Spurning Tricks - Interview

In the same way, I used that structure for Clean, Shaven--the whole notion of the schizophrenic possibly being a killer. It never definitively says it. At the end of the film, you realize there's only really circumstantial evidence, and this forces an audience to address its own feelings toward schizophrenics or psychotics.

CM: In this connection I was wondering if working with Peter Greene [who plays the schizophrenic in Clean, Shaven] was difficult for you on some gut level, just because his performance was such a difficult one.

LK: Peter--you know, I have to go so far back in my memory--I worked with Peter on Clean, Shaven for two years. He is a great performer. That was his first feature-film role [Greene went on to take parts in Laws of Gravity and Pulp Fiction], and I knew the second I saw him that I would cast him just because of the energy he possessed. He was actually different than--you know, I keep getting asked the question, "Is Peter Greene like the character in real life?" And he's not at all. But he does possess a certain energy that I thought he could harness and would be appropriate for the lead.

CM: How does your rehearsal process relate to the formation of your characters?

LK: I don't believe in the theory that a director really extracts a great performance out of actors. I find that if they're talented actors and the correct environment is created, they will produce good work.

Claire Dolan was all written before casting. Usually, I don't engage actors in the writing process the way some filmmakers like Mike Leigh do, or like Jim McKay did on Girlstown. Generally, I try to write everything relatively specifically. Filmmaking, from start to finish, is a process not only of collaboration but of rewriting. So I'm totally open. My text is just the starting point.

Usually, when I finish writing a script, I actually give it to an actor first because I find that there are so many similarities between writers and actors: They're both trying to portray an accurate character. If there are any inconsistencies in a character, hopefully an actor will be able to point them out.

I take the rehearsal process itself very seriously. I was fortunate that Ann Ruark, our producer, was able to block a significant period of time before the shoot, which I utilized as best I could. It's really a process of communication, trying to make things clear, so that the questions you have are answered before you're on the set. A lot of discussion takes place. One of the discussions Colm Meaney and I had, an idea to which he consented and agreed, was that Cain should never reveal his dishonesty to Claire, that he should always keep up a front of being sincere and interested in her life--because that would be much more subtle and abusive.

Actors respond if you're very serious about the rehearsal period. How seriously the filmmaker takes it ultimately has a huge impact on how seriously everyone else takes it. Knowing what you want and being specific is at least 95 percent of it.