple whose quirks and eccentricities are both the pain points and fundamentals of their relationship.

Combining witty observations with a deliciously sweet core, Powell's film offers a charming and hopeful view of ongoing 'marital bliss'. We caught up with him to find out how it was done.

Where did the concept for the short come from? Is there a hint of your parents in the characters?

It came to me at a point in my life where I realised that every relationship is unique and functions in its own weird way. What one couple might find completely insane, another might see as perfectly normal. 

We all tend to think our way is the default (hence the name Not Like Us). 

My parents’ relationship has always worked in the most fucked up, hilarious way.

My parents’ relationship has always worked in the most fucked up, hilarious way, so yes, there’s definitely a bit of them in there.

How did you go about casting? What were the qualities you were looking for?

Oh man. Well. I was a big fan of Robert Bathurst, and he was actually my dream choice. Amazingly, he said yes, so he fell into place first. Then I set about finding Diana, who just blew me away. There’s a moment in the film where she has a meltdown in her art studio - when the 1st AD called cut, we all exhaled. 

Joel (DP) and I looked at each other, and we both had tears rolling down our cheeks. She made me realise how actors truly become their characters. 

She wasn’t acting there. She was.

Tell us a bit about the shoot. We hear the location was close to home...

I can’t tell you the joy I felt making something just for the love of it, rather than for a client. 

The shoot was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on set. I come from a commercial background and this was my first proper personal project - it was so liberating not to have to turn around after every setup and get approval to move on. 

The shoot was probably the most fun I’ve ever had on set. 

And yes, the house is my parents’ place, where I grew up. It was free, it’s a mad old house that suited the characters perfectly, and my parents couldn’t get over the fact that a film was being based on them!

But honestly - two days. The sun was out. BBQ for catering. Pub dinners. 

It was a dream.

Did the storytelling change at all in the edit? How did you draw out the comedy beats?

It did!

Ben Campbell (editor) was instrumental in reshaping the scenes into a build that worked. It was a balancing act, making both characters feel equally responsible for the dynamic. 

Early cuts made Diana’s character seem like the biggest bitch of all time, and that really wasn’t the intention! 

Ben’s a comedic genius and I trust his taste completely.