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Your movie Fractional
- in a few words, what is it about?
It's about a
psychiatrist, John Hatchett (Desmond Daly), who is kidnapped by a man
called David Crowe (Peter O'Toole) who claims to be a former patient. John
Hatchett has a past that he wishes to remain secret, a secret that David
Crowe is willing to do anything to reveal. At its core it is a who is
more evil-story, which is left up to the viewer to decide.
What were your main
inspirations when writing Fractional?
I wanted to try to create a one-location storyline with a compelling mystery
and have the audience be unsure where the story is going to go. Ultimately
I wanted to create a twisted psychiatry session in a horrific
claustrophobic setting where you, the viewer, are witnessing every moment
over 5 days.
Neither
of the two main characters in Fractional
is a "good guy" in the traditional sort of way - so who do you
identify with more, the manipulative psycho or the self-denying
psychiatrist?
I'm not exactly sure that I identify with either of them
really. I see them more as extreme cases of
personalities that are self-destructive. For me it's interesting to
write complex self-destructive characters. It is true, though, that
neither character is a true 'good guy' in the traditional sense of the
word, but I do feel that the character Hatchett at least has a sense of
humanity albeit a very selfish version of that. I wanted to create two
very flawed characters both having traits of self-destruction and letting
the audience decide which of the two is essentially the 'bad guy'.
Desmond Daly |
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Peter O'Toole |
For the most part,
Fractional
was shot in but one room - so what were the challenges but maybe also
advantages of this, and could you ever be tempted to shoot another movie
in such a confined space?
The challanges involved were varied - one example would be trying to keep the
setting clautrophobic while at the same time trying to mix it up a little
bit visually. So in essense it became difficult to keep things 'simple'
and restrain myself visually to keep it claustrobic and have it be about
the charactors, the oppressive setting and the acting. I wanted the camera
to be an extension of that breaking the fourth wall at times to be the
voyeur in proceedings.
Would I film another movie in a confined space
again? I would but not for a while and maybe not for the entire movie or
in a similar location we used on Fractional. What can you tell us about
your cast, and why exactly these people?
I knew going in that I would need a good cast to make the characters real and believeable. Because of the nature of the script,
which has a lot of dialogue, I needed actors who were skilled filmically
but also in a theatre setting and I was fortunate to cast Desmond (Daly)
and Peter (O'Toole) in the main roles. They had a chemistry together that
helps make the world I wanted to create believeable
and real. That was a very important aspect. Do talk about
the shoot as such for a bit, and the on-set atmosphere?
Generally the atmosphere was fun as it needed to be considering the subject
matter of the film. The shoot took much longer than anticipated, as it was
so difficult to film in the location with constant interruptions from
noise pollution and locals. Most days we would actually only get to film
for maybe 2 or 3 hours at most. That was a major headache both for me and
the actors as it made it difficult to keep a consistant hrythm going but we
persevered and got to the finish line.
What
can you tell us about critical and audience reception of your movie?
So far the critical response has been really great. It's
essentially a claustrophobic psychological mood piece with a mystery at
it's core so it's not going to be to everyone's taste. But I'm delighted
that lots of people have embraced the concept and enjoyed the mystery. Any
future projects you'd like to share?
I am working on a follow up feature film project called
The Virion Strain about an outbreak of a deadly virus in a small town and
one man's struggle to overcome his fears. What got you into
filmmaking to begin with, and did you receive any formal education on the
subject? I always
had a love of film even as a small child so it grew from there. I went to
college and studied film production.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Fractional?
Our production company, Totality
Pictures, produced a
number of short and feature film projects aside from Fractional, such as
Hell's Drifter and Territorial Behaviour as well as music videos and
promotional materials. How
would you describe yourself as a director?
Sneaky.
Just Jjking. Dedicated and passionate with a genuine love for what I do.
Filmmakers
who inspire you?
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Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
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David Fincher. Ridley Scott. James Cameron. David
Cronenberg. The list could go on... Your favourite movies? Alien,
Aliens, The Fly, The
Usual Suspects etc - again this list could go for a
very long time...
...
and of course, films you really deplore? Storage 24. No offense meant to the filmmakers as I respect what hard work it
takes to make a film in the first place. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
www.fractionalfilm.com – official website.
www.totalitypictures.com – production
company website.
@fractionalfilm – Twitter handle.
Thanks
for the interview!
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