Jude Law gives an amazing performance as Dom Hemingway, a larger-than-life safecracker with a cocky swagger who is witty, unhinged and full of piss and vinegar. After twelve years in prison, he sets off with his partner in crime Dickie (Richard E. Grant) looking to collect what he’s owed for keeping his mouth shut and protecting his underworld boss Mr. Fontaine (Demian Bichir). After a near-death experience, Dom tries to re-connect with his estranged daughter (Emilia Clarke), but is soon drawn back into the only world he knows, looking to settle the ultimate debt.
Dom Hemingway is a refreshingly original black comedy written and directed by Richard Shepard (The Matador, Girls). I sat down with Shepard in Los Angeles.
Danny Miller: I have to admit that when I looked you up after I saw the film, I was shocked to find out that you were American! How were you able to capture that British vibe so perfectly?
Richard Shepard: Thank you! I made a decision early on not to try to write any kind of East End slang — there’s just no way I could have done that very well! What I did do, however, is give Dom his own unique rhythm and way of speaking. The fact that a British guy is doing it makes it sound like I have some kind of insight into that kind of language as a writer but I think Dom just exists in his own world. Of course when we shot the movie I was able to cast all these great British actors in addition to Jude and Richard E. Grant and every once in a while they asked if they could switch out a word or two to make it sound more authentic.
I love Dom’s unique way of talking — it’s so much a part of his character.
If you look at all the truly indelible characters, say people like Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast, they always have their own idiosyncratic verbage. You just try to create a character that is wholly unique and then pair it with the right actor.
That opening monologue that Jude delivers about a certain body part is an instant classic and it tells us almost everything we need to know about his character!
He was fantastic in that scene and he loved doing it. Of course, in the wrong hands that could literally be the worst thing you’ve ever seen in your life! I have this fear that acting students will start using it as a monologue for audtions and I want to apologize in advance to casting directors everywhere!
I imagine that Jude Law must have been thrilled to play a part that was so different from anything he’s ever done.
He loved the script. I flew out to London to meet with him. We basically went out drinking all night and then I flew back — it was like a 20-hour trip to London. I was so hung over on the plane going home I was like, “I think Jude’s in the movie, I can’t really remember!” But from the very beginning he loved the language. He’s from South London so he wanted to use that accent. He said these were guys he grew up with so he wasn’t worried about finding the voice. Then he came to my apartment in Brooklyn about two months before we started shooting and we spent two days going through the whole script. I immediately thought, “Oh God, this is great, why am I not shooting this right now?” I ended up taping it — I thought if for whatever reason our funding falls through, at least I’ll always have a version of Jude’s great performance!
I certainly wasn’t surprised that Jude Law had the acting chops for this role, but was it ever a hard sell to others because it was such a departure for him?
Yeah, some people questioned the choice. Jude’s not a big guy so he had to bulk up for this movie. I had just seen Contagion and I thought he was so interesting and dark in that film. I’ve had success before taking an actor who you think is one thing and putting them in something different. That can just be a trick if it’s the wrong actor, but if it’s the right fit it can be very successful. And since you’ve never seen Jude this way, it adds an extra tension because you don’t really know what’s going to happen.
Plus the character is so volatile. I found it so interesting how much I was rooting for him even though he’s sort of awful! He walks a very interesting line in this film.
I wanted to write a character that was hard to like but impossible not to love! I felt it would be really interesting to keep pushing people away and then bring them back. But I have to say I love Dom and I think by the end of the movie people will feel emotionally connected to him. I think tone is the hardest thing to do in a movie. To go from black comedy to drama is difficult because if you go too far one way you’ll never swing back. A lot of that happens in the editing. There were versions of this film that we screened that were just too sappy and other versions where you don’t care about him at all — it takes a lot of back and forth to find the right balance.
It’s also interesting because however crazy and volatile he is, Dom seems to have a clear understanding of his own moral code.
That’s true, but it’s a pretty tricky code.
Oh, I’m not saying that I’d want him in my life!
It’s funny because when we were testing the movie, I used to ask people if they’d want to go out for a drink with Dom. Many people said, “Yes, but only one!” Dom is a very conflicted guy. We had a lot of debate about the ending — whether a guy like that can ever truly redeem himself. Is he going to screw up again? Will he be able to be there for his family? I love that people are debating that after they see the film. Jude and I have our opinions about it which we’ll keep to ourselves.
Richard E. Grant gives such a great performance as Dickie. What that guy can do with a simple look or the raise of an eyebrow is amazing!
Oh my God, we laughed our asses off when we were shooting his close-ups! Most of the time there was no dialogue, he was just reacting to Jude. I’d be looking at the monitor and sometimes I’d just have to look away — it was glorious!
You wrote this part for Richard E. Grant?
I had him in mind as I wrote it but I had no idea if he would even consider doing it, I didn’t know him at all. I’m a huge fan of Withnail & I, I think it’s the best comedy ever filmed so I wrote the part thinking of him. When he said he’d do it, I was like, “What? This is insane!”
He and Jude have such a great rapport in this film. Did they already know each other?
They had only met once. When you do a buddy film, it’s like a romantic comedy in that you have to have that special chemistry. There’s no way to predict that — we’ve all seen movies where the two characters have zero chemistry together. But from the very first rehearsal, I thought, “Oh, they’ve got it. They’re in it to win it!” I love that you can’t quite put your finger on why Dom and Dickie would be friends, but you completely buy it!
I know — you can just imagine their 25-year history of going to pubs together! I also thought Demian Bichir was such an interesting choice for Mr. Fontaine. How did you think of him?
The part was written as a British crime lord. Jude had a bunch of interesting casting ideas and he felt I shouldn’t cast a Brit in that part — he thought it would be good to open up the movie with another kind of character. It was my casting director who suggested Demian and I thought, “Holy shit, that’s a great idea!” And then Demian said he wanted to do him as a Russian. So now I had a part written for a Brit played by a Mexican as a Russian!
It works beautifully. There are so many great actors in this ensemble.
You know, I never outline my movies. I used to and I don’t think I was a very good writer. Starting with The Matador, I just start writing and seeing where the characters go and who I think should come into the story. With this I started with that opening monologue and just went from there.
I know you’ve directed a bunch of episodes of Girls on HBO including the famous Patrick Wilson episode. This must have been quite a different experience!
Yes, except both that episode and this film had naked ping-pong! I’m very lucky to work on that show and to work with Lena. She’s incredibly brilliant and she gave me some of my best notes that I got on the script and the cut of the film that I showed her. You almost want to be annoyed by how brilliant she is but she’s so nice you just can’t be. I kept thinking, “God damn it, every single one of her notes is so good!”