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My Beautiful Laundrette: Continuity, costume notes, polaroids

These extensive costume and continuity notes were produced during the filming of My Beautiful Laundrette, a 1985 film written by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Stephen Frears. Originally devised for television, Kureishi’s first screenplay was shot on a low budget in only six weeks. Set in Thatcher-era south London, the film is a ground-breaking exploration of race, class, politics and sexuality. It centres on Omar, a young British-Pakistani man who is given the opportunity to renovate his uncle’s laundrette, and Johnny, his boyhood friend who has fascist sympathies and who becomes Omar’s lover. The romantic relationship between these young men develops alongside the film’s other concerns ─ such as the British Asian struggle to maintain ethnic identity while assimilating into Western society, represented by Papa Hussain, an alcoholic, disillusioned socialist, and Uncle Nasser, a rich entrepreneur. The film stars Saeed Jaffrey (Nasser), Roshan Seth (Papa Hussain), Daniel Day Lewis (Johnny) and Gordon Warnecke (Omar). My Beautiful Laundrette became a huge commercial and critical success after it was applauded by film critics at the Edinburgh Film Festival, leading to international distribution for cinema in 1986 and an Oscar nomination for Kureishi. What are continuity notes? When shooting a film, continuity notes are logged for every take to ensure continuity between screen direction, action, costume, props, and so on. Photographs, like the Polaroids shown here, support the work. Written in a messy hand, these notes convey the sense of an animated atmosphere on set. For a film that is so concerned with identity and boundaries between characters, the continuity notes emphasise the role of costume as a signifier of status. Note the flash suit and aviator sunglasses worn by nouveau riche drug trafficker Salim, and the transformation of Omar from an unemployed lad in jeans and sweatshirt to the cleaned-up, suited businessman who is increasingly swayed by Thatcherite economic competiveness.

stunner from “My Beautiful Laundrette”. 

on a hill above Santiago. Many signs said SILENCE. Also,

CAREFUL OF THE PLANTS. I sat on a bench reading

The Revolution of 1936-1939 by the poet Kanafani.

It is 54 years since he wrote the book, brief but shaped

like Black Reconstruction, beginning with chapters called

The Workers, The Peasants, and The Intellectuals, before

the one called Revolution. In Santiago it is four years since

the estaillido social. There is still smoke everywhere and downtown

spontaneous goth style. I sat there with the history and I

sat there with the book like everybody does. The book’s

introduction refers matter of factly to the most advanced form

of political struggle (the armed struggle). The revolution

in Palestine is not over. It is twelve years since the Port of Oakland

which is not over. It is eight years since Standing Rock

which is not over. It is three years since the George Floyd Uprising

which is not over. If you look down from this hillside you can see

that Santiago is a vast city, vaster than you imagined. You can see

there will not be enough water soon. You can see the stadium

where many people were tortured and killed, some of whom were

Victor Jara. It is 50 years and 15 days since the coup

which is not over. Nothing is over, that is the only certainty.

The other certainty is that everything ends, even this.

Poem

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