Tim Kirkman doesn't speak with a Southern twang. He doesn't wear cowboy boots and doesn't look like he's spent a day on the farm. And, this is just a guess, but I can bet that his car doesn't have a bumper sticker that reads, "I (Heart) Country Music."
In fact, Monday morning as he arrives at A Cup of Joe in Raleigh for our interview, Kirkman, whose latest film Loggerheads opens in the Triangle tomorrow, is dressed casually in blue jeans and a black tee. His face, surprisingly not fatigued considering his hectic schedule, is framed by glasses of the arthouse chic variety. In sum, Kirkman could just as easily be at home in New York's East Village as this nondescript North Carolina coffee shop.
But this N.C. State alum wants me to know two things: he is Southern-born-and-bred in the Charlotte suburb of Monroe, N.C.-and he is frustrated. "I think Southerners are maligned and misrepresented in most Hollywood films," said Kirkman. "That is very frustrating. It's also inspiring because it makes me want to do [something about it]."
The result of this inspiration is Loggerheads, a film shot entirely in North Carolina that tackles a state law mandating closed adoptions. Based on a true story, the film follows the paths taken by the members of the adoption triad: Mark (Kip Pardue), a young, HIV-positive drifter with a passion for Loggerhead turtles, Elizabeth (Tess Harper), the preacher's wife, and Grace (Bonnie Hunt), a desperate woman on a quest for the son she gave up 25 years earlier.
The inspiration worked. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival and has since traveled the festival circuit. "There is so much that is tender and true in Tim Kirkman's sensitively acted [film]," declared the New York Times and, in this writer's opinion, the reviewer is right. The film is subtle without being dull, and it is one of the few times in recent memory that overlapping plotlines have been used in an effective and understated manner.
However, this subtlety has caused some confusion. Originally, contextual clues were the only markers of shifts in time and, when the audience at Sundance was left confounded, Tim was forced to recut the film to add datelines. "The only other thing I think I could do is have James Earl Jones in a voiceover say, 'Remember, it's 1999,'" he jokes. "You don't want to confuse anybody, but it's insulting to an audience when you give them everything."
Participatory viewing was a primary concern of the director. He wanted to provoke the audience, to pose questions like, "What happens when you make the choice to relinquish a child? What happens when you are unmarried and pregnant? What happens when you're gay and resisting meds?" More than that, he wanted to present new ideas to challenge the audience's preconceptions. To that end, the only Christ-like character in the film is an atheist, and the gay lead, Mark, expresses his religious faith.
Yet, originality did not come at the expense of reality-the South in Kirkman's film is the South he grew up in, one quite different from the usual Hollywood caricatures. Anyone who has spent anytime in North Carolina will notice the accents, or rather, the lack thereof on some of the characters. "You can meet people in a city in North Carolina, and there's no accent at all and you can drive 20 miles and it totally changes," said Kirkman. "I told Michael Learned and Bonnie Hunt-' no accent. Just speak.'"
Still, one of the principal characters in the film is the all-too-familiar homophobic minister played by Chris Sarandon. How does Kirkman account for this? "Is it a stereotype? Yes. Is it false? No- But one of the things Chris and I wanted to make sure of was that we dealt with the battle that's going on in his mind and heart- It's somebody who's terrified of losing his whole belief system."
Critics like to fit movies into boxes and Loggerheads is frequently paired with Junebug, the indie fave that came to the Triangle earlier this fall. Maybe it's because both films were shot in North Carolina; or maybe it's the titles. "I didn't even think of that," Kirkman said, laughing. "That's hilarious. Maybe because we both represent species-Southern and otherwise."
Although Kirkman is quick to praise Junebug ("Did you see [it]? It's so wonderful.), he assures that the movies diverge in content. "But I like the idea of comparing them in terms of how the South is presented- We have Southern literature and Southern music-why not Southern film?"
Perhaps Loggerhead turtles also act as a metaphor for the return to Southern filmmaking in general-the return of Southern artists to their long-abandoned roots. It's possible. Tim's inspiration has thus far served him well. Every few years, female Loggerhead turtles come to the beach, lay their eggs and then depart. They abandon their young, yet years later these same offspring return to that same beach to lay their own eggs. Kirkman stumbled upon this adoption metaphor independently.
It was only later he learned that the man on whom the character of Mark was based kept careful account of his journeys in a journal. On the cover of this journal was a sea turtle; it seems that the real Mark shared in this passion.
For a firsthand glimpse of filmmaker Tim Kirkman in action, proceed to the following showings this weekend, where he will introduce the shows and conduct audience Q & As: Friday at the Raleigh's Rialto Theatre at 7 and 9:20 p.m. shows; Saturday at Cary's Galaxy Theatre at 2:15 and 4:15* p.m. shows (no Q & A afterwards); and Sunday at Chapel Hill's Varsity Theatre at 2:10 and 4:30 p.m. shows and Raleigh's Rialto Theatre at 7 p.m. show.
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