British film director Simon Rumley (Red, White & Blue) entered the film industry in 1991. Having first worked as a production manager, scriptwriter and producer, in 1996 he furthermore added ‘director’ to his multiple professions – with the result that two years later he was nominated for ‘Most Talented Newcomer’ at the inaugural ‘British Independent Film Awards’.
Since then, he has directed several little gems including the excellent short The Handyman starring Greta Scacchi and the psychological horror The Living And The Dead. However, it is Simon’s current and controversial movie, the superb Red, White & Blue that will set tongues wagging and hopefully put him firmly on the map as one of Britain’s most innovative writers and directors. The Film premiered at the prestigious ‘Rotterdam International Film Festival’ earlier this year and received its UK-premiere at the recent ‘Film 4 FrightFest’, where it was equally well received.

Film-News Claudia Andrei caught up with Simon in Soho’s Groucho Club for an informal interview.

Film-News:
Simon, the musical score in ‘Red, White & Blue’ is pivotal to the film, please tell me a little bit more about it.

Simon Rumley:
The score is absent for the majority of the film, but plays in the first four minutes or so at the film’s opening and indicates the tone of the movie. I felt that we should really get the soundtrack right at the beginning. There are no titles, which is almost unheard of in film these days. It’s not like you sit down and see the Universal credits and then the exact thesis and so forth. It’s a slow and dark music and yes, you’re right, it’s meant to set a tone so that we know the film’s plot eventually develops into a pretty unpleasant situation. After the opening score, there is no music whatsoever for the next hour of the film. Richard, who also composed the music for ‘The Living and The Dead’ is a great guy and both him and I worked out the right score once we visualized the screenplay. I collaborated with him four times now and I think the score for ‘Red, White & Blue’ works particularly well, as it has a certain melancholia to it.

FN:
The title obviously refers to the colours of the American flag, but does it also indicate – I’m referring to Noah Taylor’s character here – that especially in the USA one seems to take the law into their own hands?

SR:
Yes, you’re absolutely right there. I felt that by titling the film ‘Red, White & Blue’ it would give it all a lot more depth and also some contemporary relevance. I discussed the fact that the American government’s reaction to something is kind of a reject reaction. Whether it’s Vietnam or Iraq or something, they want to have the right to do something the way they want to do it and they will not ever admit that they’re wrong. And in the film, Noah Taylor’s character Nate is very similar. He feels that violence is an answer to the situation but whether it’s the right answer or not – it probably isn’t – is not questioned by him. We know that the CIA in Iraq has thrown him out for doing something wrong. So the whole thing in ‘Red, White & Blue’ is also about the whole political situation from the last four, five years. The political reference in the film is of course only very small, but hopefully people will still see this, because Taylor’s behaviour will make more sense to them.

FN:
How did the concept of your film come about?

SR:
When I started to write on the script, I knew that I wanted to make a film like ‘The Living and The Dead’ you know, a horror film that’s not an actual horror film and which wasn’t done in the traditional way that most horror films are done. I wanted to explore the whole concept of what a horror film is, like typically a slasher where people run through killing someone and other try not the get killed. So I took that as a starting point and asked how can I make a horror film where someone is running off to someone else trying to kill them – but they’re not using a chainsaw. I also read some articles in papers, for example there was this woman in Japan who had slept with a bunch of policemen, because a Japanese policeman had infected her with HIV. So she decided to pay back. There was a similar case in Canada and actually, there is one right now in Germany, although this isn't really a revenge story but is about this pop star naïve enough to believe she wouldn’t cause any harm. So these stories are very scary and I wanted to use this as the horror element in my film. I actually started to write the first 25 pages of the script, with the Noah Taylor character as the main protagonist, but then wasn’t happy with it and put it aside for over a year. Then I started again and realized that the only way the script is gonna work is if the audience learns a bit more about the Amanda Fuller character and her life and what she’s going through, so I added more depth to it but also more characters, and it evolved from there.

FN:
Since I didn’t get a chance to ask your stars at ‘FrightFest’, what attracted them to their part?

SR:
They read the script and really responded to the characters. When I spoke to Noah (when I knew him a little bit more) he said that it’s his favourite script he read in the last fifteen years, or something. And Noah had always wanted to play a killer but up until then hadn’t been sent the right script, or scripts he didn’t quite like. He felt that with the more geeky roles he usually gets to play, he will never be able to play a killer. So after he read my script he really liked it and also his character, but he wanted me to assure him that it’s not going to be another Hostel or another Saw. Then he re-read the script again and a few weeks later he emailed me and said that he feels the script is actually a love story. Hence, one of my original titles for the movie was ‘Love Gone Bad’ but I’m happy I decided to go with the title it has now.

As for Amanda Fuller’s character, it was pretty much the same thing. She read the script and liked it and also her character. There is quite a sensitive and vulnerable side to Amanda and at that time, she was just going through a break-up with her boyfriend. When I met up with her she went “Yeah yeah, I really like the script” and she just really connected to the character, also because it requires her to be happy and sad at the same time. She understood that her character is a real person with feelings and stuff, not just this emotionless lost girl blindly being out for revenge.

And Marc Senter, I saw Marc in The Lost and his portrayal of Rye Pye was so amazing. I’ve spoken to a few people now about Marc and also about Noah Taylor and most of them said to me that when they saw the movie, they didn’t even realize that it was Noah Taylor until three quarters of the way trough! I guess his beard was playing against type. Then another person watched the whole film and said “Yeah, I love Marc Senter, I watched ‘The Lost’ twice now, one of my favourite films – but I didn’t realize it’s the same guy then the Franki character in your film!” So people knew the actors but actually not realized until the end that it was them playing in my film.

FN:
The topic of your film is universal, it’s something that is a very important issue and as you already pointed out earlier on, has made headlines in various papers. Why then does it seem so difficult to get a theatrical release for your film here in the UK, not to mention getting the necessary funding to even make a film like yours?

SR:
I think the sales agents here prefer top deal with films that contain elements that make their job easy. It’s been a constant source of frustration because the film has really been amazingly well received and reviewed.

The top industry always comes up with these platitudes that in the end are really just platitudes. My preferred horror films are less slasher, but more dark stories like Old Boy for example. The idea of finding fresh and talented new filmmakers, it’s like they’re not really giving it a chance. That’s why I’m trying now to make films like Thomas Clay (The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael) does, whose first two features have been in competition in Cannes, and who has left this country and is trying to make films outside the country.

FN:
Do you think the problem might be that sales agents and distributors wouldn’t necessarily know how to market the film, seeing how it’s a love story but not a romantic love story, and a horror film but not your typical horror film?

SR:
Yes, I think that’s probably true. Which is kind of a shame because the market has loose ends and so they can market a product whichever way they would see fit. You look at films by Michael Hanneke or Lars Von Trier or Gaspar Noe – they have made films which are horror films yet not really horror films, but there was a way to market them. At the same time, they have made it to Cannes and sadly my film hasn’t made it to Cannes yet. But in Cannes, films like that get out and are seen by a wider palate and can’t be ignored. I mean ‘Red, White & Blue’ has played at important and respected genre festivals, at the same time these are genre festivals and therefore it’s easier to ignore them. It’s kinda tough, I really need that kind of fantastic support from the top-end festivals too, and not just the genre ones. ‘Berlin Film Festival’ said no, ‘Melbourne Film Festival’ said No which is kinda crazy, given that Noah Taylor is from there and his performance in ‘Red, White & Blue’ is one of his best ever! Generally speaking, I think that people are just confused about the film. Also, they are probably not used to so much character development in a film either, but it’s vital to the storyline. Hanneke’s Funny Games is a bit a like that, actually. However, my film will be showing at ‘Oldenburg International Film Festival’ in Germany in September, and then at ‘Fantastic Fest’ in Austin, Texas. I am excited about that.

FN:
Thank you for the interview, Simon, and best of luck in Oldenburg and Austin.