Billy Liar (1963)
Directed by John Schlesinger
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.
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What critics compared Billy Liar to
This look is used throughout the film in order to depict Ruperts elaborate fantasy sequences, which are akin to John Schlesingers ( Billy Liar , Midnight Cowboy ) characters' aptly depicted, never tangential fantasy musings.
The whole temperature of a film can be heavily influenced, even determined, by the heat a particular actress provides, so one can only wonder what Nymphomaniac would have been like had von Trier sought and found an equivalent of, say, Julie Christie in Billy Liar, Eva Green in The Dreamers or Jennifer Lawrence in almost anything.
This updated Walter Mitty, written by Steve Conrad but no doubt sharpened by Stiller, is preceded by the 1947 adaptation starring Danny Kaye (not to mention Billy Liar ) and might suggest a nerd-breaking-out-of-his-shell romcom.
Like Vinterberg, Schlesinger would not appear at first blush to be a director eager to adapt Hardy since he emerged as a maker of “angry young man” films such as “Billy Liar” that were in their way defied conventional filmmaking esthetics like Dogme 95 did.