These are good times for someone like Jeremy Thomas the writer and director of Ally Was Screaming to be making films. For starters he’s relieved that he didn’t mess up his first big-budget film which was selected as the closing gala for this year’s Calgary International Film Festival. But he’s also happy that modern audiences are sophisticated and constantly analyze the films they watch — even if they don’t realize they’re doing it.
“I think that they can’t help but to ask questions in the metanarrative” says Thomas taking a break from his tennis practice. “It’s fun to deal with the metanarrative and it’s another way of trickery so people are a little bit surprised.”
Ally Was Screaming is a heady film that beautifully blends suspense and dark comedy to make us question our own definitions of right and wrong. After protagonists Seth and Nole lose their best friend Ally they discover a winning lottery ticket worth $30 million while going through her belongings. Unfortunately her will states everything goes to her abusive jailbird ex-husband and the executor of her estate — Ally’s sister Casey — refuses to bend the rules. Keeping the ticket a secret the duo begin brainstorming ways to secretly cash the ticket and eventually plot to kill Casey.
Thomas says there was a lot more pressure with Ally Was Screaming than his previous work. “Telefilm wanted to make sure if they gave us a chunk of money that we wouldn’t mess it up. My producers did a fantastic job of seeing the movie through and assembling a team that could make it happen. They really had my back to cover for my inexperience. I do have a lot of experience in shorts but I haven’t dealt with this kind of money before so it was important that there was people there who knew what they were doing.”
In dealing with this story Thomas utilizes what he calls “reverse reverse psychology” to take the viewer along for the ride as the characters perform emotional gymnastics while formulating their plan.
“When I’m doing a movie I never just want it to be a narrative about someone living or dying” says Thomas. “There has to be a cultural component that means something to everyone in the audience that’s not even in that situation. For most people this movie is going to be about how greed corrupts the soul. That’s interesting and that’s in there but to me what’s more interesting is that their morality is actually recontextualized.”
In an attempt to justify their plot the duo vow to give a significant portion of the winnings to an African charity Ally was involved in. After doing the math they realize the donation would mean saving thousands of lives.
“It sounds guilty especially because I wrote it but the guys end up convincing me that it might be the right thing to do. People don’t want to see Casey die because we love her yet there’s the argument to be made that it’s not the most immoral thing in the world to kill her. It depends on your moral persuasions.”
And rather than create another movie with what Thomas feels is a cliché message of “do the right thing and you will find happiness” he sought to craft a story with more philosophical edge to it.
“The truism about the human condition the sad human reality is that goodness doesn’t create happiness in itself. Sometimes there’s more reward in doing the wrong thing” says Thomas. “People interpret that to say then maybe it’s not worth it to do the right thing. But I look at it a lot more optimistically. I think if I were to bring something away from Ally Was Screaming I’d say that goodness doesn’t cause happiness but goodness should be done anyway.”
