42 Up Plot

The Up series consists of seven documentary films that have followed the lives of fourteen British children since 1964, when they were seven years old. The children were selected to represent the range of socio-economic backgrounds in Britain at that time, with the explicit assumption that each child's social class predetermines their future. Every seven years, the director, Michael Apted, films new material from as many of the fourteen he can get to participate. The latest film, 49 up, was released in September 2005; filming for the next installment in the series, 56 Up, is expected in late 2011 or early 2012.

The first film in the series, Seven Up!, was directed by Paul Almond, and commissioned by Granada Television as a programme in the World in Action series broadcast in 1964. At the time there was no plan for them to return in seven years time; the second film was made almost as an afterthought, but the pattern of the series was established. From Seven plus 7 onwards the films have been directed by Michael Apted, who had been a researcher on Seven Up! and chose the original children with Gordon McDougall. The premise of the film was taken from the Jesuit motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man," which is based on a quote by Francis Xavier. The 1998 programme was commissioned by BBC One, although still produced for them by Granada.

The fourteen subjects are Bruce Balden, Jackie Bassett, Symon Basterfield, Andrew Brackfield, John Brisby, Peter Davies, Susan Davis, Charles Furneaux, Nicholas Hitchon, Neil Hughes, Lynn Johnson, Paul Kligerman, Suzanne Lusk, and Tony Walker. In Seven Up! the narrator mentions 21 children taking part, and this number can be counted at both the zoo and the party that they take part in. The only one named other than the fourteen acknowledged participants is a girl named Michelle who is from the same East End school as Tony and is interviewed as his girlfriend. The reason why the other six children did not feature in that show is unknown, but their interviews may have been culled due to lack of time - Seven Up! was only 40 minutes long.

The participants were chosen in an attempt to represent different social classes in Britain in the 1960s. Apted admits in the commentary track of "42 Up" DVD that he was asked to find children at the extremes. Because the show was not originally intended to become a repeating series, no long-term contract was signed with the participants. The interviews since Seven Up! have been voluntary, although the participants have been paid an unknown sum for their appearance in each film, as well as equal parts of any prize the film may win, says Apted. Each subject is filmed in about two days in more recent films, and the interview itself takes more than 6 hours. The director admits this is a long process, but a very necessary one. The filmmakers want to capture the most of each character: scenes from work, family and whatever is relevant to give depth to them. After filming each participant is shown the edited footage and can request further alterations if they choose.

These three boys were chosen from the same pre-preparatory school in the wealthy London suburb of Kensington. They are introduced to us in Seven Up! singing "Waltzing Matilda" in Latin. At the age of seven, Andrew claimed to have shares (although he later said that was fantasy), and all three could say which prep schools, Public Schools and universities they planned to attend (Oxford/Cambridge in all cases); two even named the specific Oxbridge college they intended to join.

John, who was vocal on politics by 14, attended Oxford and became a barrister. In 21 Up John expressed his dismay at how the first two entries had portrayed him as having his whole life laid out for him, and not mentioning all the hard work he had put into getting there, and chose not to appear on 28 Up. He returned in 35 Up, although he did so only because he wanted to publicize his Oxfam relief efforts for Bulgaria (his mother is Bulgarian and he married the daughter of a Bulgarian ambassador). He would only appear in 35 Up under the condition that a member of the Up series crew other than Apted interview him. He did not appear in 42 Up, but returned again in 49 Up, by which time he had ascended to the rank of Queen's Counsel.

Of the three, Andrew's academic career most closely followed the course laid out in "Seven Up", culminating in his matriculation at Trinity College, Cambridge, exactly according to plan. Andrew subsequently became a solicitor, married, and raised a family. In many respects, his story offers a compelling illustration of the social advantages offered by a public-school education. In Andrew's case, we do indeed often feel that the mature individual can be clearly seen in the boy of seven.

Charles did not make it into Oxford, although at 21 he said he was glad to have avoided the "prep school-Marlborough-Oxbridge conveyor belt" by going to Durham University instead, although he did later attend Oxford as a post-graduate student. He has worked in journalism in varying capacities over the years, including as a producer for the BBC, and in the making of documentary films, including Touching the Void (2003). He has chosen not to appear in the series after 21 Up, other than with a single photograph in each new film. During an on-stage interview at London's National Film Theatre in December 2005, Michael Apted revealed that Charles had attempted to sue him when he refused to remove his appearnces from the archive sequences in 49 Up.

Suzy comes from a wealthy background, and was first filmed at a boarding school. Her parents divorced around the time of 7 plus seven, and she seems rather lost at that point. In one of the most memorable scenes in 7 plus seven, her Labrador catches and kills a rabbit in the background, as she is being interviewed on the lawn of her family's Scottish estate. At 21 she is chain smoking, rather taciturn, and is clearly unsure what to do with her life. However, by 28 Up she has made an astonishing turn-around, that seems to be entirely the result of a successful marriage (only 18 months after 21 Up) and having children. Her husband Rupert Dewey is a successful solicitor in Bath, England and they have three children; life seems to have treated her well in the end. In a review, the Spectator magazine once reported on her father's title. In 49 Up, Suzy says that she has grown tired of being involved in the series and may not participate in any future entries.

These three girls (clearly good friends at 7) were chosen from the same primary school in a working class neighborhood of London. Jackie and Sue eventually went to a comprehensive school, while Lynn went to a grammar school. Jackie and Lynn got married at 19, Sue at 24. Lynn became a children's (and later, school) librarian at 21 and has remained in that career since then. Jackie and Sue each went through several different jobs, got divorced, and raised children as single parents. They prefer to be interviewed individually, but Apted insists on getting them together for a group interview for at least a short time.

Tony was chosen from a primary school in the East End of London. His outgoing, active nature is obvious from the beginning. He wants to be a jockey at 7 and was at a stables training for it at 14. By 21 his chance had come and gone, after riding in three races before giving it up. However, in a moment he still recalls as the best of his life, one of his races also featured Lester Piggott, one of the best jockeys of all time. He then "did the knowledge" and made a comfortable life for himself and his family as a London taxi driver. His later dream of becoming an actor has met with modest success; he has had small parts as an extra (almost always playing a cabbie) in several TV programmes since 1986, including Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years and twice in EastEnders, most recently in 2003. He has been one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the project, and he and his wife, Deb, have been very honest about the ups and downs in their marriage. Most notably, in 35 Up Tony admitted that being in a monogamous relationship was becoming a strain, and by 42 Up he had actually committed adultery, though he and his wife have got past it and are still together.

Paul was at a charity-based boarding school at 7, his parents having divorced and been left with his father. Soon after Seven Up! his father and step-mother moved the family to Australia where he has remained in the Melbourne area ever since. In Seven Up! and Seven Plus Seven, Paul seemed very unsure of himself, but by 21, he had more presence, long hair, and a girlfriend whom he later married and remains with today. After leaving school he was employed as a bricklayer and later set up his own business. In 49 Up he is working for a sign-making company. Although he has led a full and varied life with its typical ups and downs, his lack of confidence has never left him, and he needed treatment for depression some time after the filming of 42 Up. In both 21 Up and 49 Up Paul was reunited with Symon, who had attended the same boarding school; portions of their time together are included in both films.

The only participant with an ethnic minority background is mixed race Symon, who was chosen from the same charity home as Paul. He was an illegitimate child, who apparently has never gotten to know his black father, and had left the charity home to live with his white mother by the time of the Seven plus seven filming; her depression is alluded to as the cause for him being in the home. In 21 Up Symon was working at Wall's sausage factory, and took a nostalgic walk with Paul through the now empty buildings of their old school. As the filming for 35 Up was taking place he was going through a divorce, and he elected not to take part in that film. Symon returned for 42 Up and 49 Up, and seems very happy in a second marriage, though two of his five children from his first marriage are not on speaking terms with him. He and his second wife have become foster parents themselves, in addition to raising the child they had together, and her child from her first marriage.

Nick was raised on a small farm in a tiny village in the Yorkshire Dales and educated in a one-room school, and later at a boarding school. He went to Oxford University and ultimately became a nuclear physicist. By 28 Up he had moved to the USA for a job at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has remained and is now a full professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In 42 Up Nick admitted (somewhat tongue in cheek) that one of his goals was to become more famous for his work as a scientist than for being in the "Up" series, but he was beginning to doubt it would happen (his work involves research into nuclear fusion). He has published many scientific papers and some books, such as Plasma Processes for Semiconductor Fabrication.

Michael Apted freely admits in his commentary on the DVD for 42 Up that he erred in thinking that Nick's marriage to Jackie would not last, but it did. Consequently, he unfairly anticipated this in his questions to them during the filming of 28 Up, and in the film's presentation. This upset Jackie, with the result that he was unable to interview her for either 35 Up or 42 Up. Jackie also decided to keep their son, Adam, out of the project. Soon after 42 Up Jackie and Nick divorced, but he has since remarried, to Cryss, a professor at the University of Minnesota. 49 Up shows them splitting time between Madison and Minneapolis and Adam makes a brief appearance with his dad.

Peter went to the same middle-class Liverpool suburban school as Neil and, at seven, both wanted to be astronauts. Peter drifted through university, and by age 28 he was an underpaid and seemingly uninspired school teacher. Peter dropped out of the series after 28 Up, following stinging press criticism of political comments he made in his interview. Although it was not presented on film, Peter dramatically changed his life after 28; he stopped teaching, remarried, became a lawyer and eventually a musician and singer-songwriter. Michael Apted remains in contact with him, and hopes he will return to the project eventually. Unlike Charles, who has similarly declined to participate after 21 Up, Peter's absence is not mentioned, nor are any of archival interviews from his youth included (though he can be briefly seen in segments with Neil from the first two films as they were interviewed together). He is in a Liverpool-based country-influenced band called The Good Intentions.

A picture of him, from 21 Up is included on the DVD cover for the US release of the film

Neil turned out to be one of the most interesting of the entire group. At seven he was funny, full of life and hope. At 14 he was doing well in comprehensive school but was more serious and subdued. In one of the biggest shocks of the series however, by the time of 21 Up he was homeless in London, having dropped out of Aberdeen University after one term, and was living in a squat and finding work as he could on building sites. During the interview he is clearly in an agitated state, and it becomes apparent that he is struggling to cope with life in general; he mentions he had had thoughts of suicide. This is something he continues to battle with, apparently without medication, throughout 28 Up and 35 Up. At 28 he was still homeless, although now in Scotland; by 35 he was living in a council house on the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. Although still out of work, he was showing signs of progress. By the time of 42 Up he had finally found some stability in his life (with some help from Bruce--he was living in Bruce's apartment in London and Bruce had become a source of emotional support) and was involved in local council politics, as a Liberal Democrat in the London Borough of Hackney. He is now a full-time District Councillor in the Eden district of northwest England.

Bruce was presented in Seven Up! and Seven Plus Seven as an idealist who was concerned with poverty and racial discrimination—he wanted to become a missonary. His greatest desire was to see his father, who was living 6000 miles away. He had ambitions of becoming a professional cricketer, but instead pursued his passion to become a teacher. Bruce studied mathematics at Oxford University and used his education to teach children in the East End of London, and Bangladesh. Always shy and lacking in confidence, Bruce didn't date much, but finally, just before 42 Up, he married. Eventually becoming burned out with teaching in the East End, Bruce currently teaches at St Albans School, Hertfordshire. Between 42 Up and 49 Up, he had two sons.

The series has received extraordinary praise over the years, the epitome of which may be Roger Ebert's comment that it is "an inspired, almost noble use, of the film medium." Ebert rates it in his top ten films of all time.

Attempts have been made to repeat the series with subjects in the United States, the Soviet Union, Japan, and South Africa. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, 28 Up was placed 26th.

Some therapists show their clients the series to explain that a given person's reaction to the various interviews may have as much to say about the subject, in their interpretation of what they think that the participants are saying, as it does about the people taking part in the film.

In his commentary for the DVD of 42 Up, Apted praises the courage of the participants to come back and bare the raw facts of their lives every seven years.

In his interview with Roger Ebert, which is included as a special feature on the US DVD release of 49 Up Apted points out that this was the first of the films to be recorded digitally and that this changed the nature of the interviews as they did not have to take a break every ten minutes to change film in the cameras. Apted feels that this allowed some of the participants to become more at ease as they could talk without interruption.

In 2007, the series was parodied in The Simpsons episode "Springfield Up".

Apted's theory is that class structure is so strong in the UK that a person's life path is set at birth. This idea held up in some cases, but not in others, as the series has progressed. There is a problem with the series as a tool of examination or analysis because the presence of the series has affected the lives of the participants. This is expressed in 21 Up, when the participants are brought together for a party, that the experiment really contributes to itself. (see Observer effect)

Although it began as a political documentary, the series has become a film of human nature, existentialism, and the drama of success, failure, promise, disappointment, and growing up. In the director's commentary of 42 Up, Apted comments that he didn't realise the series had changed tone from political to emotional until 21 Up, when the film was successful in American film festivals.

Over the course of the project the programme has had a direct effect in varying degrees on the lives of the participants. The series became popular enough that the participants often speak of being recognized in public. As a testament to the popularity of the series, after 7 Plus Seven, the film in which Symon discusses how he cannot afford a bike, hundreds of bikes were received at Granada Television from viewers. A lot of mail is also sent for the participants, which they can receive from Granada if they so choose.

The opinions of being involved in the series are often mentioned, and vary greatly between the participants. John refers to the programme as a poison pill that he is subjected to every seven years, while Paul's wife credits the series for keeping their marriage together.

Paul and Nick were flown back to England for the filming of 35 Up and 42 Up respectively; the trips were financed by Granada. Paul was flown back again for 49 Up and visited with Symon.

By the time of 21 Up Neil's mental problems had surfaced and he was homeless. Another one of the series subjects, Bruce, was affected by Neil's plight and offered him temporary shelter in his home shortly before 42 Up, allowing Neil time to get settled in London. Despite Neil's eccentricities during his two-month stay, they clearly remained friends because Neil later gave a reading at Bruce's wedding.

Apted keeps in contact with all of the participants during the intervening seven-year periods and they are paid for taking part in each film.