Upon her death just over a decade ago, no one other than her family and friends (or what few she had left) knew the name Audrey Amiss, since despite being a gifted artist and someone who strove to make an impression, she lived most of her life in obscurity, oscillating between her squalid flat in London and a variety of psychiatric institutions, often being placed in the latter against her fervent wishes. Only after her passing did the world become aware of her ingenuity, since her home was found to contain hundreds of sketchbooks and canvasses, featuring a combination of her eccentric scrapbooks (in which she documented almost her entire life) and drawings that reflected her unique worldview, giving us unique insights into her peculiar and brilliant mind. Her story has now been told in the form of Typist Artist Pirate King, in which director Carol Morley undertakes the somewhat challenging endeavour of exploring her life, which she does through a fictionalised tale in which the artist and her social worker travel from London to Sunderland to attend an art exhibition, and along the way encounter a range of eccentric characters that we soon learn play an important role in understanding the subject and how she saw the world around her. A beautiful, funny and poetic elegy to an artist who failed to earn even an ounce of recognition in her life, but who has risen to become an icon of not only outsider art, but a beacon of hope for the neurodivergent community, the film is a wonderful examination of Amiss’ life, a complex and engaging comedy that has a sombre melancholy that persists throughout, showing us the protagonist’s journey to understanding herself and her place in a world she simply does not understand. It evolves in a profoundly moving, deeply poignant examination of the day-to-day struggles of someone trying desperately to make their way through life, and how it can be overwhelming to realize the obstacles that stand in their way – and it is all done in a charming, wonderfully endearing comedy that is as heartfelt as it is hilarious, which is a true tribute to an extraordinary life.

Morley is not a filmmaker that we often discuss, despite a solid both of work in both narrative and non-fiction filmmaking. However, she is a perfect candidate to tell Amiss’ story, since not only is she someone who understands the artistic aspects of the story, she has shown herself to have an interest in the proverbial “forgotten” women of history, the people who lived in obscurity, and whose most important contribution, as morbid as it is to put is so bluntly, was to pass away, since their deaths represented something much deeper and contain lessons that we can all use in our daily lives. Her most notable film before this was Dreams of Life, a hybrid documentary focused on the life and death of Joyce Carol Vincent, a tragic figure who has amassed a somewhat folkloric status as the patron saint of contemporary loneliness after she lay deceased in her home for years before being found, a deeply sad story that Morley turns into a powerful and poignant character study that touches on very raw subject matter in a way that is heartfelt and meaningful. Typist Artist Pirate King is a much more upbeat story, and one that isn’t layered with tragedy, but still has a lingering sadness that persists throughout, primarily drawn from the subject matter. In the most direct terms, this is a film about a woman who has resigned herself to her perpetual loneliness, so much that she has been driven to delusions that cause those around her to question her sanity, with only her dedicated social worker proving to be able to see beneath the eccentric veneer. This is a tricky subject, and it required someone who wasn’t only a great writer and director, but also who could infuse it with the necessary empathy required to prevent it from becoming exploitative, which is an accurate description of exactly what Morley did with this material. She is the most compassionate of filmmakers, and her approach is not to show Amiss as some weird subject of mockery, but rather as a slightly left-of-centre individual whose eccentricities were a feature, rather than an impediment, on her remarkable life.

Making a film that revolves around a character like Audrey Amiss could not have been particularly easy, since it requires a lot more work than usual. On one hand, she was a real person, so artistic liberties could be taken, but within reason, especially since her family and colleagues are mostly still alive to witness this interpretation of the deceased. On the other, not much is known about her outside of what was found in her home after her death – her public persona was more available to the filmmakers in terms of testimonies from those who knew her, but its her personal and private life that the film revolves around, which also happens to be the one aspect of her story that the filmmakers had to leave to their conjecture. Part of the reason the film becomes so meaningful is found through the performance being delivered by Monica Dolan, who has the unenviable task of playing Amiss and realizing the director’s sometimes peculiar and offbeat vision. We find that what Dolan is doing here is quite extraordinary, since she is taking a part that could have been an overwrought, dense caricature, and chooses to infuse her with the most subtle, gentle of quirks that still underline the eccentricity of the subject, but never in a way that feels exploitative, which is the result of a great collaboration between an actor and director who share the same belief as to how such a story should be approached. To give the film something of an arc, a fictional character is constructed to be a companion to our protagonist, with the wonderful Kelly McDonald taking on the part and proving once again that she is amongst our greatest living actors, the epitome of reliability and consistency in playing a more simple but not any less impressive part that eventually becomes the heart of the film. Typist Artist Pirate King is a character-driven story about friendship, so it was important that the two central performances were solidly crafted portrayals, and both leads are exceptional, turning in impressive, heartfelt performances.

Beyond the wonderful central performance, which does quite a bit of the heavy-lifting in terms of narrative complexity, Typist Artist Pirate King is a very tricky film, since it had to find the right tone to apply to a story that could be either outrageously funny or deeply depressing, depending on the specific perspective from which we look at it, as well as the ideas that are woven into the narrative. Morley’s decision to not only tell a fictionalized (and likely anachronous) version of the artist’s life is bold but worthwhile, since it creates some distance between Amiss’ actual life and the version we see on screen, while still retaining all of the artwork and specific details that make her such an admirable figure. However, the key to the success of this film, other than Dolan’s incredible work, is how the director chooses the right tone. The film is driven primarily by atmosphere, and we find that Morley spends a considerable amount of time trying to find the right balance between the humour and pathos, both of which are profoundly important to the overall identity of the film. What we do come to learn quite early on is that this is not a traditional film, and it often tends to draw from several different genres. It is mostly designed to be a road trip comedy (with references to several entries into the genre abounding throughout), but it does eventually take on traits of others, which gives it a nuanced, layered appearance that helps in telling what is a very tricky story. Balancing all these different elements together can be quite a challenge, but the director is certainly up to the task, and she expertly tackles many of the more unconventional ideas in a way that is complex, daring and profoundly beautiful, which is exactly what we would expect from such a unique and moving film.

There are many lessons contained in Typist Artist Pirate King, but perhaps the strongest of them all is the realization that not all remarkable lives are those lived in the public eye, and that someone can be worthy of our admiration without even leaving the comfort of their home some of the greatest revolutions have been started from the security of one’s bedroom, which is the perfect encapsulation of what this film does in choosing to explore such a phenomenal and unique individual, which results in a beautiful and intriguing comedy that is as touching as it is subversive.  There are several layers to this film, which becomes a wonderfully exuberant exercise in exploring the extraordinary existence of an artist who never received the recognition she deserved while she was alive, and was always viewed as an outsider by nearly everyone who knew her, but whose death revealed one of the most intelligent, complex individuals anyone could have possibly have encountered. A beautiful tribute that is as funny as it is heartfelt, Typist Artist Pirate King is delightfully moving and profoundly compelling, driven by a genuine sense of wanting to challenge the status quo while still being very entertaining. Morley is a truly underpraised filmmaker, with her subtle but evocative style being very unique, and there is hope that this film, as small as it may be, can help her earn some credit as one of the most fascinating filmmakers working today, especially through the subjects she chooses to focus on. Compelling and fascinating, anchored by wonderful performances and a delightful sense of humour that aids in breaking the tension, Typist Artist Pirate King is an excellent and beautiful film, and one that should be essential viewing for anyone with even the most fleeting interest in a hard-hitting, poignant examination of the human condition.