STACK #137 Mar 2016

INTERVIEW CINEMA

J ohn Hillcoat loves an ensemble cast,

Hillcoat says. “And in LA, I’ve seen a whole area being shut down – with dozens of policemen in the area for days on end – for a resolved shooting that’s done and dusted. “If we’d had more resources we really could have shown how crazy it is, but fact outstrips fiction.” Has he also heard of criminals taking advantage of the 999 response in a similar way to the events depicted in the film? “I’m not sure whether people do deliberately use it as a diversion – maybe they will now that we’ve flagged the idea,” he laughs. In recent years the Russian mafia have usurped the Italians as the go-to movie mobsters, and Hillcoat reveals that this is very much the reality in the world of organised crime, too. “All the different criminal factions keep progressing and changing and the Italian mafia were eclipsed by a greater force globally, and the stakes keep rising,” he explains. “There’s around 500,000 members now. They don’t have the hierarchical triangle the Italian mob followed, which makes them able to navigate the world in a very different way. There are rumours of up to 70 per cent of the Russian economy linked to organised crime, which when you think of Russia’s economy, eclipses the Italian mafia dramatically. “The Latino cartels do control drugs on the streets of America,” he continues, “and the interesting thing that has given these criminal groups the edge is that they all come from paramilitary backgrounds, which the Italian mafia never had. It’s a well documented change in the criminal landscape.” The director adds that, “everything in the film, believe it or not, is based on a lot of research”. And if you’ve ever seen a John Hillcoat film – like the aforementioned Lawless, The Road and The Proposition – you'll agree that the bleak and gritty milieus he conjures are incredibly authentic. “I do spend a lot on time on research,” he admits. “In this case the militarisation of the police and these criminal groups – I wanted to

get the differences in detail. Also in the way the Russian mob has been represented in this genre; there are exceptions of course, like Eastern Promises , that really capture that world brilliantly.” Additionally, Hillcoat’s on-set advisors on Triple 9 included a real gang unit who worked with the actors – they also appear in the film, along with ex-Latino gang members. “We didn’t get actual Russian-Israeli mobsters on screen, though,” he notes. It’s this attention to detail, verisimilitude and genre reinvention that sets Triple 9 apart from the slicker and more generic urban crime- thrillers. “A lot of crime films these days seem very artificial, and I miss the grit,” Hillcoat says. “Films like The French Connection inspired me, with its gritty realism, which

and Triple 9 ’s is a belter – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, and Kate Winslet as a

Russian mob boss. He also enjoys casting against type and taking actors out of their comfort zones. “It’s very exciting for them as well,” the

director says. “I’ve never seen anyone more excited than Kate Winslet when she was able to play a villain. “Obviously she’s played many complex and interesting roles over the years, and she’s a real forceful presence. Villains are such juicy roles, so for an actress of her calibre, she was like a kid in a toy shop." Triple 9 also features a number of familiar faces from television in supporting roles – The Walking Dead ’s Norman Reedus, Breaking Bad ’s Aaron Paul, and The Wire ’s Michael Kenneth Williams. Hillcoat believes TV offers actors more risks grey as opposed to the black and white world of franchise.” So is television a medium he’d like to explore in the future? “I’m in the thick of and creative challenges than film. “The idea of a flawed character... [TV is] celebrating shades of

CINEMA

I think makes it a more immersive experience. And you get better performances from the actors when they are fully immersed in the world we’re creating.”

• Triple 9 is in cinemas on March 3

it,” he confirms. “I’ve got something I’m talking to Guy Pearce about. Yes, definitely going down that path.”

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