Keira Knightley's domestic abuse ad banned - point missed completely

The new ad campaign against domestic violence, featuring Keira Knightley has been banned from British TV. Why? Apparently the ad is too violent. The ad ends with Knightley being kicked on the floor, and advertising approval organization Clearcast has classified the scene as too violent to air. The ad will only air on TV if the scenes with Knightley being beaten are removed. Will no one think of the children?!

But seriously, I'm thinking we should file this under irony. The point of the ad was to be violent and shocking. It is designed to terrify people enough to want to take a stand against domestic abuse. By banning the ad, they're keeping domestic violence exactly where it's been for decades: hidden away is someone's kitchen, or bedroom, or car, far away from public eyes or any form of intervention. They're just keeping the pain of this problem as hidden and taboo as it's always been. So, to bypass the idiocy of British censors, I will, once again, post the ad for you to watch:





Via ONTD!

Keira Knightley stars in ad against domestic violence

To warn you, the commercial is very brutal and difficult to watch. Keira Knightley stars in a new ad campaign about domestic violence for charity organization Women's Aid. Her Atonement director, Joe Wright directed the two minute commercial. Both Knightley and Wright made the commercial for free. It will premier on April 6 in cinemas and on TV across the UK.

I wasn't going to post this, but a comment at Awards Daily made me do it. I suppose because I've seen domestic violence first hand, I'm more inclined to do everything to ignore it. It brings back a lot of bad memories, but Joe Wright is a saint and Keira Knightley is an angel for doing this.

Joe Wright to direct colonial drama

British director Joe Wright will make a return to directing British period pieces with a film adaptation of Alex von Tunzelmann's historical novel, Indian Summer. The novel is set during the final days of British colonial rule in India. It follows Lord Mountbatten's handover of power to India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in 1947.



I haven't yet seen Joe Wright's upcoming The Soloist yet, but I'm not as drawn to it ans I am to his historical work. He pulled a great performance out of Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice, and Atonement was one of my favorite films of 2007. It was a terribly underrated film, and I think its partially due to its marketing. Most expected it to be this huge, sweeping epic love story like The English Patient, but it turned out to be a much more intimate portrait about human flaws and our ability to undo people's lives. Joe Wright should have gotten a best director Oscar nomination, but alas, he didn't.

Casting hasn't been annouced yet, but I like speculating and making up cast lists in my head. I don't know who I would cast as Prime Minister Nehru, but Irrfan Khan is a spectacular actor, despite being too young for the role.