FORT TILDEN written and directed by Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, with Bridey Elliott, Clare McNulty, Neil Casey and Jeffrey Scaperrotta. A filmswelike release. 97 minutes. Opens Friday (August 21). See listings.
NEW YORK CITY In a Chelsea boardroom, Im sitting with Bridey Elliott, Clare McNulty, Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers, the stars and writer/directors of the new indie film Fort Tilden. Were talking about how they turned a simple story about two friends on a day trip to the beach into a comedic metaphor for their characters unfocused lives.
I dont think we had some sort of conscious design for the tone or the feeling, says Rogers, who wrote and directed the movie with Bliss.
We just started with the characters. We knew what was funny and flawed about them. The film doesnt propose to have any right answers for the characters, and every other character in the movie kind of follows that same line. Everyone is a little bit wrong in the world of Fort Til-den.
Bliss says the film is about the impossibility of living the perfect life. Harper and Allie, the Williamsburg roommates played by Elliott and McNulty, live in a constant state of distraction, forever chasing the next ob-ject thatll snap their lives together.
Throughout the film they always end up literally throwing out anything they acquire, she says. Their iced coffees, their barrel, their clothing. They have the best intentions for all those things they wanted to en-joy their iced coffee, but it wasnt what they hoped it would be, she laughs. In some ways I think theyre [just] getting in their own way. It is their fault and its not their fault.
As McNulty and Elliott explain, their challenge as actors was to play those layers without ever acknowledging them.
Its so easy, so truthful, so funny, McNulty says. It was really easy to slide into the characters and become them. There was no, like, looking at them through a different lens. It was just being. Sometimes thats a hard thing to do while youre acting, because you read something and you think, Uhh, I dont know, thats not a real thing to say. But this was super-tight.
All the lines just made sense, Elliott agrees, and felt genuine to that character. There was no trouble try-ing to find them in our heads, because they were right there. But I dont think either of us was aware of how the audience is going to see [them].
Fort Tilden has been dividing audiences (and critics) since its first festival screenings and everyones just fine with that.
Its good that people have strong opinions either way, Bliss says. It has become part of what kind of makes this movie special.
Yeah, some people really like the characters, Rogers agrees. They like how complex they are, and relate to their experiences. And some people find them unpalatable. There seems to be a bit of division [based on] how you see yourself in the world, if youre willing to relate to Allie and Harper or not.
Charles Rogers on developing the arc of the script:
Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers on balancing comedy and melancholy elements:
Clare McNulty on the way the film lures you to empathize with awful characters:
Bridey Elliott on the unexpected virtue of anxiety:
See our review of Fort Tilden here.
normw@nowtoronto.com | @normwilner
