Leigh talks about how each scene evolved from extensive improvisation between the actors in rehearsals and then written into script form. The late, great Cartlidge offers some very smart observations about her character’s motivations while Thewlis talks about Leigh’s working methods. This is a smart, extremely informative track with excellent comments from all the participants.

Informative, interesting, educational, and occasionally funny, is the short summations of this commentary that I first heard on the Criterion laserdisc. Leigh is not one of those high energy writer/directors who seems so excited with the film. He sounds more like a historian remembering and telling stories about how each scene came about, and since he is an actors director, most of those stories is about how the actor drew out his character.

A couple of funny bits, like when he admits to having stolen books when visiting friends. And his dry British way of describing the Loreena Bobbit incident in America inspired a line in the film.

Listening to it definitely adds to the understanding and enjoyment of the film.