Exchange and Divide

Divorce 1980s-style is examined by this BFI film in which, tellingly, only the deserted wife is denied a voice.

A marital breakdown is brought to life through a mixture of dramatisation, monologue, montage and animation. Through the perspectives of the husband, the lawyer, the couple’s parents and their home help, a picture emerges of the transactional nature and economic fall-out of marriage, along with issues of class and gender politics affecting single mothers.

Margaret Dickinson’s film was brought to the screen thanks to funding from the BFI Production Board and she went on to pursue a long career in documentary film production. Co-writer David Lan became a successful playwright and theatre producer, and was artistic director of London’s Young Vic Theatre for 18 years.