Carla (film)

Carla is a British television crime drama film, based upon the novel Improvising Carla^[1] by Joanna Hines, first broadcast on ITV on 15 September 2003.^[2] The film, adapted for television by writer Barbara Machin and director Diarmuid Lawrence,^[3] stars Lesley Sharp and Helen McCrory as Helen North and Carla French, two women who become friends after meeting on holiday on the Greek Islands. But when Carla is later found dead on an isolated Island road, with only Helen by her side, the subsequent investigation reveals that from the start, their alliance was based on fantasy and lies.^[4]

Carla
Genre	Crime drama
Created by	Joanna Hines
Written by	Barbara Machin
Directed by	Diarmuid Lawrence
Starring	Lesley Sharp Helen McCrory Iain Glen Shaun Dingwall Michael Fassbender Henry Ian Cusick
Composer	John Lunn
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	1
Production
Executive producers	Debbie Shewell Murray Smith
Producer	Alison Jackson
Cinematography	Simon Richards
Editor	Justin Krish
Running time	90 minutes
Production companies	West End Films RDF Media
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	15 September 2003 (2003-09-15)

Filming took place on the island of Kythira, Greece.^[5] The Guardian were critical of the adaptation, writing; "The précis doesn't quite transmit the subtler nuances of the plot, which was a cracking one, deftly realised by a trio of fine actors and some sterling support. But of course, spelling it all out doesn't work, not even in the justifiable context of TV criticism".^[6] The film drew 7.25 million viewers on its debut broadcast.^[7] The film was uploaded in its entirety to YouTube on 8 July 2011, having never received an official home video release.^[8]

Cast

• Lesley Sharp as Helen North
• Helen McCrory as Carla French
• Iain Glen as Daniel French
• Shaun Dingwall as Paul
• Michael Fassbender as Rob
• Henry Ian Cusick as Matt
• Eve Polycarpou as Sevasti
• Dimitri Andreas as Manoli
• Su Elliot as Mrs. Bryant
• Albert Welling as Mr. Bryant
• Philip Fox as Mr. Carter
• Melanie Kilburn as Mrs. Carter
• Vaggelis Kloufetos as Detective Sireus
• Michael Bertenshaw as Coroner
• Lucy Robinson as Pathologist