It's hard to know exactly what to expect from a David Gordon Green film, and that's just the way he likes it.
The Richardson-raised director has said his signature move is not having a signature move. A perusal of his filmography, from earthy indies (George Washington, All the Real Girls) to stoner comedies (Pineapple Express, Your Highness), bears him out.
With his latest, Our Brand Is Crisis, he throws yet another curveball. Based on the 2005 documentary of the same name, Crisis focuses on the tempestuous (and fictional) political strategist "Calamity" Jane Bodine, assigned to craft a campaign for an unpopular presidential candidate in Bolivia. Her opposite number is a slick rival strategist, played by Billy Bob Thornton. It's an optimistic movie about a cynical subject.
Green, who still crashes at his parents' house when he comes through town, recently sat down to discuss the film with us.
What intrigued you about the world of strategists?
Once you look at what a strategist of any sort does in any industry, you always wonder where they're coming from and how they're fusing with the pre-existing culture. So I tried to not make it a political movie, but make it a movie about business: the hotel business, journalism, the movie business. We all have these strategists behind the face of who represents this cause, or this industry or this product. There are people helping engineer that, or playing devil's advocate or bringing their own insight to it.
Is Jane's adversary Pat Candy, played by Billy Bob Thornton, modeled after James Carville?
Yeah, but so is Jane. I think everybody's a little Carvellian in the movie. What Candy embodies is just the beauty of charisma. He's not the politician, so to speak. He's just a really entertaining way to look at a guy that does that job. A lot of other strategists are behind the scenes because they're not as charismatic, so he's someone that has that aggression and that wit that you want to watch.
Sandra Bullock's character is tough, but there's also a lot of vulnerability there.
That's good to hear. It's a tricky character because she says very unlikable things and she can come on strong and be cocky. One of my favorite things is to be able to toy with an antihero. It's the charisma of an actor that makes or breaks that ambition. Sandra is really funny and sensitive, but she's not just obnoxiously comedic. She has a wit. Those are my favorite kinds of people, who have emotional relevance in their own lives and also know how to make you laugh.
Do you strive to be unpredictable in your choice of projects?
Yeah, it's just the next experiment, the next exploration. I just look at every job as an education, like I'm always going to be in film school. It's helpful to literally be working with people I went to film school with [at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts]. There's a trust in the production experience, so you can make mistakes, and you can fall on your ass and you're not judged. You're with people who are excited to try something new regardless of its success or failure. That's what this is. It's just the next experiment in content.
