MovieChat Forums > Lilies (2007) Discussion > The accents...

The accents...

posted 18 years ago by cjt24brd
33 replies | jump to latest

Just seen an advert for this...And the scouse accents sound dreadful, especially the one on the advert, she can't roll her r's at all, this sounds petty but thats one of the big differences between a bad scouse impression and a good one!

Why not hire someone who sounds authentic for gods sake?

Secondly, I'm not entirely sure the modern scouse accent is a very good basis for the one which would've been around in the WW1 era...

Pedantic I know, but really I'd expect the BBC to have this kinda stuff covered.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] 18 years ago

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[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

I'm a scouser and I can't roll the letter r...I wouldn't anyway. Not every scouser does. Accents across the city vary. But you're right - Ruby's is too modern, Iris' is obviously not real, I noticed that after I saw the first advert (the actress playing her is from Manchester), and May's has it's not so great moments. Billy's and Father Melia's however, are perfect I think.

[–] crazycricketfan 18 years ago

i thought they're accents were good - leanne rowe who plays may is from 'the south' like me, so her accent may not be perfect - but i still think their accents are good.

although i wonder why they chose to give them a scottish dad?

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today - James Dean

[–] JamesPeach 18 years ago

I thought the father was Irish, he is isn't he? I mean his accent is.

[–] gaby-41 18 years ago

The dad is an immigrant from northern Ireland, I think. The actor is Scottish though.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

Yeah he's Northern Irish. There were a LOT of Irish people living in Liverpool at that time. All of my ancestors moved to Liverpool from Ireland in the late 1800's.

I'm surprised the actress that plays May is from the 'south' lol, her accent's impressive.

[–] IridescentTranquility 18 years ago

My dad's family are from the Liverpool area, too (well, Ormskirk) and I've been doing my family tree and discovered that on the 1841 census my great-great-great grandma had a mark in the "Born in Scotland or Ireland" box. Also, they were farmers and some of their labourers were Irish - I think the labourers came over to Liverpool, then found work in nearby towns.

"If we go on like this, you're going to turn into an Alsatian again."

[–] annathedub 18 years ago

Well, your woman who plays Ruby is actually a Scouser herself, so I would assume that we can take her accent as authentic.

The thing about accents is though, is that anyone from Liverpool is going to spot a fake Scouse accent. Most of those of us who are not from there will be easily fooled. I am from Dublin, and can spot a fake Dub accent in a flash, no matter how well it is done. There are always little intonations and so on, that give away an outsider.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

Yeah but it's a bit modern for the era it's set in.

That's very true, there's a certain tone that's not there that scousers pick up on.

[–] wilddestiny 18 years ago

all of the accents are authentic apart from May's (Leanne Rowe) anyway, and I think she's made a good job with putting it on.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

Yeah May's accent is good, Iris' though, there's no way that could be seen as authentic.

[–] wilddestiny 18 years ago

lol but Iris' is real.... thats how Catherine Tyldesley really speaks...hehe

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

No it isn't, Catherine is from Manchester, I've seen her interviewed with her real accent, she was saying how Kerrie gave her tips on doing a Liverpudlian accent :)

[–] james1986london 18 years ago

A bit modern? So how different were scouse accents back then?

This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

Not like that, I don't know, I wasn't around then lol...it's because her accent is so obviously different from the others it stands out I suppose. It doesn't matter. But, The Beatles for instance were from different parts of Liverpool but had a different tone to their accent, which has changed and nearly vanished with time, and their accents were almost 40 years after this is set.

[–] wilddestiny 18 years ago

Okkaaay just....forget i said that then lmao
ohh well I thought they were all realistic but then I'm not from Liverpool..

[–] velcronewsletter 18 years ago

even i can tell that some of them are a bit off and i'm crap with accents

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OOOOH MATRON!

[–] wilddestiny 18 years ago

weeelll i'm from the south....and i don't know anything about accents from up north...i mean i hardly know the difference between liverpool and manchester....and so they sound alright to me ovbiously

lol

[–] eviesoph 18 years ago

I read somewhere that the makers felt that as it was turn of the century, then their scouse accents would not of been as pronounced as the scouse accent is today.They then decided that the actors should adopt a Birkenhead scouse, which is a slighlty softer scouse.
I have found that being from the Wirral, people from outside the region can not differentiate between the proper Liverpool scouse and my Wirral accent.
Having watched all the episodes my personal opinion is that Ruby, Father Melia and the brother are scousers.Whilst May and Iris's are fake scousers.
Having said that the initial episode did have me thinking are they, aren't they, so the accents can not be that bad.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

I could tell from the first advert where Iris' said something like 'They call me the quiet one' that her accent was fake. But then I'm from Liverpool and can tell straight away when it doesn't sound right. Yeah Father Melia, Ruby and Billy - you can tell their accents are real. Frank's too I think? But then, May's accent, that did fool me. I suspected Leanne was from Liverpool but had lost the accent and was just trying to do a slightly stronger scouse accent, you can tell it's not real sometimes, but she's got some of the 'scouse tone' in there too. Really good.

[–] jucksy 18 years ago

They say that Liverpool is the capital of Ireland.

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

'They say that Liverpool is the capital of Ireland.'

Haha been watching a Jimmy Tarbuck joke?

[–] jucksy 18 years ago

No, really.
It's a well known fact that there are many many Irish and their descendants in Liverpool.
Nip on the ferry and your'e there!

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

lol I know, I'm from Liverpool with an Irish family.

[–] jucksy 18 years ago

There ya go!!

I was born and bred in the Pool, but havn't lived there for many years.

[–] adnyuk 18 years ago

99.9% of the people who watch it will not be from Liverpool,
So to make sure the Americans don't make the BBC do subtitles,
They have left the accents a little "light".

[–] theknightbus 18 years ago

They sound quite everyday type of Liverpool accents to me, not too strong not too light.

[–] celestialtreat 16 years ago

People watch shows with the subtitles on for all sorts of reasons. Maybe there is a lot of background noise in their home. Maybe they have a hearing impairment. Maybe English is not their first language and the different accents make it hard to understand. Maybe they are watching with the TV set turned down so as not to wake a sleeping roommate....

"Hey, that's right... We're supposed to sing about pirate-y things!" - Mr. Lunt

[–] trez1 16 years ago

I'm from NYC and had a hard time understanding a lot of the words at first but I loved the series. My ear adjusted eventually.

"If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid"
http://nofactzone.net

[–] imperishable_stars 16 years ago

I'm from NYC and had a hard time understanding a lot of the words at first but I loved the series. My ear adjusted eventually.

As am I. I could have used subtitles watching the first episode! However, I understood them (almost) perfectly by the end of the series.

Obviously, I can't tell a bad Livepool(ian?) accent from a good one.

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There'll be no butter in hell!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] celestialtreat 16 years ago

None of the accents sounded inauthentic to me, but then, I am American (although don't get me started about horribly inaccurate American accents in shows - every country has its regional differences). However, I did notice that all three of the girls sounded DIFFERENT from each other and I found that a little off-putting. I can justify May's being different because maybe her way of speaking is an affectation, from spending so much time around the Brazendales, but that still doesn't explain Iris and Ruby.

"Hey, that's right... We're supposed to sing about pirate-y things!" - Mr. Lunt