A life backwards, starring tom hardy as a homeless alcoholic and benedict cumberbatch as the writer documenting his life. A life backwards by alexander masters fourth estate buy it for. Stuarts life and way of thinking momentarily exposed. The acting and directing are brilliantly executed and the lights are spot on. With a keen writers eye, a gift for narrative and a friendship that lasted only four years, masters recounts the life of stuart clive shorter whose untimely death in 2002 inspired this work. When stuart shorter a homeless alcoholic with a violent past meets writer and charity worker alexander masters, they strike up an unlikely friendship. List of awards and nominations received by tom hardy. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The actor, who has appeared in rocknrolla and stuart. Tales of postoffice heists, suicide attempts and spells inside various institutions help alexander understand how stuarts life spiralled out of control. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart clive shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. A life backwards 2007 a writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. He played the lead role of stuart shorter, a homeless man who had been subjected to years of abuse and whose death was possibly a suicide.
With humour, compassion and exasperation alexander masters slowly works stuart, a life backwards is the story of a friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release charity workers from prison. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait. A life backwards tom hardy benedict cumberbatch nicola duffett 2007 a writer benedict cumberbatch documents the life of a homeless alcoholic tom hardy who has a violent past. Jan 02, 2006 stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. The main characters of this non fiction, biography story are.
A writer cumberbatch takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart hardy, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his childhood. Stuart shorter spent his late teens and adult life alternating between the streets and prison with occasional, mostly short lived, forays into accommodation. Through the pale tesco stripes of his supermarket bag i can see the wedge of my papers. A life backwards by alexander masters guardian first book. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. As their friendship blossoms, he peels back the layers of a troubled past and discovers just as much about his own along the way.
A life backwards kindle edition by masters, alexander. Stuart s life and way of thinking momentarily exposed. With benedict cumberbatch, tom hardy, nicola duffett, clairelouise cordwell. However, if every medical professional read stuart.
As alexander learns more about stuart s complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that its more exciting like a tom clancy murder mystery. Stuart was homeless, with many of the problems this subsection of british society display. A life backwards was a 2007 bbc film based on the award winning biography, penned by alexander masters, of stuart clive shorter a homeless man living on the streets of cambridge in the year 2000. Ive had a blinding idea stuart shows up at alexanders house with a blinding idea for the campaign to free two charity managers impisoned because some of the clients had been secretly dealing. Pdf stuart a life backwards download full pdf book. Tom edden awards and nominations winners are in red drama desk awards 2012 outstanding featured actor in a.
A life backwards, published in 2005, masters set out to explore the life of a wholly unknown man he had met begging on a street in cambridge. He also won the 2011 bafta rising star award, and has twice won the british independent film award for best actor, for bronson 2009 and legend 2015. Story about the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man, whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. The story is written in reverse by doing so alexander gains an insight into how stuart s life became so chaotic and out of control. A life backwards by alexander masters was nominated for the bbc four samuel johnson prize for. In 2012, he appeared as bane in christopher nolans film the dark knight rises, and as forrest bondurant in. A life backwards and nicolas winding refns knockout movie, bronson. But, at the same time, according to stuart s weird sense of etiquette on such subjects, only one son in a family is allowed to kill himself, else it puts too much strain on the parents, and his brother, gavvy, like jacob in the old testament, has stolen stuart s birthright. Stuart s story is not the worst i have come across nor can it alone represent all the individual narratives of rough sleepers on our streets. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a. Stuart a life backwards projects neal street productions.
Benedict cumberbatch as alexander masters, tom hardy as stuart shorter. A life backwards by alexander masters a copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a. Stuart is an alcoholic, drug addicted, violenceloving, chaotic homeless. A life backwards movie script by alexander masters on. A simple thank you to stuart shorter would have ended the book nicely. Shocking, inspiring, and hilarious by turns, stuart. List of awards and nominations received by tom hardy wikipedia. In 2012, he appeared as bane in christopher nolans film the dark knight rises, and as forrest bondurant in john hillcoats crime thriller film lawless. Facebook is showing information to help you better understand the purpose of a page.
Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading stuart. Stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that its more exciting like a tom clancy murder mystery. And a lot has gone wrong with stuart s life, from gluesniffing, to drug addiction and alcoholism, from minor crime to car theft, robbery, violence and possible charges of attempted murder. Pdf stuart a life backwards download full pdf book download.
He was nominated for the academy award for best supporting actor for the 2015 film the revenant. I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that i hardly know where to begin. Ocr eng litlang coursework english exam today syrian refugee kills himself with lighter fluid as he tried to burn his wife alive. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal. First, tom hardy, whose performance earned him an award nomination. But as a film, it manages to show the life of a messed up life of stuart shorter through the eyes of his biographer alexander masters. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 300 pages and is available in hardcover format. A life backwards, told the times that drug addiction caused his divorce from wife sarah. The edges of the stage are filled with junk, as if reflecting the chaos of stuarts life, and the production itself boasts a deceptive messiness. He plays the infamous kray twins, ronnie and reggie, a pair of gangsters whose. A life backwards by alexander masters harpercollins. A life backwards is the story of an extraordinary friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. Alexander is a middleclass, cambridge graduate and volunteer at the local homeless shelter who decides to write stuarts biography. A writer takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in his.
When stuart first aired on the bbc, i was a third year english student at southampton, no tv, no concept of life in the real world. Tom hardy stars as stuart shorter alongside benedict cumberbatch as alexander masters in the 90minute film, directed by david attwood to the ends of the earth. The story line is told backwards, as stuart requested, and the film ends with a poignant resolution to stuarts heartbreaking situation. The following is a list of awards and nominations received by english actor tom hardy. Tom hardy was nominated for a 2008 bafta for his portrayal of stuart shorter. Stuart a life backwards details the remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator and a chaotic homeless man whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A writers quest to give voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all.
As the writer learns more about the homeless mans complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and the. A whodunit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and leads through layers of hell. In legend, directed by brian helgeland, hardy gets to stretch his abilities further. A life backwards, by alexander masters, a portrait of a homeless man. He exemplifies the so called chaotic homeless people, who are on the streets because, curiously, it is. Alongside this alexander looks backwards over stuart s adult life and childhood to try and discover what went wrong with his life. I ended up in hospital and ultimately lost my wife because of my behaviour, said hardy, referring to a drugs bender that saw him collapse in soho in 2003. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events.
S tuart shorter spent his late teens and adult life alternating between the streets and prison with occasional, mostly short lived, forays into accommodation. Today, 3 years later, i am soon to be a third year teacher, expensive tv subscription and all too much understanding of events in the real world. In 2007, he appeared in bbc twos drama based on a true story, stuart. Like a break in the hedgerow during the country lane part of a journey.
If it wasnt for stuarts full disclosure and willingness to share his life story, there would be no stuart, a life backwards. A life backwards fourth estate the baillie gifford prize for nonfiction. As alexander gets to know stuart more he asks him if he can write his life story, it is stuart who suggests the story be written backwards. As the title of both book and film suggests, the book took the unusual approach of detailing stuarts life from his adult life down through to his childhood. His television roles include the bbc miniseries the virgin queen, itvs wuthering heights, in which he played heathcliff, stuart. A life backwards, the new book by alexander masters, deserves every accolade that can be awarded.
Tom hardys no secret to playing reallife criminals with a violent streak in fact, some of his most compelling performances can be found in the 2007 tv drama stuart. A life backwards by alexander masters librarything. He exemplifies the so called chaotic homeless people, who are on the streets because, curiously, it is the only place where they can manage. A life backwards was an attempt by alexander masters to reveal in murdermystery style what turned his friend who didnt live to see it published. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge. Additionally, laurence hobbs was cast in the role of smithy. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions.
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