31-year-old writer-director Lou Howe delivers a swift-kick debut at the Tribeca Film Festival this year, with the sullenly powerful drama Gabriel. Rory Culkin leads the way, proving himself an actor of maddened depth, wisdom, and pathos. In the titular role, Culkin plays a college-age kid struggling with mental illness. Completely out of touch with reality, Gabriel sets out on a rollicking New York City adventure to reclaim a past love.
Unfaltering and unapologetic, the feature marks a brave take on fucked-up youth. We caught up with the film’s director on Crosby Street, amid the bustle of the Tribeca Film Festival.
William Nixon: What type of art influenced you the most when you were Gabriel’s age?
Lou Howe: In college, I watched a ton of movies. I got into photography pretty intensely then, too… Books have always been a constant influence in the mix but early on in college was when movies really took over. I’d always been a reader more than anything and hadn’t really thought of [film] as something other than entertainment.
Any filmmakers in particular who interested you around that time?
What got me really excited in high school was stuff like Todd Solondz and early Wes Anderson films… movies that were totally unexpected to me at the time. I saw Happiness in the theater totally randomly. I had no idea what I was walking into. I was probably 16 and was like, “Holy shit—this is what you can do.”
Who are some of your favorite photographers?
[They're] similar to filmmakers. I love 70s American stuff like STEPHEN SHORE and Garry Winogrand and WILLIAM EGGLESTON. Just like that period of filmmaking is a major influence.
What kind of recklessness were you up to when you were Gabriel’s age?
In college, a friend and I stole a golf cart at night… It was at a weird, crazy house [that] had this wall of different hats. We would take people out for joy rides at night in this golf cart and do donuts. [One time], I picked a construction hard hat [and] we drove the golf cart into a tree. I got launched directly onto my head and cracked the helmet wide open. And the trip before, I was wearing, like, a propeller beanie or something. I clearly would have smashed my head open. That was reckless and deeply dumb, I guess. But, why I did it wasn’t a very interesting reason. [Laughs]
How would you say style and wardrobe were used to tell Gabriel’s story and convey your protagonist’s experience?
Wardrobe played a huge role in establishing the color palette along with the visual style and the cinematography. I’m always intrigued by what you can imply about a character via wardrobe… Little things like [Rory's] wardrobe. The concept is that [his character] hasn’t bought new clothes since he was 14 and that his style is just ever-so-slightly dated, you know? He wears like… long-sleeve waffle shirts under faded black polos. It’s a little like tenth-grade skater or something. That fits with his general state of mind of being stuck in a slightly younger age than he actually is.
Tell me a little about casting your actors and your methods of working with them.
Deirdre O’Connell is a badass. I had seen her in a play several years ago; sh
Unfaltering and unapologetic, the feature marks a brave take on fucked-up youth. We caught up with the film’s director on Crosby Street, amid the bustle of the Tribeca Film Festival.
William Nixon: What type of art influenced you the most when you were Gabriel’s age?
Lou Howe: In college, I watched a ton of movies. I got into photography pretty intensely then, too… Books have always been a constant influence in the mix but early on in college was when movies really took over. I’d always been a reader more than anything and hadn’t really thought of [film] as something other than entertainment.
Any filmmakers in particular who interested you around that time?
What got me really excited in high school was stuff like Todd Solondz and early Wes Anderson films… movies that were totally unexpected to me at the time. I saw Happiness in the theater totally randomly. I had no idea what I was walking into. I was probably 16 and was like, “Holy shit—this is what you can do.”
Who are some of your favorite photographers?
[They're] similar to filmmakers. I love 70s American stuff like STEPHEN SHORE and Garry Winogrand and WILLIAM EGGLESTON. Just like that period of filmmaking is a major influence.
What kind of recklessness were you up to when you were Gabriel’s age?
In college, a friend and I stole a golf cart at night… It was at a weird, crazy house [that] had this wall of different hats. We would take people out for joy rides at night in this golf cart and do donuts. [One time], I picked a construction hard hat [and] we drove the golf cart into a tree. I got launched directly onto my head and cracked the helmet wide open. And the trip before, I was wearing, like, a propeller beanie or something. I clearly would have smashed my head open. That was reckless and deeply dumb, I guess. But, why I did it wasn’t a very interesting reason. [Laughs]
How would you say style and wardrobe were used to tell Gabriel’s story and convey your protagonist’s experience?
Wardrobe played a huge role in establishing the color palette along with the visual style and the cinematography. I’m always intrigued by what you can imply about a character via wardrobe… Little things like [Rory's] wardrobe. The concept is that [his character] hasn’t bought new clothes since he was 14 and that his style is just ever-so-slightly dated, you know? He wears like… long-sleeve waffle shirts under faded black polos. It’s a little like tenth-grade skater or something. That fits with his general state of mind of being stuck in a slightly younger age than he actually is.
Tell me a little about casting your actors and your methods of working with them.
Deirdre O’Connell is a badass. I had seen her in a play several years ago; sh