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Respectable the Mary Millington Story

 

Documentary chronicling the extraordinary life and tragic death of Mary Millington - Britain's most famous pornographic actress of the 1970s.

I’d never met Scott before, but I’d heard his compositions previously and was hugely impressed.

 

We finally met through our mutual friend, Jim Groom, who was working with me at Pinewood Studios as editor on my feature-length documentary Respectable – The Mary Millington Story. Being my first film I wanted a score which would really enhance my visuals but not overpower them.

 

Mary’s story is sexy and sad in equal measure and I asked Scott whether he could come up with a score which could reflect both light and shade. It’s a long film too – at nearly two hours – so I knew I was asking a lot, especially when I gave him a very long list of influences which I wanted, if possible, for him to include.

 

I listed everything from Hot Chocolate, Chic, Jean Michel Jarre to David Guetta and even Coldplay! Although Respectable encompasses all of Mary’s relatively short life, it’s very much a film which wallows in the 1970s, so I wanted the soundtrack to mirror that.

 

I knew I didn’t just want a score of disco pastiches; I needed a very European electronic-sound, tinged with joy as well as tragedy. I can say that Scott delivered everything I wanted in spades.

 

He even gave me charming little vignettes which reference Carry On movies and Benny Hill, as well as more moving aural pieces which take place towards the final section of the movie. Scott is a great composer – patient, smart and talented. I’d recommend him to any filmmaker.

 

Simon Sheridan

Director/ Writer / Producer

 

Respectable The Mary Millington Story

Opening Music

The Goodfilm Guide - Review

Respectable‘s intended mood is also well conveyed by Scott Benzie’s solid score; it’s upbeat and positive when we see Mary’s rise to fame and her enjoying life, more powerful when she’s trying to take on the system with her public sex-shop owner profile, and switches with the film to a rather downbeat and tragic tone as we explore Mary’s eventual downfall (a section of the film which is covered far too quickly, and presents a seemingly indefensible conspiracy theory around her untimely end).

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http://goodfilmguide.co.uk/respectable-the-mary-millington-story-review/

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