Dir: Sophie Hyde. Starring: Holliday Grainger, Alia Shawkat, Fra Fee, Dermot Murphy, Amy Molloy, and Pat Shortt. 15, 109 mins
At what point does a friendship slide into co-dependency? It’s the question at the heart of Sophie Hyde’s second feature, Animals, which treads, in part, a well-worn path: two party girls crash into their thirties only to realise they’re growing increasingly distant from each other. Laura (Holliday Grainger) has met a man, Jim (Fra Fee), and is starting to think about settling down. Her best friend Tyler (Alia Shawkat) wants to “reject the nuclear family in favour of an enlightened life”. Adapted by Emma Jane Unsworth from her own 2014 novel, Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. You’ll find no life lessons here. Laura and Tyler are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end.
While Laura’s happily spent her twenties in a cycle of drink, pass out, recover, repeat, she’s given a sudden jolt when her older sister announces that she’s pregnant – intentionally, not accidentally. Laura, in reaction, throws herself into a monogamous relationship with Jim and dedicates herself to the novel that she’s only written ten pages of in the last decade. Will embracing conventional adulthood make her any happier than before? It’s not so clear. Although Grainger’s spent much of her career shunted to the sidelines of her films, it’s encouraging to see her get increasing recognition for the level of subtlety she brings to her work. Animals is a perfect showcase for her: Laura may look calm on the surface, but the occasional twitch, smirk, or nervous glance lets us in on what’s really going on.
Tyler, meanwhile, remains confused as to why Laura would ever want to partake in the exact same system they’ve been railing against for so many years. She tries instead to distract her with the temporary charms of Marty (Dermot Murphy), the leader of a bohemian literary circle whose members seem determined to outmatch each other in their utter lack of shame and humility. Tyler herself speaks almost exclusively in snippets of poetry, since she seems to subscribe to the idea of living as art rather than creating art. Why say that her period’s synced with Laura’s when she could declare: “the moon has married us both”? Coming from the mouth of any other actor, this might seem like forced eccentricity, but Shawkat has a kind of mystical conviction to the way she delivers lines that makes you quickly accept that this might just be her native language.
Crucially, Animals doesn’t treat Tyler as the jealous, possessive friend, but aims for something more nuanced. Without ever explicitly stating it, Hyde’s direction plants the idea that these women are holding on so fiercely to their friendship because it’s one of the only ways they can really define themselves. They see themselves as two halves of a whole. When Grainger and Shawkat are onscreen together, it’s like watching an electrical storm brew before our eyes. When they’re apart, they’re less confident in their gestures. It makes it all the more heartbreaking to watch them realise there are differences between them that they may never be able to overcome, offering a refreshing take on toxic friendships that doesn’t put the blame on either party.
1/27 Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall began life as Anhedonia, which is the scientific term for the inability to experience pleasure. But the title Annie Hall was eventually settled on, inspired by actress Diane Keaton’s real name, Diane Hall, and her nickname, Annie.
United Artists
2/27 Dynasty (1981-89)
The hit series, which revolves around the family of an oil magnate, was originally supposed to be titled… wait for it… Oil. But it was then changed to Dynasty to compete with rival soap Dallas.
CBS Television Distribution
3/27 Back to the Future (1985)
Steven Spielberg genuinely thought the title Spaceman from Pluto was a joke suggestion, so it didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by the now iconic name Back to the Future. He contacted the Universal Studios head Sid Sheinberg who had suggested the Pluto title, with a message thanking him for sending his wonderful “joke” name, saying the office “got a kick out of it”. Ouch.
Universal Pictures
4/27 The Breakfast Club (1985)
The original script for this classic high-school movie went by the very naff name The Lunch Bunch, but thanks to the son of one of director John Hughes’s friends, who had a school detention class called The Breakfast Club, the title was changed.
Universal Pictures
5/27 Fatal Attraction (1987)
The much friendlier sounding Affairs of the Heart wasn’t a great match for the psychological thriller that brought us the bunny boiler, and after it received a poor reception from audiences, the film’s title was changed to Fatal Attraction.
Paramount Pictures
6/27 Licence to Kill (1989)
This Bond film was, at one time, called Licence Revoked, but test audiences associated the title too much with driving, so thankfully it was changed to something far punchier.
United Artists
7/27 Saved by the Bell (1989-93)
NBC’s Good Morning Miss Bliss centred on Hayley Mills as the eponymous teacher but, after the comedy briefly moved to the Disney Channel and then back to NBC, it was re-tooled
to focus on the teenage students instead, therefore taking on a new name: Saved By The Bell.
CBS Studios International
8/27 Goodfellas (1990)
The Scorsese classic is an adaptation of a mobster novel called Wiseguy, which was originally also the title of the film, but the name had to be changed because it had already been taken for an 80s TV series.
Warner Bros
9/27 Pretty Woman (1990)
Originally a dark drama about class and sex work, Pretty Woman’s first title was 3,000 – the amount of money that Richard Gere’s character Edward spends on a week of Vivian’s (Julia Roberts) time. Disney changed the name as it came across as “too science-fictiony”, as well as the tone of the movie which was turned into a rom-com fairytale.
Buena Vista Pictures
10/27 Friends (1994-2004)
The beloved sitcom went through many different name changes, with all the following titles considered: Friends Like Us, Six of One, Across the Hall, Once Upon a Time in the West Village, and Insomnia Cafe. It’s now hard to imagine the show becoming such a monumental hit with any of those names.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
11/27 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction was initially inspired by the detective crime stories in the seminal magazine Black Mask, hence its first name. The publication was a pulp magazine, which goes some way to explaining the new title.
Miramax Films
12/27 Titanic (1997)
In a line from the classic 1997 film, the older version of Rose says: “Titanic was called the ship of dreams, and it was, it really was.” It was also the original title of the film, before the simpler name of Titanic was chosen.
20th Century Fox
13/27 That ’70s Show (1998-2006)
Early ideas for the 70s sitcom’s name included Teenage Wasteland and The Kids Are Alright, but because the creators couldn’t get song title rights from The Who, they were forced to change the name of the show.
Carsey-Werner Distribution
14/27 American Pie (1999)
It was a bold move from screenwriter Adam Herz when he submitted his spec script to studios under the title Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But The Executive Will Hate. But the risk paid off, with the film, eventually named American Pie, grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide.
Universal Pictures
15/27 Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
The black comedy was originally supposed to be called Dairy Queens. However, the company that owns fast food chain Dairy Queen apparently didn’t love the idea of being associated with the movie, so they filed a lawsuit and, lo and behold, Drop Dead Gorgeous was born.
New Line Cinema
16/27 8 Simple Rules (2002-03)
This family sitcom originally had a longer name, but when star John Ritter – who played the concerned father in the show – suddenly died after filming the third episode of the second series, the show changed its format and name to 8 Simple Rules and Ritter’s death was written into the plot.
Buena Vista International Television
17/27 Cars (2006)
The animated hit was initially called Route 66 after the iconic road in America, but the title was changed to Cars to avoid confusion with a 60s TV show of the same name.
Buena Vista Pictures
18/27 Hannah Montana (2006-11)
Miley Cyrus’s Disney comedy was originally called Alexis Texas but, because a porn actor shares the same name, it had to be changed in case children looked up the show’s title and accidentally found pornography.
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
19/27 The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
The Big Bang Theory’s original rhyming title was forced to change after the character Kenny’s name switched to Sheldon, who was then brought to life by Jim Parsons.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
20/27 Samantha Who? (2007-09)
Clearance issues with the estate of Dr Seuss led ABC to change the name of its Christina Applegate-led show, as the original title, Sam I Am, drew on the first lines of Dr Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham.
Disney – ABC Domestic Television
21/27 The Good Wife (2009-16)
The Good Wife’s creators got a call from CBS pushing them to change the title just as it went into production. The network did actually consider Leave the Bastard, but ultimately decided to play it safe with The Good Wife.
CBS Television Distribution
22/27 Shutter Island (2010)
Ashecliffe, the name of the hospital in Martin Scorcese’s thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was originally going to be the film’s title before it was changed to Shutter Island.
Paramount Pictures
23/27 New Girl (2011-18)
New Girl was initially pitched as “a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women”, hence its original, provocative title: Chicks and Dicks. Not only did this name attract the wrong kind of attention, but New Girl better reflected the content of the sitcom, which ended up revolving around Zooey Deschanel’s Jess.
20th Television
24/27 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The Tom Cruise action movie was originally known as All You Need Is Kill, the title of the book on which the movie is based, but filmmakers changed the title because they felt the word “kill” was too problematic. “I think the word ‘kill’ in a title is very tricky in today’s world…” producer Edwin Stoff said. “We see it enough in real newspaper headlines, and I don’t think we need to see it when we’re looking at a movie.” After a lucklustre box office opening, the film’s name was changed once again, in marketing and for home release, to Live, Die, Repeat.
Warner Bros Pictures
25/27 Lovesick (2014-18)
The relationship comedy drama starring Johnny Flynn was renamed after one series because, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was suffering from a lack of word of mouth, with people reluctant to say the word “scrotal”.
Clerkenwell Films
26/27 Stranger Things (2016-)
The original title of the Netflix hit was Montauk, as the plan had been for it to be set in a village of the same name in New York. However, when creators the Duffer brothers later relocated the show’s action to the fictional town of Hawkins in Indiana, the name changed to Stranger Things. Intriguingly, Montauk also happens to be the title of a short film which the Duffer brothers were accused of plagiarising.
Netflix
27/27 Arrival (2017)
The sci-fi film starring Amy Adams originally went by the title of the novella it was based on, Story of Your Life, but because producer Shawn Levy thought it “sounds a bit like a One Direction song” and “multiword titles can be really problematic”, the movie changed its name to Arrival.
Paramount Pictures
1/27 Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall began life as Anhedonia, which is the scientific term for the inability to experience pleasure. But the title Annie Hall was eventually settled on, inspired by actress Diane Keaton’s real name, Diane Hall, and her nickname, Annie.
United Artists
2/27 Dynasty (1981-89)
The hit series, which revolves around the family of an oil magnate, was originally supposed to be titled… wait for it… Oil. But it was then changed to Dynasty to compete with rival soap Dallas.
CBS Television Distribution
3/27 Back to the Future (1985)
Steven Spielberg genuinely thought the title Spaceman from Pluto was a joke suggestion, so it didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by the now iconic name Back to the Future. He contacted the Universal Studios head Sid Sheinberg who had suggested the Pluto title, with a message thanking him for sending his wonderful “joke” name, saying the office “got a kick out of it”. Ouch.
Universal Pictures
4/27 The Breakfast Club (1985)
The original script for this classic high-school movie went by the very naff name The Lunch Bunch, but thanks to the son of one of director John Hughes’s friends, who had a school detention class called The Breakfast Club, the title was changed.
Universal Pictures
5/27 Fatal Attraction (1987)
The much friendlier sounding Affairs of the Heart wasn’t a great match for the psychological thriller that brought us the bunny boiler, and after it received a poor reception from audiences, the film’s title was changed to Fatal Attraction.
Paramount Pictures
6/27 Licence to Kill (1989)
This Bond film was, at one time, called Licence Revoked, but test audiences associated the title too much with driving, so thankfully it was changed to something far punchier.
United Artists
7/27 Saved by the Bell (1989-93)
NBC’s Good Morning Miss Bliss centred on Hayley Mills as the eponymous teacher but, after the comedy briefly moved to the Disney Channel and then back to NBC, it was re-tooled
to focus on the teenage students instead, therefore taking on a new name: Saved By The Bell.
CBS Studios International
8/27 Goodfellas (1990)
The Scorsese classic is an adaptation of a mobster novel called Wiseguy, which was originally also the title of the film, but the name had to be changed because it had already been taken for an 80s TV series.
Warner Bros
9/27 Pretty Woman (1990)
Originally a dark drama about class and sex work, Pretty Woman’s first title was 3,000 – the amount of money that Richard Gere’s character Edward spends on a week of Vivian’s (Julia Roberts) time. Disney changed the name as it came across as “too science-fictiony”, as well as the tone of the movie which was turned into a rom-com fairytale.
Buena Vista Pictures
10/27 Friends (1994-2004)
The beloved sitcom went through many different name changes, with all the following titles considered: Friends Like Us, Six of One, Across the Hall, Once Upon a Time in the West Village, and Insomnia Cafe. It’s now hard to imagine the show becoming such a monumental hit with any of those names.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
11/27 Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fiction was initially inspired by the detective crime stories in the seminal magazine Black Mask, hence its first name. The publication was a pulp magazine, which goes some way to explaining the new title.
Miramax Films
12/27 Titanic (1997)
In a line from the classic 1997 film, the older version of Rose says: “Titanic was called the ship of dreams, and it was, it really was.” It was also the original title of the film, before the simpler name of Titanic was chosen.
20th Century Fox
13/27 That ’70s Show (1998-2006)
Early ideas for the 70s sitcom’s name included Teenage Wasteland and The Kids Are Alright, but because the creators couldn’t get song title rights from The Who, they were forced to change the name of the show.
Carsey-Werner Distribution
14/27 American Pie (1999)
It was a bold move from screenwriter Adam Herz when he submitted his spec script to studios under the title Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million That Your Reader Will Love But The Executive Will Hate. But the risk paid off, with the film, eventually named American Pie, grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worldwide.
Universal Pictures
15/27 Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
The black comedy was originally supposed to be called Dairy Queens. However, the company that owns fast food chain Dairy Queen apparently didn’t love the idea of being associated with the movie, so they filed a lawsuit and, lo and behold, Drop Dead Gorgeous was born.
New Line Cinema
16/27 8 Simple Rules (2002-03)
This family sitcom originally had a longer name, but when star John Ritter – who played the concerned father in the show – suddenly died after filming the third episode of the second series, the show changed its format and name to 8 Simple Rules and Ritter’s death was written into the plot.
Buena Vista International Television
17/27 Cars (2006)
The animated hit was initially called Route 66 after the iconic road in America, but the title was changed to Cars to avoid confusion with a 60s TV show of the same name.
Buena Vista Pictures
18/27 Hannah Montana (2006-11)
Miley Cyrus’s Disney comedy was originally called Alexis Texas but, because a porn actor shares the same name, it had to be changed in case children looked up the show’s title and accidentally found pornography.
Disney-ABC Domestic Television
19/27 The Big Bang Theory (2007-19)
The Big Bang Theory’s original rhyming title was forced to change after the character Kenny’s name switched to Sheldon, who was then brought to life by Jim Parsons.
Warner Bros Television Distribution
20/27 Samantha Who? (2007-09)
Clearance issues with the estate of Dr Seuss led ABC to change the name of its Christina Applegate-led show, as the original title, Sam I Am, drew on the first lines of Dr Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham.
Disney – ABC Domestic Television
21/27 The Good Wife (2009-16)
The Good Wife’s creators got a call from CBS pushing them to change the title just as it went into production. The network did actually consider Leave the Bastard, but ultimately decided to play it safe with The Good Wife.
CBS Television Distribution
22/27 Shutter Island (2010)
Ashecliffe, the name of the hospital in Martin Scorcese’s thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was originally going to be the film’s title before it was changed to Shutter Island.
Paramount Pictures
23/27 New Girl (2011-18)
New Girl was initially pitched as “a young ensemble comedy about the sexual politics of men and women”, hence its original, provocative title: Chicks and Dicks. Not only did this name attract the wrong kind of attention, but New Girl better reflected the content of the sitcom, which ended up revolving around Zooey Deschanel’s Jess.
20th Television
24/27 Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
The Tom Cruise action movie was originally known as All You Need Is Kill, the title of the book on which the movie is based, but filmmakers changed the title because they felt the word “kill” was too problematic. “I think the word ‘kill’ in a title is very tricky in today’s world…” producer Edwin Stoff said. “We see it enough in real newspaper headlines, and I don’t think we need to see it when we’re looking at a movie.” After a lucklustre box office opening, the film’s name was changed once again, in marketing and for home release, to Live, Die, Repeat.
Warner Bros Pictures
25/27 Lovesick (2014-18)
The relationship comedy drama starring Johnny Flynn was renamed after one series because, perhaps unsurprisingly, it was suffering from a lack of word of mouth, with people reluctant to say the word “scrotal”.
Clerkenwell Films
26/27 Stranger Things (2016-)
The original title of the Netflix hit was Montauk, as the plan had been for it to be set in a village of the same name in New York. However, when creators the Duffer brothers later relocated the show’s action to the fictional town of Hawkins in Indiana, the name changed to Stranger Things. Intriguingly, Montauk also happens to be the title of a short film which the Duffer brothers were accused of plagiarising.
Netflix
27/27 Arrival (2017)
The sci-fi film starring Amy Adams originally went by the title of the novella it was based on, Story of Your Life, but because producer Shawn Levy thought it “sounds a bit like a One Direction song” and “multiword titles can be really problematic”, the movie changed its name to Arrival.
Paramount Pictures
Although Unsworth’s book takes place in Manchester, the action has been here moved to Dublin. It’s fitting, admittedly, to see Laura stumble drunkenly in the footsteps of James Joyce and William Butler Yeats (the latter is repeatedly quoted in the film), somehow still lacking in inspiration despite living in a city that lives and breathes literary genius. Cinematographer and editor Bryan Mason allows for a hazy, heady depiction of Dublin, focused on the backstreets and the glow of incandescent street lights. The city seems empty, since Laura and Tyler always navigate it in the dead of night, much like the urban foxes that frequently pop up on screen. Their presence makes for an unnecessary metaphor, really – Animals is so refreshingly nuanced that anything that signposts its themes feels like a detriment.
Animals is released in UK cinemas on 2 August
