Q: Talk about the really eerie look of this film.
MS: Yes. There was a movie, a documentary that Arne Glimcher made on cubism in cinema, and the influence on cinema of Picasso and Braque. So that’s sort of in my head. But again, I saw the images that way. There’s no doubt about it. The thing is that the discussion is really important, because I’m not sure how that’s done. It was a struggle and a balancing act, as well.
And I’ve said it before, if you have a mansion built in the 19th century and you have an exterior where it’s nighttime and stormy and raining and the camera is tracking down or booming down on it, you know, that immediately brings to mind an image from gothic thrillers.
And also 19th century literature, turn of the century, 20th century German expressionism. So the idea was to try to touch upon that, to say, “Yes, this is the reference. But there’s something else going on. That is the setting.” So it’s always been a balancing act, to sort of have our cake and eat it too, in a way.
And then dealing with the references to the visual style that reflect and have certain meanings automatically, without losing the emotional impact of the picture, which is really very primal. It’s a very primal internal struggle.
And at a certain point in the story, and this is a difficult film to talk about it because you don’t want to give away anything, but if you look at the film a few times you’ll see that we’re stretching landscape and interiors. And all of these things that we started to play with, in terms of lenses and production design.
I mean, is the island really that rocky? Do the caves exist? Are the cliffs that high? I don’t know.
Q: How about the music?
MS: Well, the music is interesting. The music is modern symphonic music that Robbie Robertson and I had an idea for, to try and create a score, rather than get a composer whom I’m sure would get a great score. But I want to do something different, more of a tone and a mood.
So he spent maybe 20 hours or 22 hours over a period of three months, with modern symphonic music. For example, Ingram Marshall’s “Fog Tropes.” And suddenly it sounded like a foghorn, but it’s actually brass. So the opening of the film is music, and it’s not a foghorn. That’s a piece.
And I said, “That’s wild. That’s interesting. If we could get away with it, that’s interesting.” Then the use of the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3, which is very big. But again, it’s hard to talk about without giving it away.
You know, the subconscious of Teddy sees that island, and he sees that island in such a foreboding way. That’s what he hears. And that’s what I felt. And I said, let’s go for it. Let’s really push it on that level, with that music. Even the amount of smoke coming out of Ben Kingsley’s pipe.
And as these things come together, you realize there’s something entirely different going on here. And that we were getting into this deeper. And it just became something where I was excited about getting deeper with the story. But at the same time, a slight panic. Like would we hit all the levels, and would we have the time to do it. And explore all these different things.
Q: In some ways, the movie reminds me of Kafka, and The Stranger by Camus.
MS: Camus, exactly. And I was reading Kafka all the way through, those short stories, absolutely.
Q: What about some other stuff you’ve got coming up, your Theodore Roosevelt movie, and the evangelical film, Silence?
MS: The Roosevelt thing is not scheduled for shooting, as far as me directing it anyway with Leo. And Silence is hoping to be shot next year. I hope!
Q: Now, you’ve done close to 50 movies…
MS: No, that’s impossible!
Q: Okay, including documentaries.
MS: Okay, all right.
Q: Well, Ben Kingsley said you direct like a lover. So if you had to choose let’s say five that represent your best work, what would they be?
MS: Ha! That’s a difficult question. The thing is that I don’t really know. Because even a film like this, the work that we went through and the process—and don’t forget that besides the shooting I worked on the editing too, and the editing took nine months, 10 months over the period of a year. So I lived with this for a long time.
I’m just one of those people where it affects me. So ultimately when I finish a picture and it’s over….I try not to see it again! It just is part of your work. I don’t really even think of them as finished.
You know, you sort of leave them be. If I leave them be, they’ll leave me be for a while! They’ll leave me alone. But they don’t! All of them come back. And I think about all of them all the time.
Q: You’re known for being inspired by lots of vintage classics, many of them B movies. How so?
MS: I don’t know, I look at these films repeatedly and I think, what’s the beginning, the middle and the end? It’s like music. I keep looking at them and listening to them, and it’s like new every time. But they have terrible titles!
I mean, like [I Walked with a Zombie]. And of course Out of the Past is the web. It’s the net that’s cast for this poor guy. But I can’t reach that level, it’s remarkable. Who knows. He’s doomed from the beginning and just says, “Build my gallows high, baby!”