Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2015 / January 2016 | Page 14

INTERVIEW

“My mum and sisters
were all very strong
characters, so it
was easy for me to
get lost and feel
insignificant among
all the activity”
until after Anthony’s death in 2008, when
it was tidied up and screened by the
British Film Institute in a private viewing
for family and friends.
“It was a great emotional experience
to see it for the first time after all those
years” says Dominic.

Testing his wings
Brotherly love
Dominic’s closest ally whilst growing up
was his much-loved brother Anthony, who,
despite the 12-year age gap, was always
caring and protective towards him.
Prior to Dominic’s arrival in 1966,
Anthony had been the only boy in the
household, and the story goes that when
the new baby arrived, the message from
the hospital came through wrongly that
Gloria had given birth to yet another
daughter.
Anthony’s initial disappointment soon
gave way to delight and relief when he
realised that he actually had a brother
at last.
“We were always really close,” says
Dominic. “We understood each other,
and it was an understanding that was
very precious”.
Apart from enjoying the usual type of
brotherly activity such as going to Fratton
Park with their father Edward to support
Portsmouth FC, the Minghellas also had
a creative connection from early on.
In fact, in his early 20s, and long before
he went on to fame as an Oscar-winning
director, Anthony made a short film on
the Isle of Wight – featuring among the
cast a 10 year-old Dominic.
Just under an hour long, A Little Like
Drowning was shot in 15 days, and told

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the personal and somewhat romantic
story of how the Minghellas came to be
on the Island: via their Italian maternal
grandmother, who moved south from
Glasgow’s tough Gorbals area after World
War II, hoping to win back her husband.
The film, a student project, was
unfinished and never actually shown

When it came to his own career,
Dominic – a former Medina High School
boy who went on to study Philosophy,
Politics and Economics at Oxford – says
he was determined to steer clear of
anything his successful older siblings had
already done, which pretty much ruled
out the performing arts, music and film.

David Threlfall and Dominic Minghella. Picture by Julian Winslow