Josh Safdie (COM ’07) prefaced the Boston University Cinematheque screening of his movie Daddy Longlegs with a plea to the audience: “I just hope none of you find this boring.”
But the film, which premiered at Cannes in 2009 and has received numerous accolades since, was anything but. It was written, directed and produced by Josh and his brother Benny (COM ’08), two brothers, alumni and frequent collaborators who turned an unconventional and fascinating childhood into an unconventional and fascinating piece.
The movie showed last Friday was the first installation of the Film and Television Department’s Cinematheque, a series of free screenings that connect students to filmmakers both established and up-and-coming. The Safdie Brothers could be considered both: though they graduated recently, Daddy Longlegs (titled Go Get Some Rosemary when it made the festival circuit) won the John Cassavetes award at the Independent Spirit Awards earlier this year.
It tells the story of irresponsible but loving father Lenny, who gets to see his young sons Frey and Sage just two weeks a year. But the two weeks are filled with missteps, and as his need to see his children increases, his capacity to care for them is called more and more into question. It is quietly dramatic at some times, and absurdly hilarious at others. The film is plot-light, but it is carried by characters larger-than-life in their vivid believability.
Lenny, played by filmmaker-turned-actor Ronald Bronstein, is based on the Safdie brothers’ father. So are many of the characters in the film based on real-life characters. The boys Frey and Sage are based on Benny and Josh, and many of Lenny’s friends are based on their father’s own friends.
Perhaps this basis in reality is what inspired the Safdie’s unconditional casting. In the question and answer session following the screening, Benny and Josh discussed their casting choices: they wanted personalities, and not necessarily seasoned actors. They also did street casting: their choices for Frey, Sage and the boys’ mother (Frey and Sage Ranaldo and Leah Singer) were discovered by chance. The Safdie brothers also later discovered that, by chance, the Ranaldo boys were the sons of Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo, and the mother, his wife.
“It started popping up on all the Sonic Youth blogs,” said Benny, to which Josh added, “He had to say, ‘Hi, this is Lee Ronaldo. I’m the father of these kids. This is my wife. But my life is nothing like this movie.'”
The rest of the cast was discovered through chance meetings, prior relationships, or inquisitions into unconventional or off-beat actors on file at a casting agency.
“We want to cast these people who we can sit around a table with, have a three or four hour conversation with, and be entertained by,” Josh said.
Benny agreed, saying that real-life personality was very important to the process. “When we cast people, if they’re non-actors, they need to be the role they play, in a way; it adds to the performance.”
A full list of BU Cinematheque events can be found on the Film and Television Department’s website. All events are free and open to the public.
