In the autumn of 2015, Novelist and Poet Megan Hunter, a mother to two young children, began writing The End We Start From in parts – a spare moment over a lunch break or whilst her children were in bed. Well-experienced in adaptations, award-winning playwright and screenwriter Alice Birch knew how to take Megan’s words and make them cinematic.
Describing her writing process as something that was unfolding right in front of her, Novelist and Poet Megan explains that she was motivated to ‘explore the mystery of the experience of having a baby – that feeling of being unmoored, yet simultaneously filled with love and responsibility.’
For the producers, Megan’s book was an amazing insight into the perilous journey of motherhood, with an added physical threat to life. As Leah Clarke, one of the producers, describes, ‘Megan is a very muscular writer, especially about the experience of motherhood in an unsentimental way.’
As Megan’s book focused solely on the protagonist and her experience, the producers knew that the adaptation would have to include the wider world for the audience to understand the circumstances – ‘we wanted to remain faithful to the spirit of the book, but for it to work visually, we didn’t want to make it solely an elliptical story of motherhood without interacting with the wider world. It was about striking that
balance.’
Well-experienced in adaptations, Alice Birch (Normal People, Lady Macbeth) knew how to take Megan’s words and make them cinematic. For Megan, who met with Alice before she wrote the script, her knowledge was essential to transforming the story.
‘I’m a huge admirer of Alice’s work and was incredibly excited to see what she created from the book. When I read an early draft of the screenplay, I was simply blown away – her writing is exquisite and feels true to the book, whilst also creating something new with its own power.’
Megan was surprised when she heard that her book was being turned into a film, mainly due to the way it is written: ‘It’s a prose poem novel of 17,000 words – not your usual film adaptation material perhaps. But there was always something very visual for me in the story and the way I wrote it. It’s been simply amazing to see it come to life this way.’
For Megan, who met with Alice before she wrote the script, her knowledge was essential to transforming the story: ‘I’m a huge admirer of Alice’s work and was incredibly excited to see what she created from the book. When I read an early draft of the screenplay, I was simply blown away – her writing is exquisite and feels true to the book, whilst also creating something new with its own power.”
When an environmental crisis sees London submerged by flood waters in The End We Start From, a young family is torn apart in the chaos. As a woman and her newborn try and find their way home, the profound novelty of motherhood is brought into sharp focus.
From Page To Screen
For such a visual story, the producers, and BBC Film, who were now supporting the development of the film, understood that it would need a director of a high calibre to bring the woman’s experience to the screen. They knew that ‘Mahalia Belo’s previous work is really all about women, and all very elemental, sensual, and intimate. We immediately felt that she would be the right person for this material. She read it
and she loved it and was very clear with what she would like to do with it.’
Upon reading Megan’s book, Mahalia expressed that she ‘hadn’t read anything that was as close to a depiction of motherhood, but also so unique in its portrayal and the circumstances of it. It’s so beautifully written – it’s morsels of poetry that describe so much. It was both expansive and intimate.’ For her, it almost felt like a responsibility to take this project on: ‘After reading the book, it remained in my stomach. It was lurking around, always somewhere in my mind. So, when I read Alice’s brilliant script, it felt very instinctive to step on board. I really wanted to make it.’
Mahalia notes that as a screenwriter, Alice has a unique and distinctive approach: ‘She writes every scene in a way that looks at it from all angles to find the most original take. Our differing modes of storytelling felt like a really interesting mix. I’ve loved working with her and developing the film together.’
For the lead role – a character that is barely off the screen – it was important to find an actress with enough talent to be the driving force of this film and not be afraid of the intensity. For the producers and Mahalia, Jodie Comer was the obvious choice.
Mahalia, again: ‘I just feel so lucky that she agreed to make this film with me. The level of trust she gave me was unbelievable. She is so insightful and playful with the material. I’ve never felt as trusted by an actor before and watching her work is so magical. She has brilliant instincts. It’s empowering and I’m very thankful for her.’
Leah adds that ‘Jodie is extraordinary, so we were delighted when she liked the script. She’s been a brilliant collaborator and an incredible asset. Performance-wise, she has both real sensitivity and a core of strength. She’s glorious and a risk taker.’
Jodie Comer, who admitted that she was unfamiliar with the material beforehand, ordered the book straight away: ‘I got an email saying that Mahalia was attached and read it as quick as I could. I loved how poetic it is, which continued in Alice’s script. You really have to embrace the dialogue and not be scared of it.’
One of the things that drew Jodie to the story was the explicit and at times unflinching portrayal of motherhood: ‘This is a very intimate and life-changing experience, set against the backdrop of a climate disaster. Even with all of this destruction going on, at the heart of it was this human experience.’
Jodie was inspired by the flaws in this character, who’s out of her depth: ‘I don’t think she’s always aware of the decisions that she is making. She’s overcome with something extremely primal through the birth of her son. What I always felt was really enticing was that this character goes on a very clear journey – who you meet at the beginning is not who you meet at the end.’
Two of Jodie’s best friends gave birth in the lead-up to production, so Jodie was able to lean on them for advice: ‘I had all this newness in my life, and I was able to ask them really personal questions about the birth and what their experience is like. So, that was incredibly helpful.’
And with Mahalia being a mother herself, Jodie felt comfortable speaking with her: ‘She really wanted to celebrate what it is to be a woman – the good things, the more brutal things – and not shy away from the difficulties. Of course, she had experience with all of this, so always had an idea of the moments she wanted to explore. I always felt very safe with her.’
For the producers, many of whom are mothers themselves, the fact that this is about a mother with a newborn son really added to the dynamic of the story: ‘It’s a form of natural protection – to focus on the baby and not think about yourself. It’s displacement. Her son, who is completely unaware of what the world should be, gives his mother a release, an escape. Which is vital to her survival.’
For Mahalia, who drew on her own experiences of parenthood when making the film, she knew that they had to balance the line between disaster and beauty: ‘When I had my first child, the world was intensely beautiful as it was through this child’s eyes. I wanted to show that in this film – the child is discovering this new world, which is a beautiful thing in itself. That innocence of childhood discovery.’
Another key experience Mahalia wanted to explore was the sense of parenthood taking over the feeling of self: ‘When you become a mother, there is a part of you that is forced to become someone else for a bit. You kind of lose all sense of who you are. With the disaster on top of this, it can be overwhelming. In a lot of ways, the film is looking at the journey back to the self.
The producers echo this idea, pointing out that the character’s persistence reflects the real struggles mothers go through – having to prioritise their children’s needs ahead of their own: ‘She just has to keep going, she has no choice. In each moment, she has to make a decision that is best for her child, even if she has no idea whether it is the right one. She has to hold it all together, never break. I think that’s a very
relatable theme for women and parents and all primary carers.’
As with all new parents, there is a sense of dependability on friends, family – people to lean on through the initial stages of the child’s life. For this story, it is no different. Jodie’s character, ‘Woman’, meets an assortment of characters throughout her journey who offer support, advice or simply lend an ear. For Mahalia, a key revelation in the film is to do with these relationships: ‘One of the themes is about partnership and the different aspects of that. We have two forms in the film – the partnership of a lover and the partnership of a friend. Both of these bring different difficulties and responsibilities.’
At its heart, this is a very human story. Humans coping with birth, with life, with change
Humans coping with death and with disaster. For Jodie, it is an embodiment of the human spirit and what you can achieve if you are truly tested to your limits: ‘When reading and filming this, I would always think – ‘Gosh, I don’t know if I would be able to pull myself through in the way that she does. It’s an expression of the power of humanity.
Megan agrees that it’s about the glimmers of beauty in the tragedy: ‘One of the things I found most powerful about the film were the moments of exquisite beauty in the midst of loss, grief and devastation. How the world is still so beautiful, despite what we are doing to it. The times of warmth and connection, and the sense of Woman’s relationship with nature – we see that her emotions are not separate from that which surrounds her and feel so keenly the intimate connections between her body and the natural world.’
For Mahalia, through the loss and horror of the disaster, both the strength of the individual and the strength of the community rise to the surface: ‘People are forced to come together and that can show vulnerability and can be challenging, but there is real joy in the connection that is made. That triumphs all.’
For the producing team, a key message of the film is the necessity to face up to your fears and walk towards challenges rather than away: ‘In this film, we’ve created a world that is quite scary and desperate, but at each stage, Jodie’s character meets someone that is very real and special and gives her the strength to carry on and move forward. And, obviously, the hope for the baby is that he lives in a better world.’
A Celebration Of Female Filmmaking
The End We Start From was first published in novel form by Megan Hunter and adapted for the screen by Alice Birch. Director Mahalia Belo, alongside producers, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland, Liza Marshall, Amy Jackson and Sophie Hunter, brought Megan and Alice’s words to life. Through this story, the universal truths of both womanhood and motherhood are distilled through the lens of DOP, Suzie Lavelle, and
through the creativity of production designer, Laura Ellis Cricks, hair and makeup designer, Louise Coles, costume designer PC Williams, casting director Shaheen Baig, with Anna Meredith composing the score.
The film was financed by Anton, C2 Motion Picture Group, BBC Film and the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.
Mahalia Belo was born and currently lives in London, England. She studied fine art at Central Saint Martins and Directing at the UK’s National Film and Television School. Her graduating film VOLUME (2012) premiered at Sundance and won the BIFA for best short. For television Mahalia made the single drama ELLEN (2016) which won her BAFTAs for Breakthrough Talent and Best Single Drama. She went on to direct Netflix’s six-part drama REQUIEM (2018) followed by the 3-part mini-series THE LONG SONG (2018) for BBC1/NBC for which she was BAFTA nominated for Best Director and which won Best Miniseries at the RTS Awards.
Alice Birch is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter whose recent plays include [BLANK] (Donmar Warehouse / Clean Break); Orlando (Schaubühne, Berlin) and Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court Theatre). Alice wrote on the TV adaptation of NORMAL PEOPLE (2020), alongside Sally Rooney and Mark O’Rowe, for which she and Sally were nominated for an Emmy. She also wrote on the TV adaptation of CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS (2022). She worked as Story Editor on Season 2 of SUCCESSION (2019) for HBO and most recently she was the lead writer and an Exec Producer on the critically acclaimed DEAD RINGERS (2023) for Annapurna and Amazon starring Rachel Weisz. Her first feature was LADY MACBETH (2016) which won 5 British Independent Film Awards in 2017 including Best Screenplay. Her second feature was an adaptation of the Graham Swift novel MOTHERING SUNDAY (2021) for Number 9 Films and Film4. Most recently she co-wrote THE WONDER (2022) with Sebastián Lelio and Emma Donoghue.
Other Awards include, Winner Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2018, George Devine Award (for Revolt. She said. Revolt again); Arts Foundation Award for Playwriting.
