An interview with filmmaker J.R. Hughto – Diamond on Vinyl
Photo credit: J.R. Hughto
Image: Sonja Kinski as Charlie
Diamond on Vinyl is an unusual psychological indie feature written, produced and directed by J.R. Hughto, also an accomplished photographer. The film tells the story of Henry (Brian McGuire) a weird voyeur with intimacy issues and a penchant for role play and taped conversations. Happiness is short-lived when his brand new fiancée Beth (Nina Millin) discovers recordings of their intimate life as well as taped confessions admitting that he may not love her. Snooping always has consequences. Whilst Beth is disgusted she is not ready to dump Henry completely.
Along comes Charlie, a beautiful stranger (Sonja Kinski) who ends up worming her way into the beleaguered couples’ lives. Charlie has several personas: with Beth she is overly sympathetic but with Henry she is seductive and turned on by his voyeurism even willing to rehearse fantasy conversations ostensibly aimed at trying to win back Beth’s trust.
Interestingly, in spite of Charlie’s unusual seductive ways, the action never really heats up. Henry starts to emerge as obsessive and restless, and the film essentially is an exploration of people their unusual fantasies, strange attractors and even stranger relationships.
Overall, it’s about time we have a new film about voyeurism. Diamond on Vinyl has several layers and is well-written, directed and acted. Kinski a dark-haired ringer of her famous mother Natassja Kinski (Paris, Texas), emerges as the film’s breakout star. She does well to juggle her complicated character, a part-time model and photographer who alternates between naïve girl to seductress with a dark, almost creepy side. Audiences will find themselves questioning this mysterious young woman’s real motivations. The sound by Ugo Derouard fits well with the minimalist locations and sparsely lit rooms and an unsettling handheld camera.
After a successful festival run, Diamond on Vinyl is available on VOD as well as a small-scale theatrical release starting December 7th. IFQ enjoyed a brief chat with Hughto to learn more about the concept behind the film.
Independent Film Quarterly (IFQ): How was the experience of making your film and are you pleased with the translation from script to screen?
J.R. Hughto (JRH): Making Diamond has been an incredible experience. Producing while directing was a challenge I hope not to repeat – at least not as the only producer during production. I’m really satisfied with the film – I don’t think we could have made it better, only different. And I’m lucky that the film is both what I had envisioned but also surprising and fresh thanks to my collaborators.
IFQ: All the characters in your film are very interesting especially Henry who in his quest to normalize himself, fluctuates from sad head to a voyeuristic creep. Tell me a bit about your thinking behind the range of unusual characters.
JRH: I started off in early versions of the script not having a lot of empathy for the characters – it was very much from that LaBute idea of having compelling but awful people at the heart of the film. As I did more and more interviews and research to continue developing the characters, I started to fall in love with them and the film shifted to being about how I could show that these were otherwise good people making bad decisions.
IFQ: Great job on the casting, this is definitely a breakout performance for Sonja Kinski. How did all these actors get cast?
JRH: I had an amazing Casting Director – Lisa Roth. We met, and I told her that I didn’t care about ‘names’ or ‘faces’, what the actors looked like, what race, body type, whatever – the only criteria were that they had to be in the proper age range and that they needed to be great actors who were comfortable with improvisation. We looked at hundreds of reels. I knew that I had to have actors who would bring warmth to the characters, because on the page they could feel quite cold and conniving. I needed to find people who could see the humanity in the characters like I did and wanted to emphasize that rather than their cruelty. Auditions were wonderful – it left me with an amazing appreciation for how many great actors are available and interested. And of course it made me feel incredibly confidant when actors like Brian McGuire or Nina Millin came in and were just obviously the right person. We found everyone but Charlie really quickly.
Sonja ended up auditioning at the very end of the last day. She was so electric that the people she was reading with kept dropping lines and even switching roles. She walked out and Lisa asked her to hang on a second and then asked me what I thought. I just said she’s got to come back in for Charlie. Sonja had 15 minutes with a scene, cold, came in, and was amazing. We gave her the script that night and she came in the next morning for callbacks. She sat me down for 15 or 20 minutes to talk about the script, ask me a few questions about Charlie, and then destroyed it.
IFQ: Although well-orchestrated, it felt like you purposely keep the audience at arm’s length and we’re not sure about the character’s true motivations. What is your intended message?
JRH: I wanted to make a film that was experimental in form while at the same time accessible. I want people to forgive the characters in the film, and maybe allow themselves the same generosity. Formally, I want the audience to question what is real and what is make believe – and to remember that is all fiction, anyway – as well as question film’s usual visual dominance over sound.
IFQ: Tell me a bit about your stylistics: the music, sound and shooting style and who were your cinematic influences?
JRH: I love Walter Murch, and so of course The Conversation had a huge influence on Diamond. Film sound is so often overlooked as a possible driving force for narrative – it is usually thought of primarily as an emotional tool. I had the cast and crew also watch the Dardenne brothers’ The Son. I love how the Dardennes use the combination of performance and camera work to create moments of extreme tension by withholding information from the audience. They slowly reveal the secrets of the film and are able to both retain that tension while maintaining Olivier’s humanity with very little exposition. And of course Anthony Dod Mantle’s work on Vinterburg’s The Celebration has long been a great source of inspiration.
IFQ: I’m sure your photography skills came in handy somewhere including props! What were some of the challenges you faced in terms of resources, budgets?
JRH: We had a 4 person crew on set – me, my DP, sound, and one generalist who could help with picture or sound as necessary. And on days with actresses, a hair & make-up artist. It was great because we were all somewhat interchangeable in skill set, but it was incredibly difficult to not have a dedicated producer. I’m really lucky that Daniel McGilvray came on as Producer when we got to post!
IFQ: Is a borderline creepy, psychological film harder to make than, say, a comedy?
JRH: Comedy might be the biggest challenge for me! When I sit in on a screening of Diamond one of my favorite things is having one the jokes in the film land and to hear the audience react. That’s actually one of the ways I know whether or not the film is going over well – if the audience laughs at certain moments. I think it’s really important to be able to have those moments of levity in a drama – without it you can kill the film as it becomes one note. It’s like with sound – you need moments of quiet in order to be loud.
IFQ: What’s next?
JRH: I’m working on the next draft of my new film. It takes place in a rural farming community, and focuses on the modern American class struggle and labor beliefs that have become the heart of our political enmity. At the same time, the film considers the implications for science and discovery in an era dominated by capital. There’s a lot of punk rock, too.