The Republic of Love
| The Republic of Love | |
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| Directed by | Deepa Mehta |
| Produced by |
Anna Stratton Julie Baines |
| Written by | Carol Shields (novel), Deepa Mehta (screen story) |
| Music by | Talvin Singh |
| Cinematography | Douglas Koch |
| Edited by | Barry Farrell |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | Canada United Kingdom Denmark |
| Language | English |
The Republic of Love is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Deepa Mehta. It is based on the novel of the same name by Carol Shields and stars Bruce Greenwood and Emilia Fox. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003. It was released publicly on February 13, 2004.
The plot centers on a charismatic radio talk show host, Tom Avery (Bruce Greenwood), and his "mermaid researcher" girlfriend Fay (Emilia Fox). Tom has had a turbulent past with relationships and has had three divorces before the age of 40. Many of Tom's ex-wives turn out to be friends of Fay's. Fay is the opposite from Tom and has an overly high expectation of the men she dates; she expects perfection and wants to emulate her parents' rock-solid marriage. One day, it turns out that Fay's parents' marriage is not as perfect as it seemed and it breaks down suddenly, after 40 years of "wedded bliss". Fay panics and feels insecure in her own relationship and forces Tom to go to great efforts to convince the woman who has become his fiancée that their relationship is different and that they are meant for each other.
The film is based on the novel The Republic of Love by Carol Shields and the characters of Tom and Fay were created by her. The Republic of Love was conceived as a film adaptation in 1996, when Triptych Media producer, Anna Stratton read the book and was highly impressed with its humour and diversity of characters, and confessed to being a fan of Shields's writing. She said, “It was the characters really that offered up a delicious cast for a film. I was also drawn in by the humour –characters, situations and events that made me laugh out loud and the interweaving of the magical elements – the mermaid myth and Tom’s middle of the night radio life – with the love story. The story itself is classic – rapture, rupture, reconciliation – and love stories are one of the most popular filmic forms."
Once Stratton had decided to produce the film, she looked to the United Kingdom to provide sufficient resources and for a co-producer, given the popularity of Shield's work in the UK. Stratton met British producer Julie Baines in 1998 in San Francisco in 1998 and discussed a collaboration with Baines's Dan Films company and Triptych Media. In the summer of 2000, Stratton approached director Deepa Mehta, who fell in love with the story and commented, "The book, a treatise on the nature of love, attracted me, as it is complex and yet accessible. It is really about different aspects of love – mature love, familial love, sibling love and the nature of love and how elusive it is”. Mehta recommended Bruce Greenwood to play the role of Tom and subsequently attracted him to the role. Meanwhile, Stratton and Baines had remained in contact and met once again in early 2002 to discuss financing the project together and to find the female lead in Emilia Fox. Fox was immediately enticed by the character of Fay and said of the plot, “It mixes the idealistic with the realistic which I thought was very clever, and there’s a strong balance, there’s something we can hold onto.” Producers Chris Auty, Bruce Duggan, Sarah Green, Bruce Greenwood, Mehernaz Lentin, Neil Peplow, Sarah Sulick and Claire Welland would later join the production team.
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