Ease Down the Road

Remaining a human being whilst in a film bubble.

In about 2003, a girl gave me a ripped CD of Ease Down the Road by Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. I didn’t really start listening to it much until a few years later when, early morning on the way to a shoot one day, I played it (by then, on my iPod) as something peaceful and rhythmic to relax before a massive job.

That worked so well for me that I started listening to it on the way to every shoot. At some point that crossed over into playing it whenever I was away on a shoot and couldn’t sleep. And now, I play it in pretty much any situation where I want to quickly reach a kind of relaxed, low-power mode. Travelling, resting, stressed - I’ll play the album (now from my phone or vinyl) and it instantly puts me in a better place.

Why does that work for me? It’s not truly meditative music, or ultra gentle classical. It’s not even my favourite Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy album.

I think the reason it is so soothing to me is that it makes me feel like a human being in the real world. And this short cut into that feeling has become essential to me.

Making films is all consuming. Every waking moment becomes about the film. Every meal, every toilet break, every conversation is an extra window of time to answer questions both internal and external about THE FILM. Crew becomes family. The whole production is a travelling circus. It’s magical.

And yet… Of all the art forms, filmmaking is one that is utterly dependent on the world around you and how you interact with it. If you’re cutting that off, what does that mean for you and your film?

Are you aware of the wider world you are speaking to? Are you alive to possibility and chance and meaning that deepens your script? Are you still being a ‘good’ human being?

How can we give a film our utter focus, yet not make it all consuming? I still want to be a good dad, a good family member and a healthy, well-rounded person. Hell, I still sort-of want to win my fantasy football league. Do these desires make it less likely that I’ll make a good film?

I don’t think so.

We’ve built a myth around hard work and success and the idea that if you commit all your time and energy in an obsessive way, then that’s the path to success. I’ve done it myself. I’ve made films where I’ve done nothing else. I’ve lost out on experiences in the real world, on friendships, important events and my physical well-being. Because I’ve believed that if you just work harder, the work gets better.

I don’t believe that anymore. Work hard, yes. Be committed, be driven, be passionate. But don’t lose connection to the world around you.

One night during my last shoot, I watched the second leg of the Barcelona vs Internazionale champions league game. It went to extra time. It was late, I could have used the sleep, but that hour of insanely exciting football (highlights here) lifted me out of my head and made me feel exhilarated and tense and joyous - all separate from my feelings about the film. Which gave me a mini-reset - a chance to clear my mind and freshen my focus.

Any connection to the world can help. When I worked with Rachel Morrison, she greeted me on set one day with ‘Bowie’s dead!’ - I remember feeling so grateful that she’d told me something that was nothing to do with the shoot.

Ease Down the Road is my shortcut to feeling like I’m connected to the world outside the film. Is there another grounding element to this album? The lyrics are staggeringly good. That beautiful Will Oldham mix of whimsical, wise and witty taps into my human nature and reminds me I have emotional depth beyond the schedule for that day. It reminds me that the film will live in the real world and be a part of people’s lives. It also reminds me that great artists can be beautiful, playful, insightful and odd all at the same time. And all of that makes me feel like a human being. Better equipped to make a film, which in turn makes me feel more calm and confident.

Anything you can do to feel calm and connected to the world should be part of your filmmaking tool kit. A shortcut to being a full person isn’t an affectation, it’s really important, so almost any home comfort, any routine is fine by me.

As long as it isn’t yet another excuse to be a demanding prick…

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***A small coda to my Will Oldham story; I once got in touch with him to see if he would consider writing a concept album for a film I was making ( I must have been watching Harold and Maude or McCabe and Mrs Miller again). We talked, and he thought about it, but decided that doing it over email and phone wasn’t going to work, and said that if I came to Kentucky for a while, maybe it could happen.

I really should have done that. I didn’t. But Will was gracious enough to write a song for the end credits of the film, which is one of the most exciting things that has ever happened to me.

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