BBC drama asks if British soldiers who served in Iraq can ever return to normal life
BY ROBIN ROWE
Occupation is an intense drama that captures the lives of three British soldiers changed by the horrors of the Iraq war. Occupation premieres in its entirety Sunday, October18, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on BBC America.
“I wasn’t surprised to discover that the marriage breakdown rate among soldiers who return from Iraq is something like 70%,” says Occupation star James Nesbitt. “Who do you share those extreme experiences with and how could your partner ever understand? In a way you need to get away from your Army colleagues, but who do you share those inner demons with if not them? Who lives those horrors with you?”
“The discipline and the commitment of these men doing this job is quite extraordinary and quite moving,” says Nesbitt. “What’s been extraordinary to me and all those involved in Occupation, irrespective of our own political persuasions or ideologies, is that we have come away from it with an enormous amount of respect for what they do.” Nesbitt, who’s marched against the Iraq war, says filming Occupation hasn’t changed his opinion of the conflict.
Nesbitt plays the role of Mike, a long-serving soldier coming to the end of his military career. His experience in Iraq has transformed him and his friends Danny and Hibbs. “In the opening scene, something happens to all of them and, from that moment, we plot their various paths and how they are interwoven, how that can separate them, how it can break them as a unit, how they find love, lose love and how their worlds are shattered,” says Nesbitt.
Occupation is the BBC’s first major drama on the Iraq war. “The one thing that the certain amount of success I’ve had has afforded me is the ability to be choosy about scripts,” says Nesbitt. “I thought Occupation was something I could be challenged by and the writing by Peter Bowker was exceptional.”
“As a writer I’m interested in writing about characters that I might not necessarily like, or agree with or who might not hold my point of view,” says Occupation screenwriter Peter Bowker. “That’s kind of what fires me up. Dramatically if you cut yourself off from voices you disagree with then you are only going to write half a drama. What was happening in Iraq seemed to offer an opportunity.”
Bowker crafted an intimate but epic story that spans five years. Finding the right locations to shoot it would be a challenge. Northern Ireland Screen made a significant financial investment in the project. “They saved the day, really,” says Occupation executive producer Derek Wax. “We ended up filming the Manchester scenes and many of the interior Basra scenes in Belfast. Belfast can work as Manchester architecturally, and we ended up picking up many of the creative team in Northern Ireland. Belfast is a great city to film in and they made us feel incredibly welcome.” The Basra scenes were shot in Morocco, on the outskirts of Marrakech. During an intense week of filming, the Moroccan streets staged car chases, kidnaps, street shootings and mass demonstrations.
Stephen Graham and Warren Brown were singled out for the roles of Danny and Hibbs early on. “Pete and I had worked with Stephen Graham in Flesh And Blood,” says Wax, “There’s nobody who can play the chancer like Stephen, while never letting you forget the vulnerability and damage underneath. Warren was relatively unknown but again his humanity and innocence came through so strongly in the audition.” Patrick Spence, Head of Drama for BBC Northern Ireland, suggested James Nesbitt for Mike, having worked with him on Murphy’s Law and Five Minutes Of Heaven. Belgian-Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal plays Aliyah Nabil, the Iraqi doctor with whom Mike falls in love.
Occupation is not so much the story of British soldiers occupying Iraq as much as it is the war of Iraq haunting and occupying the minds of the soldiers. Failing to adjust to a return to civilian life in Manchester, each of the three soldiers considers the decision to return to the chaos of Basra, whether for love, money or a desire to rebuild the country and help the Iraqi people. Powerfully performed, Occupation will occupy the minds of audiences with its haunting portrayal of the effects of war.
