Jack Lowden, who has played British spies, feudal lords, World War II fighter pilots and even a wrestler, takes on his most modern role yet.
In “Vote Gavin Lyle,” a satirical short story by WePresent, WeTransfer’s arts platform, the Emmy nominee plays an ambitious right-wing politician with a family from Middle England.
“Vote Gavin Lyle,” released today on YouTube and WePresent, is from writer-director Aniel Karia, who won an Oscar with Riz Ahmed for the 2022 short film “The Long Goodbye” and most recently directed “Hamlet,” starring Ahmed.
As the film shows, Lyle, who made his money in the “lucrative” world of private care homes, is a proud flag-waving, English breakfast-eating Brit who now wants to help his country overcome deep-rooted problems that he blames squarely on immigration.
“I’m not against different cultures. I’ve done tapas,” he says.
Although it is not explicitly stated, it is clear from the film that Lyle is a candidate for Nigel Farage’s right-wing party Reform UK, which has seen a recent surge in approval ratings and is expected to win a landslide victory in the May 7 local elections.
Described as “honest but restrained, with tart, dark humour,” the film sees Lyle accidentally order a miniature Union Jack flag to be hung over a motorway, invent a fictional story about his family to criticize a hotel housing asylum seekers, and in one moment espouse outright racism.
“I wanted to explore the rise and normalization of far-right politics in Britain from a very different perspective than my previous short film, The Long Goodbye,” said Kalia. “I was particularly interested in the people at the center of parties like Reform UK. How dishonest they are, how brazenly they pretend to be men of the people, and how their fears and weaknesses lurk beneath the surface. Voters are disenfranchised and patronized by the political system. It’s understandable that people would lean toward the answers these movements offer, but the film continues to highlight the gap between what these people claim to stand for and reality.”
“Vote Gavin Lyle” was commissioned by WePresent and represents WeTransfer and Calia’s latest collaboration since “The Long Goodbye.” The film also marks WePresent’s continued collaboration with Somesuch, the production company behind “The Long Goodbye.”
“After ‘The Long Goodbye,’ we knew we wanted to work with Anil again, so we’ve stayed in touch over the last few years to discuss what might be appropriate as a follow-up collaboration,” said Holly Fraser, vice president of content at WeTransfer.
“He is not only an inspirational but also an incredibly astute filmmaker, bringing layers of meaning to a film that stays with you long after the credits have rolled off. That’s exactly what this film does so well: the insidious nature of the far-right movement. It pinpoints the creeping rhetoric that has polluted our society. Like our previous film, The Long Goodbye, this felt like an important and urgent film to make.” WePresent commissions culturally relevant work that starts conversations, and we’re honored to have confidence in Anil’s vision in this way. ”
See ‘Vote for Gavin Lyle’ below.
