Bonding

Bonding is a film about relationships and what really ties us to another person, with an absurd twist. On the surface, Dad's enthusiasm for the canoe trip seems to be a wholesome remedy to his and James’ fading father-son relationship. But when his cuffs click onto James’s wrist, we begin to see in his twisted actions the deep desperation and the need to be understood that is behind the very notion of love. What is the line between love and desperation?

When I was developing this story with producer/star Jeff Ryan, we initially conceived it as a straightforward drama that would tackle this type of father-son dynamic – sans handcuffs. But only when we hit on the idea of adding an absurd layer to the plot, of making the subtext into text, did the story really come together. Adding the device of the handcuffs allowed us to make this a comedy and also, in an oblique fashion, tackle some meaty issues.

James objects to being cuffed, not just because it’s inherently crazy, but because that’s not how you’re supposed to treat someone that you love. Dad disagrees on principle: if you really love someone, you have to prove that you are unwilling to let that love die. You have to be desperate. Once James understands this, he’s finally able to connect with his father.

But is that connection real, or is James doing what he has to do to win his freedom? His actions later in the film – first by turning the tables on his father, then by taking drastic measures to prove his love to his girlfriend – provide potential answers to this question. But it was important to me that it be ambiguous. Yes, James is escaping his father, but I do think the understanding they come to is real. And in understanding his father, James learns something about himself. He too is eager to prove his love and willing to take bold, dangerous steps to do so. Like his father, he mistakenly believes that his good intentions justify his selfish, controlling actions.

Despite the silly surface trappings of the movie, the questions at the core of the movie are real. How do you make someone understand you love them? Are you doomed to repeat the same flawed behavior as your parents? I hope audiences will appreciate these ideas and laugh at the over-the-top, unhinged behavior on display in Bonding.