Ellis
Ellis has been a hitman for years, but he’s grown tired and regretful. He’s disturbed by the things he’s done in the past, but at the same time can’t seem to escape from that life. So he has grown numb to the world and carries on committing these horrific acts for despicable people without really feeling; without really experiencing any of it. I think, for Ellis, it’s sometimes like he isn’t really present. He commits these acts, but it’s not really him. It’s almost like there are times when he doesn’t feel that he really exists. Until he meets Sonny, and he is forced to confront head on everything he has done.
Kane
Kane is a young, psychopathic hitman. He has partnered up with Ellis on this job, and neither of them are too happy about it. Kane lives for his job, taking pleasure in every life he takes. Ellis dislikes Kane, because he recognises him as a sick and vile, remorseless angel of death. However, in many ways, Kane and Sonny represent two different sides to Ellis. I think Ellis is terrified by the idea that maybe he is just as bad as Kane.
Sonny
Ellis pities Sonny, because perhaps he has been in a similar position. He knows the guilt that Sonny feels. Sonny is a young man who in a bad position and was struggling. And he made a mistake; he did the wrong thing, it escalated and now Sonny must pay the price for it. Sonny is a killer, but not in the same remorseless way that Kane is. Sonny questions forgiveness. Finding himself in a position, where he almost doesn’t feel he deserves to continue living, Sonny reflects on traditional ideas of religion.
Ellis sees Sonny and relates to him. Ellis is snapped out of his apathy and realises he can’t bring himself to kill Sonny.
The film draws a lot from both westerns and film noir. But none of the characters in this film are hero’s like John Wayne or someone like that. They are messed up in they’re own ways. For Ellis, I’ve been thinking about some of Humphrey Bogart’s work, particularly character’s like Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. Similar to Noir, I think this is a distorted, broken world. On the Western front (unintentional joke), there’s a bit of a Western sub-genre which deals with ‘the death of the wild west’ that I think this film draws a lot from. So I’ve been looking at things like Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Jesse James and Clint Eastwood’s character in Unforgiven.
This film is somewhat stylised. It isn’t really set in any specific time period. It’s like it’s intentionally anachronistic; they might drive a modern car, but they wear 30’s style clothes and carry revolvers. It’s like it’s set outside of time, in almost a dreamlike state. In many ways, we’d like to reflect that in the dialogue too, which is going at times verge on archaic and flowery, like how the character’s speak in Raising Arizona or Wild at Heart where the characters have unnaturally elegant ways of describing things. I’ve been looking at things like Shakespeare to prepare for that, I’m aware we haven’t really done that yet in the current version.
There is a conflict between religious ideas and more modern ideas of nihilism. However, more centrally to the film and on a more character based level, the main themes are of forgiveness, redemption and taking responsibility
I don't think there is any definite allegorical meaning behind the film, but I think the characters do somewhat reflect some of the fears Aaron and I have, albeit in a very different context. Sonny is so entirely unsure of what the future holds for him and doesn't know what to do next. Ellis has been stuck in a job doing the same thing for years even though he hates it and it has worn him down to nothing. I definitely think it needs to come across a lot stronger, but it's only a first draft and we do have some nice ideas for how to do that
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