Director Elliot Tuttle’s “Blue Film,” which opens in Atlanta on May 22, has drawn controversy for its subject matter, which includes pedophilia and child abuse.
“Blue Film” was turned down by a few major festivals before eventually premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Now, it has found a distributor and a release date.
The plot revolves around young Los Angeles camboy, Aaron Eagle (Kieron Moore), who spends the night with Hank (Reed Birney), an anonymous client. It turns out the two have crossed paths before – Hank is a former middle school teacher who was convicted for the sexual assault of a child.
Tuttle and stars Moore and Birney recently chatted with Georgia Voice about the film.
Tuttle initially had the idea for “Blue Film” a few years ago while journaling and writing while watching films from director Catherine Breillat (“Fat Girl,” “A Real Young Girl,” “36 Fillette”).
“It was really a long process of writing down lots of personal feelings, lots of personal ideas, and then, over a length of time, kind of translating them into a narrative,” Tuttle said. “This is subject matter that I’ve been interested in for a while, speaking really honestly and not conceptually about sex and the way that it affects the way that we live our lives to a pretty great extent. How do you render it to be something that is not conceptual and is very laced with danger, or rife with potential?”
For the actors, the roles leapt off of the page. Briney, who is also one of the film’s producers, said he thought the role was one of the best he’d ever been offered and knew he had to take it on.
“I guess I never thought of [Hank] in a particularly villainous way. He sort of broke my heart, because he was so self-aware and had elected to stay in the town he grew up in,” Briney said. “How crazy is that, even after he’s in trouble? I just was so happy to have the opportunity to play something this rich.”
Moore said he thought the film was a remarkable opportunity for any young actor.
“I think it’s something that I’ve probably said too many times, but it’s the truth – I was deeply scared of it, but not more scared than the idea of watching someone else do it,” Moore said. “I knew that would haunt me for the rest of however long my career is. I always wanted to be the one that got to say, ‘I played Aaron Eagle.’”
Tuttle asked himself many times, during and after production, what these two seemingly different men are seeking from each other. He has his own theories, as do the actors. From Hank’s perspective, Briney sees the night as an act of atonement.
“I think it’s very important for [him], because he sort of made such a terrible mess of his life,” Birney said. “I think it’s worth every penny for him to remind [Aaron] of who he was. That’s his sort of final gift and gesture and an atonement, really, for all that he did there – that if he can save [Aaron] from this confusion that I perceive him as having, then, perhaps [he] can have a chance at heaven.”
In Moore’s eyes, Aaron – who makes a profession out of being watched – discovers something about himself.
“I can’t, obviously, speak for what Hank looks for in Aaron, but I think they both – in the obstruction of each other’s gaze – they sort of see themselves a little bit more,” he said. “For Aaron, specifically, that is a part of himself that he’s chosen to sort of deny and ignore for a long time.”
Pre-production and production went relatively smoother than anyone anticipated. The real difficulty came in trying to get the film in front of an audience.
“That felt like the most challenging part, and it was all because we had let ourselves really do and make whatever we wanted,” Tuttle said. “I’m very proud of what we made, and I think that liberation, attempting to be as honest as possible – that created difficulties further down the road.”
“Blue Film” opens at the Tara Theatre on May 22.
