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Steve Exeter’s short film Òran na h-Eala (The Song of the Swan) is inspired by the Scottish ballerina Moira Shearer, and her decision to star in the 1948 Powell and Pressburger film The Red Shoes. Starring Shannon Davidson as Shearer, Alastair Thomson Mills as Michael Powell, Alec Westwood as Emeric Pressburger and Nicole Nelrose as Margot Fonteyn, the film explores the complexity of Shearer’s decision, framing it similarly to the plight of Shearer’s ‘star-making role’, Victoria Page.

The short film does an excellent job at highlighting how important of a decision this actually was. In a scene with Shearer, Powell and Pressburger Shearer puts forth her concerns – the Sadler’s Wells Ballet was in its inaugural Covent Garden season, and she was being cast in larger and larger roles. She wanted to be a ballerina, not a star in the movies. In a 1979 interview Shearer said she ‘fought for a year to get away from that film’, and in the end it was company director Ninette de Valois who convinced her to take the role. We see this fight in the film, and it is represented well.

What immediately struck me after my first watch is how clever the film is. Every element of the production seams together to create a work you want to watch again and again, to make sure you notice everything. I was interested in this film from a balletic perspective, as you can probably guess, but it made me consider things about filmmaking I hadn’t taken into account before.

The use of shots and colour is purely remarkable, as is the use of shadows. The scenes of Shearer speaking directly to the audience show her in a warmer, brighter light; on the stage it tends to be darker, which goes hand-in-hand with the psychological element. Every shot, however, is gorgeous, and the colour grading casts one’s mind back to those films of the 40s. The choices that have been made by the team create a piece that is able to stand on its own while also paying tribute to the works of Powell and Pressburger.

There is obviously a comparison to be made to The Red Shoes, but I found the film to also be comparable to Stephen Schwartz and Bob Fosse’s Pippin. There is a similarly surreal element, pushing the boundaries of ‘performing’ to make it an eerily disturbing experience for the audience. The Finale of the musical pushes Pippin to ‘Think about the sun‘, hoping he will sacrifice himself for one burning blaze of glory. Powell and Pressburger serve the same purpose – they hope to pull Shearer into their production, even if it means she has to sacrifice her ballet career for one film.

The music in the film (by Mike Lukey) enhances the action. The titular song, sung by Shannon Davidson, has a slow jazz vibe, which is great for creating an atmosphere that is slightly ominous. That overarching atmosphere is present from the very beginning, with the first music heard being a dark piano tune. The music helps build up the uneasiness that the audience feel, like this is a performance we shouldn’t be watching because the performer doesn’t want to be doing it. Arkadi Troistsky’s Ballet Mirage fits its sequence perfectly: Shearer spinning like a wind-up ballerina on a music box, only under the control of someone else.

Shannon Davidson’s performance as Moira Shearer is convincing. She shows the turmoil of Shearer’s decision well and manages not be overpowered by the cinematography and music. When Shearer speaks directly to the audience she is level-headed, but Davidson is just as strong in the frantic performance scenes.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the film is the genuine love and admiration for both Shearer and The Red Shoes. The opening titles are a wonderful homage to the film, even down to the text ‘Miss Davidson’s dresses by’, a credit often found in both film and theatre credits of the time. Shearer’s distinctive swan makeup is immediately recognisable, as are the costumes, from the iconic shoes all the way down to rehearsal clothes. One doesn’t need to have seen The Red Shoes for the narrative of Òran na h-Eala to make sense, but it was joyous to see such an excellent tribute to a film that is one of my favourites.

The ending of the film hammers home the fact that Shearer’s whole life changed the moment she accepted that role. In her autobiography fellow ballerina Beryl Grey recounts that during the Sadler’s Wells Ballet’s first tour to America (in 1949), her, Fonteyn, Shearer, Violetta Elvin and Pamela May were dining in their hotel when they were asked whether they were with ‘The Moira Shearer Company’. At the time Fonteyn was the star of the company and the first-billed ballerina (the other four were billed below her), but she had not played Vicky Page. For most people, especially today, Shearer is not foremost a prima ballerina, she is Victoria Page, despite that fact that she was always humble in regards to her movie fame.

Òran na h-Eala is a fantastic short film that has been executed with the utmost care from all involved, and serves as a marvellous tribute to Moira Shearer and her career as a movie star, but also her career as a dancer.