postPerspective Update

Director/EP Lenny Abrahamson
on Hulu’s Normal People
By Iain Blair

Lenny Abrahamson first burst onto the international scene in 2015 after directing the drama Room, which picked up four Oscar nominations, including Best Director. Abrahamson’s latest project is Hulu’s Normal People, based on the best-selling novel by Sally Rooney.

The series focuses on the passionate, tender and complicated relationship of Marianne and Connell — from the end of their school days in a small town in the west of Ireland to their undergraduate years at Trinity College. At school, he’s a popular sports hero, while she’s upper class, lonely, proud and intimidating. But when Connell comes to pick up his mother from her cleaning job at Marianne’s house, a strange connection grows between the two teenagers... one they are determined to conceal. A year later, they’re both studying in Dublin, and Marianne has found her feet in a new social world, but Connell hangs on the sidelines, shy and uncertain as the tables are turned.

I spoke with Abrahamson — whose credits also include The Little Stranger, Frank, Garage, What Richard Did and Adam & Paul — about his workflow, post production and his love of editing.

You co-directed with Hettie Macdonald. How did that work in terms of maintaining the same naturalistic tone and feel you set?
We spoke a lot at the beginning when she came on board. The whole idea was for her to bring her own sensibility to it. We'd already cast and shot the first half, and we knew a director of her caliber wasn't going to break that. We had two DPs: Suzie Lavelle and Kate McCullough. During the shooting I had the odd note, like, “It looks great,” but I was more involved with her material during editing, which is natural as the EP. We had a great relationship.

Tell us about post and your approach.
We did it all — the editing, sound and VFX — at Outer Limits, which is on the coast about 30 minutes outside Dublin. It’s run by two guys who used to be at Screen Scene, where I posted my last five or six films. I followed them over there, as I like them so much. It’s a lovely place, very quiet. The editor and I were based out there for the whole thing.