Unless you’ve been adamant since the age of about 10 that you were going to be a doctor or a fireman or a ballerina, that stage between college and settling on the one thing you want to do for the rest of your life can cause anxiety. But it’s also one of the most exciting and freeing times of our lives. Harry Macqueen’s homegrown debut feature film Hinterland is the charming tale of that stage in your life – indecision, uncertainty and young love – that resonates with us all. Made on just £10,000, filmed over 13 days and with only two characters, it tells the story of childhood friends Harvey (played by Macqueen) and Lola (played by singer-songwriter Lori Campbell) who rekindle their childhood friendship on a weekend away at the Cornish Coast – with some deeper, unspoken longing brewing under the surface. We speak to 31-year-old Harry, who proves that settling on one thing is not your only life option as he writes, directs and acts in the Raindance Best Feature nominated flick…
Where did the idea for the script come from?
I wanted to write a love story, but not a conventional one, and I was interested in making a road trip movie, so it was a combination of those two things. I knew it had to be a really intimate two-hander – a guy and a girl – and about nostalgia and friendship and love. It was just tailoring the script to how we could pull that off on the budget we had.
Have you always wanted to write a script?
I’ve always written stuff, but mainly just for myself or with mates, nothing serious. I started writing it in October and we shot it in February, so it happened really quick.
So you actually lived with Lori just get the vibe of the film right?
Yeah, because I didn’t know her before I wrote it. She was a friend of a friend who I was living with at the time. But when I met her I instantly knew that she had to do it, she was very close to the girl I had written. Laurie’s a musician, she’s not an actress and I wanted music to be quite important in the film. The person that was going to play the part needed to be able to play guitar and hopefully have her own music, which is what happened.
Have you done that road trip yourself before?
Yeah, that part of the story is really autobiographical. I’ve always been to that part of the world with my family so I know how beautiful it is and how dramatic it is and initially thought that if we could make a really intimate little road movie but place it in the context of this epic, huge, dramatic landscape, then it would add a certain duality to the film. The other thing is, when you’re shooting with no money, you use that as your art director and your set. It’s free, and it’s beautiful.
Do you think everyone has a point in their life when they need to just run away?
Yeah, definitely, and I think it’s important that you do. I hope it’s like a love letter to being in your 20s. It’s about you or me; going through your 20s trying to work out what you’re doing with your life and finding it quite hard. I think it’s a rite of passage you go through when things don’t really make sense and you run away from it. It’s a story about contemporary people my age who maybe haven’t quite worked it all out yet.
What were you like in your 20s?
I was in a relationship for most of my 20s so pretty stable, but definitely aware that – especially if you want to live in London and you’re not earning loads of money and doing a job that involves wearing a suit – it’s quite difficult to plan too far in the future because stuff becomes quite impossible. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford a house in London and that’s a real shame. I think I went through my 20s loving the freedom of being a freelance actor, and having lots of fun, but also had this looming awareness that it would prove difficult in the future, unless you get uber lucky and make loads of money out of it which is unlikely.
It’s quite cool how it all happens over one weekend…
It was always meant to be like a fleeting kind of window into these two characters’ lives. It’s about reconnection. It’s about a love that maybe is too far out of reach or isn’t vocalized. I think drawing it out for any longer than that wouldn’t have worked. This girl going back into this guys life and him deciding that maybe he loves her but couldn’t tell her. It had to be a finite weekend. A little period away to cram all that in and then they go their separate ways.
It’s all about the unsaid.
Yeah and I think that’s really important in film and theatre or whatever. If you’re seeking the truth or the beauty of human interaction on that level, virtually all the time what we say isn’t necessarily particularly truthful. The spaces in between the words – what we don’t say – is just as important as what we do say. In a film context it’s really interesting because you can use the camera to speak the words that the person can’t say.
If it was you in the film, would you have told her?
Yeah, definitely! Day 1 probably! But I think he’s a bit of a sensitive soul really and he doesn’t want to rock the boat or screw things up, which is pretty honorable.
Do you think she loves him back?
Yeah, absolutely. Whether it’s that kind of love… I don’t know, I think that’s for everyone else to decide.
Have you ever fallen in love with a friend?
Yeah probably. Not like that, not in that way, but I think we all have a bit. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to make a film?
Firstly, don’t wait for permission to make it. It’s really easy to go “this is going to cost a lot of money, I don’t know how I’m going to make this, I should wait for funding.” You should just go and do it. Also, one of the things I’ve learnt – and is just the best thing ever – is collaborating. You get a better end result. Having other people’s input as part of the process is really important. Use other people a lot and make it a team effort. Also, have fun. Making films is incredibly stressful and it’s easy to lose sight of how fun it should be.
HINTERLAND is in cinemas and on demand 27 February.
Credits
Text Felicity Kinsella
Photography Lorenzo Dalbosco