Trivia

Terence Davies wanted Rachel Weisz for the part of Hester Collyer after he noticed her "incredible talent" in Amy Foster (1997), even though he hadn't heard of her before seeing that film. He called his agent and asked, "Have you ever heard of this girl Rachel Weisz?" His agent laughed and said, "She's an Oscar winner!" Weisz was amused by this and said, "I don't think Terence [Davies] knows very well anyone who's not in a black and white film."

TIME magazine ranked Rachel Weisz's performance in the film as the fourth best performance of 2012 (November 2012), while New York Magazine named it the "Film Performance of the Year" (November 2012).

Filmed in 25 days.

Barbara Jefford's first theatrical film in twelve years, since The Ninth Gate (1999).

When Hester tries to commit suicide with her gas fire, this would have been using colourless, virtually smell free town case made from coal - it is therefore unlikely she would have been found by other residents. Modern gas, mostly consisting of methane, has smell added to reduce the risks.