Writer/director David Lowery recently spoke with “Breakthrough Entertainment” about his new drama “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
In “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” which opens Friday, Aug. 23 exclusively at Harkins Shea 14, Casey Affleck plays an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife (Rooney Mara) and the daughter he has never met. Ben Foster also stars.
Listen to “Breakthrough Entertainment’s” full interview with Lowery by clicking HERE. The following is an excerpt from the interview in which the writer/director discusses his reasons for casting Affleck, Mara and Foster in “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
“First and foremost, they are all amazing actors whom I have been fans of. More than anything else, the reason that I wanted them – aside from their talent – was the fact that I felt that they all could blend into the time period and setting of the movie. I wanted actors who could be part of that texture and part of that ruffian feel that is part and parcel with small-town Texas – especially the time period in which the movie takes place.
“They all have a quality to them that is distinctly un-modern and that was really important to me. I did not want them to stick out. I did not want them to feel like modern person in an old-fashioned town. I wanted them to feel like they have grown up in these places, lived there and spent their whole lives in this one little area. That was something that I felt that all three of them could completely disappear into that world.
“What I hope that people take away [from the film] is the feeling that they have gained a new perspective through a very old-fashioned lens. That is a weird way to put it, but I wanted to make a movie that felt old and familiar and almost comforting in how traditional it was and yet because it is so familiar you are able to access very immediate and very deep emotions that are hopefully applicable to whatever is going on in your life. As a filmmaker, you always hope that something that means a lot to you will mean a lot somebody else. I hope that they feel that they have had an experience that feels familiar and surprisingly new at the same time.” – David Lowery
