Simon Chambers’ film about his late uncle David makes for candid and compelling viewing. Along with one of David’s former pupils, and a fan of his film, he talks care, contempt and infatuation
‘I’ve always liked the company of older people,” says Julian Clary, still smoothly beautiful at 64. “I like the fact they’ve lived a life they are often assumed not to have done.” He pauses. “What old people don’t know about recreational sex,” he continues, cadence familiar as a cuckoo, “you could write on the back of an incontinence pad.”
There are plenty of those knocking about in Much Ado About Dying, a documentary about Clary’s old drama teacher. But David Gale – 86 when we first have the pleasure – does not put them to their intended use. They plug holes in the wall, drafts in the window. One becomes a tea cosy.
