From writer and director, Henry Boffin, Strange Creatures is a dramedy in the vein of Nebraska and Little Miss Sunshine; a darkly humorous road trip film about the value of family and the pratfalls of masculinity.
Nate Taylor (Riley Nottingham) hasn’t spoken a word to his brother, Ged (Johnny Carr), in over four years, ever since the fateful night when he was discovered in bed with his older sibling’s fiancé. But when their mother passes away from a sudden aneurysm, the brothers must set aside their differences in order to fulfil their mother’s dying wish: to have her ashes scattered at the old family home in the country town of Narrabri.
Setting out across Australia in the only vehicle available to them – a black hearse – the boys soon realise that the trip will be anything but plain sailing. Spurred on by Ged’s destructive behaviour and their intense dislike for each other, a set of unfortunate events threaten to derail them from ever reaching their goal. But as they drift ever further away from reconciliation, Nate comes to understand that the only way they’ll ever fulfil their mother’s final wish will be to face the ghosts of the past head on, no matter how painful it may be.
As Strange Creatures releases in select Australian cinemas on November 21, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the films leading duo, Johnny Carr and Riley Nottingham, about creating antagonistic chemistry for their characters, and the exploring the emotional vulnerability of Australian men on screen.
Nick: This film really feels like a specific story, especially about how Australian men deal with family, grief, and emotions. But there is also such a universal relatability to the things we see through your characters. I’m curious to know whether that was something you both felt reading Henry [Boffin]’s script?
Johnny Carr: I think, yeah, it felt completely universal. The idea that just because you raised in a certain family unit, doesn’t mean you have the same modes of communication and openness. One of things with families that seems to happen when a negative incident happens, things get amplified if it’s not addressed. It can sort of fest and get more intense and more heated. Then, what do you do with that?
I think a lot of people can’t repair from those moments, and I think this film is really a beautiful offering of what happens if you’re forced to confront that, you know? What do you do in that moment? I found that really universal. But there is also this beautiful, kind of, Australian tone to it which adds to that palette.
Riley Nottingham: Yeah, I completely agree. I’m the youngest of four brothers, so I feel a lot of this. But Johnny and I have spoken about this, we’re at a point in our lives where we’re quite emotionally literate. If there’s a problem, we ask what’s going on, or how do we feel?
But truthfully, I’ve been thinking about how that is a privilege, to be able to actually communicate and have emotional literacy. It’s not something that’s taught in schools, and so it doesn’t come to people until a lot later in life. So, the suppression that goes on in this film, and the stuff that’s festering, I feel happens in 90% of the households around the world. I do think it’s super universal. Communication is the kind of thing that’s easy for some people, but overall, it’s really hard. It’s simple, but incredibly hard to master.
Nick: Johnny, you mentioned how this movie is a beautiful offering to allow these emotions to be explored, and I agree. I think the power of fiction and movies has helped me so much throughout life understand my emotions or deal with aspects of my life that I didn’t understand. How has fiction played a role in both of your lives in that aspect, both as actors and audience members?
Johnny Carr: Huge. It’s been a huge part. I think it’s a huge part of most people’s lives. I listened to this amazing podcast the other day, ‘The Gray Area’ with Sean Illing, and they interviewed someone who was saying that your mind needs chaos. The premise was that you need to be presented with different perspectives about emotional situations, dangerous situations, and basically all heightened life situations, in order for your mind to be put in someone else’s shoes and think about what would happen if you were in that situation. It was so amazing to hear that.
So, through watching things is a big part of that. But, then I think what one of the great privileges of being an actor is how you are kind of forced to inhabit people’s perspectives that you might not agree with, but then you have to defend their actions as if you do agree. I think it’s like going to empathy school. Like, you get this training that opens up your mind and heart in way that’s a real gift. It’s beautiful.
Riley Nottingham: I was a James Bond obsessive. That and Titanic. I’m such a 90s baby, and when I need comfort, I watch stuff from the 90s. I can be a blubbering mess watching Pixar. A movie like Coco, or Soul, it’s heartbreaking.
I think fiction is so important to reflect life back to you. Sometimes, it’s clearer that what can be going on in your own world when you can’t properly see it. Seeing those things fictionalised is a weird thing, because you know what you’re seeing is fake. But it feels so truthful.
I do think that every character you take on, every project you’re a part of you learn something about yourself, especially with acting and the research you do. You have to explore all these topics that, you know, I never would if I didn’t have to. It’s a beautiful job we get to do.
Nick: When you get to dive so deeply in to your characters, how much does little nuances in the script, like the way Ged pours his alcohol in to hotel coffee mugs, or Nate always making a point of drinking water around Ged, help you find deeper elements of your character?
Johnny Carr: I think it makes a world of difference for the audience to then project their version of why they are doing that. It doesn’t necessarily need to be explained, but if you can justify truthfully why they would do that, I think it makes a huge amount of difference.
And I think it’s kind of our role to go an interpret what’s on the page, and go, ‘What if we try this?’ It just unlocks the humanity for people to see the history, or a peek over the fence into that character’s backyard.
Riley Nottingham: The specific quirks are so important. Like, if your face is still, you hand can still be tapping, or you leg shaking, because the tension is coming out of somewhere. I really latch on to what my character is doing, because humans are always talking about stuff, but we do these little things to not focus on real issues.
And with the water, for me, it was about how Nate is constantly demonising Ged for drinking. I’m pointing that out as the thing you shouldn’t do, and I’m better than you because I’m the water guy [laughs]. I’m not sure he’s really consciously aware of it, but he’s so persistent in making that point.
But then, later on, you find out how Nate is also flawed. That’s what drives Nate a lot for me, that he has this perception that he’s the more perfect brother. He’s got his shit together more. He’s the one who’s been looking after his mum. But ultimately, they’re cut from the same cloth. Nate is far from perfect, and probably in some ways, worse. Ged has a lot of stuff right.
Johnny Carr: Ged also has this oral fixation, like that was massive. He’s trying to self sooth, so he’s constantly drinking and smoking. He’s eating, or he’s got a toothpick. Like, all of that goes back to the self-soothing when you’re a baby and you’re breastfeeding. That was a constant thing that I kept thinking about, that Ged is still just a boy. But he’s so close to exploding that he’s constantly pacifying himself.
Nick: One thing I found incredibly interesting was the fact that at the beginning of the story, your characters have to have this intentional antagonistic chemistry. What did that look like for bot of you having to collaborate to create that authentic bond, but one where there is obvious tension between your characters?
Riley Nottingham: It’s funny because Johnny and I would drive to set together. But one day, I was like, “I’m not fucking driving today” …
Johnny Carr: Yeah! Someone said to me early on that Riley didn’t want to drive to set with me! I don’t know if that was true or if someone was trying to feed the beast. But in some ways it is funny because you’re trying to get this chemistry, but you’re also like magnets when they’re trying to push away from each other.
It was really fun to play with though. It’s really tricky when you’re thrust together with someone, and you’ve kind of got to be that ‘married couple’ that have been together for 15 years, and you’re just meeting them before you start shooting. That’s incredibly hard. It’s a bit of a delicate balance.
But it was so built into the script, their differences, and just really lend into that. For me personally, he’s not polite. He doesn’t have these airs and graces. And I guess I had to give myself permission to do that, and because Riley is so great at responding and offering as well, we just kept sparking off of each other. Once that kicked off, it was so fun to play with. The dynamic was fun, even thought everything read as uncomfortable and leant into that conflict.
Riley Nottingham: There was a lot of times where, I’m not sure it’s entirely specific to this project, but Johnny, I think you’re like me, where sometimes you’re up for talking about stuff, and sometimes you just need to go and be in your bubble, and just do your warmup, and just be in the zone. I think that was also important to conserve your energy and conserve your head space, too.
Thank you to Johnny and Riley for their time, and to Bonsai Films and TM Publicity for organising the interview. Strange Creatures is playing in select Australian cinemas from November 21.
