Sam Riley as 'Ace' in Islands. Image: BFI Distribution
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Tom, aka Ace, Sam Riley’s character in his new film Islands has it all. Or he has nothing at all. It depends on your perspective.
“Tom is a tennis coach at a family resort hotel in Fuerteventura,” says Riley. “We don’t know for how many years. He’s in a Groundhog Day cycle of standing in the beating sun, feeding tennis balls to European guests, drinking himself into oblivion, having one-night stands and never really going anywhere.
“But always being told by the people who are there for two weeks that he must have the dream life.”
He’s sunburnt and close to burnt out – a dormant volcano whose explosion could be set off by the arrival of a family from England, played by Stacy Martin, Jack Farthing and newcomer Dylan Torrell.
“Mother and father of a similar age to him with a young child,” Riley explains. “He is drawn to them without really realising why. The two men feel a certain envy or attraction for what the other one has.
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“That’s at the root cause of all personal dissatisfaction and resentment, isn’t it? Not being happy with your lot and being envious of people that have what you think you ought to have. That’s always been my experience.”
What follows is a slow-burn mystery in the mould of Highsmith or Hitchcock, with stakes suddenly rising, set against stunning landscapes.
Riley, best known for his breakout role as Ian Curtis in Control, Sal Paradise in the 2012 On the Road film adaptation and the Maleficent movies, got a head start on the role in Islands because he has been based in Berlin for close to two decades with his wife and fellow Control star Alexandra Maria Lara, and he shares an agent with the film’s German director Jan-Ole Gerster.
Riley says: “My agent slipped me the script so I got to read it before Robert Pattinson or Andrew Garfield or Tom Hiddleston could.
“And I lived in Berlin so I got on [Gerster’s] case and said, you know, I’m a lot cheaper and no one can play a washed-up, self-destructive 40-something as well as me.”
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Although not a tennis prodigy himself, there are parallels between the sport and acting opposite a fellow player.
“It’s a rally. But it’s not about winning the point,” Riley says.
“In my very first movie, I worked with two incredibly experienced, brilliant actresses, Samantha Morton and my wife. There was one moment particularly with Samantha where she was so good, I acted the best I’ve ever acted in my life.
“When you play tennis with someone better than you, you sometimes play better than you normally would.”
(From left) Dylan Torrell, Jack Farthing, Stacy Martin and Sam Riley in Islands. Image: BFI Distribution
Who are the best players Sam Riley has acted with?
“I love working with my wife. I’m not just saying that, it’s great fun. But in my career, I’ve worked with incredible actresses like Samantha, Angelina Jolie, Rosamund Pike. In On the Road alone, there was Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst and Amy Adams.
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“I’ve found, in my experience, I’m not just saying this to be right-on, that actresses are the most natural actors to work with. They can flip the switch in themselves and it’s the most believable thing.
“I find a lot of men are more, uh, vain. I have worked with people who try to behave in a way completely differently when it’s your close-up to when it’s theirs, so that the editor will have to lean on them rather than you.
“I’ve had some extraordinary experiences where there’s one upmanship. Are we in competition with each other or something?”
All men – and women – may be islands, and in an age of division and dislocation, trying to build bridges between one another is key.
“I’ve learned this, being married to a European woman, communication is important,” Riley says.
“I’m a northern Englishman, grew up in the 80s and 90s so wasn’t naturally gifted at talking about how I feel. Just assuming everyone ought to be able to read my mind.
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“I’ve learned to try to be honest. It’s a struggle. But connection is very important, looking for the similarities and not the differences.
“Making a movie is a very collaborative experience. One hundred people who all have totally different political views from one another, different tastes in music or fashion come together, put their differences aside, largely, and create something artistic, magical, entertaining together.
“You have to be really honest and very vulnerable. It’s quite trusting, which is a really beautiful thing.”
Tom in Islands may have a lot to work out about how to win at life, but Sam Riley is already set.
“Generally, at the risk of resentment of the Big Issue readers, I’m trying to live one day at a time with an attitude of gratitude.
“Not think too much about the past, not be afraid of the future.
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“Try and do the right thing. That pretty much keeps me out of trouble and makes me enjoy where I am.”
