No Taming of Night

In each of us, there are parts of ourselves we neglect: wounds we don't air, sins we purge from the light. In our desperation, our pain, or our hubris?— we separate mind from body, give in to our most wicked temptations, or let our desperation get the best of our better nature.

It was this aspect of the human condition I set out to explore in my first very personal, very allegorical short. NO TAMING OF NIGHT is my own personal exploration during one of the worst times in my life where MUCH was at stake.

While writing a number of micro-short films for a special screenwriting competition, I became enamored with the idea (perhaps subconsciously) of a man on the run; a film shot almost exclusively in a car. The concept of a man unhinged and ranting on the road became (ostensibly and metaphorically) a vehicle for the descent into the psyche. "People, while driving, are in a most unique vacuum", I thought. "You talk to yourself in a more self-referential way. There's no need for a filter." I wrote a two-page treatment on the idea and promptly forgot about it.

After catching up with friend and collaborator Jordan Anderson (who eventually became the projects Director of Photography) we got to talking about projects on which we could collaborate. When the subject of the treatment (titled RARE ANIMALS at the time) came up, a couple drafts were all it took to send us off.

I wrote the script in a very feverish stream-of-consciousness, and sought out actors who could embody a sort of otherworldly shock, a distinct humanity. We chose Anthony because of his unique voice, the physicality he brought to the audition and his keen sense of duty to the role.

The choice of aspect ratio and colour were meant to work in-tandem: the almost antique 4:3 aspect ratio to confine Driver, with the black-and-white to lock him away from the colorful world around him. Stylistically, we wanted to represent the character of Driver as separate from the world around him; an almost self-imposed alienation. The moves of the camera, the natural lighting, the dark ambience of the musical cues: all of it meant to immerse into this manic trip.

Working with Anthony, as well as my small dedicated crew, made the entire experience rewarding, and pushed the more subliminal aspects of the writing to the forefront of the picture. Everything I had written in a haze had suddenly become corporeal; the entire experience had become one great catharsis.