Characters

Winner of Best Drama, New York Independent Film Festival 1999

In January 1999, following a production period encompassing three years, Quentin Louis Phillips III Productions presented the feature-length motion picture Characters at the New York Independent Film Festival. Written, produced and directed by Bryan Baker and Anthony M. Davis, it took six months to film over three shoots, and involved a lot of effort amid a pool of blood, sweat and tears. It premiered at Robert de Niro's Tribeca theatre, and subsequently walked away with Best Drama, one helluva scoop for a duo of first-timers.

Pictured at the Dublin Film Festival, April 1999.

Left to right: Christopher Sorensen (Mikie Love), Bryan Baker (Brian) Brendan Craig (Frankie), Ed Beausang (Edward)

Seated: Billy Treacy (Elvis)

Here Darina Molloy interviews Baker and Davis for the Irish Voice Newspaper, days before its Tribeca premiere:

You'd think he'd just been asked to part with his first-born child. His hand is noticeably shaking as he explains why he's so reluctant to let it out of his sight. "It's the only copy I have," he wavers nervously. The 'it' in question is an innocous-looking video cassette, but to 30 year-old Dublin man Tony Davis, it is his baby -- the first, he hopes, of many.

What we're all but starting a tug-of-war over is the 80-minute rough cut of a movie written, directed and financed by Davis and 28 year-old fellow Dub, Bryan Baker. The movie, set in Queens, is called Characters and Davis, who also produced, describes it as "a very simple story about two guys who want love, they keep asking girls out and things just keep going wrong." It's their Brothers McMullen they reckon, and while they wouldn't object to a repeat of the runaway success Ed Burns had with his low-budget indie debut, they're more concerned right now with breaking into the film world. "We just want to get out there and get ourselves known as film makers," muses Baker. "I don't want to make millions or anything. I just want to get my foot in the door."

The two men began work on Characters just over two years ago, inspired, they say, by the exploits of various characters who drank in the Long Island bar they both worked in. Within six months, they had a rough script, enough material to round up some actors and start shooting. Nine months later, in June of last year, the shoot was complete. Editing is now in the final stages, and Characters will debut next Sunday at the New York Film Festival. "We started out with nothing, and this is where we are," says Davis in disbelief. "Even I can't believe it's come this far."

New York Independent Film Festival 1999. Kevin Power and Paul Baker (right) sporting the official Characters t-shirt given to all atendees, albeit here worn back to front. Read aloud: I AM STEW-PIT I AM SOFA KING STEW-PIT

Like Ed Burns at the time of his Brothers McMullen success, Davis is based on Long Island. He and Baker met a few years ago while working together at Boss Croker's bar in Wantaugh. Both men had come to the States around the same time in 1994 ("I came for the World Cup and never went back," laughs Davis) but hadn't known each other in Ireland.

After a couple of years watching some of the characters who came into the bar, Davis and Baker figured they might just have a good idea for a movie "We decided to put together a skeleton script and then talk to some actors" says Davis. "When we started, we didn't know anything about the film industry, to be honest, that's how green we were." As the story began to take shape and the characters emerged, Davis and Baker advertised in Back Stage, the weekly publication for actors. "We got 400 head-shots," recalls Davis with a wry grin.

As far as both men were concerned, however, one of the two lead roles was already taken care of. "I was always into acting," says Baker, "but in Ireland it's much harder, you nearly get called names for wanting to get into it. When I moved to New York, I really got the bug and started from there." He studied at the HB Studios, a renowned acting school in Manhattan's West Village, for about two years, eventually securing the lead role in an off-Broadway production, Boys' Life. He's now back in Ireland, studying at the Gaiety School of Acting while preparing Boys' Life for a week-long run in March at the Andrew's Lane Theater in Dublin.

Pictured at the New York Independent Film Festival 1999.

Left to right: Ed Beausang (Edward), Bryan Baker (Brian), John Fawley (Johnny Disposal), Sean Modica (JoJo) and Christopher Sorensen (Mikie Love).

With Baker cast as Bryan, the movie's young Irish stud-wannabe, the duo cast around for another Irish actor to play his roommate and partner in crime. "We weren't having much luck," says Davis "and then Bryan suggested a guy he had grown up with, Ed Beausang. As soon as l saw him for the first time, I knew he was our man." Beausang. a social worker in Dublin, didn't have any acting experience, but as he was joining a production helmed by two first-time directors, it didn't really seem to matter.

Finally, in September of 1997, Baker and Davis had gotten enough money together to start the shoot. "It took about 14 days of shooting altogether," remembers Davis, "but there were long gaps between shoots because we were both working full-time and we didn't have enough money to do it all at once. But when we did the first shoot we learned an awful lot, and it was actually beneficial for us not to shoot again for another three months."

Some of the filming took place in the early hours of the morning, after Davis finished work in the bar. "I remember one week, I was finishing work at 4 a.m., we would shoot for a few hours, and then I would barely have time to grab a quick nap, shower, change and be back in for work again. I must have only gotten about eight hours sleep in four days," he says, groaning at the memory. At the same time, he and his then fiancee Angela were preparing for their wedding which took place in September.

Oh, yeah, it was pretty crazy," agrees Baker, speaking on the phone from his parents' home in Clontarf. A trained chef, he had the added responsibility of making sure everyone on set was fed. "I used to get up early and cook breakfast, and then I might cook again later that night. Mind you, we ordered a lot of pizza when my scenes were on," he says with a laugh.

Pictured at the Galway Film Fleadh, June 1999.

Ed Beausang, Jim Sheridan and Bryan Baker

WHILE all exterior scenes for the movie were shot in Sunnyside and Woodside, both very familiar neighbourhoods to Irish immigrants in New York City, the bulk of the filming took place in Long Island -- in the bar where Davis and Baker worked, and other various locations. "We were very lucky," says Davis. "We had a wonderful cinematographer, Kevin Murphy, and a great cast, and people really helped us out alot."

The story centers around Bryan (played by Baker) and Ed (Ed Beausang), two young immigrants out for a good time in New York. Both Davis and Baker laughingly deny that either character is based on themselves. "Well, maybe a little," concedes Baker, "we might have exaggerated our own personalities into it."

Characters is far from your typical Irish immigrant movie, however, there's also a humorous gangsterish sub-plot running alongside the romance. And apart from Baker and Beausang, and one or two other small parts, the rest of the cast is American. It was a deliberate move on their part, says Davis, an effort to broaden the film's appeal to a non-Irish audience. "We didn't want it to be just another Irish film. The two leads happen to be Irish which is great, but the winning formula as far as I'm concerned is something that can make you laugn."

"Nine out of 2S features were sold at tne Festival last year," says Davis hopefully. "What we mostly want out of this is for somebody to say, 'Ok, these guys know what they're doing, let's give them something for another film.' And then you're in the game ..."

Since finishing Characters, both men have separately started work on other projects. Baker says he's in the final stages of finishing a script for a movie set in Ireland, and he hopes to begin shooting later this year. "It's called A Ride in the Country," he says with a laugh, "and it's basically abaut these five Dublin lads, virgins, who decide to head down the country to get laid." Davis is also writing, working on a screenplay about a bunch of guys who hung out together in their 20s and are re-united two decades later. As far as Characters is concerned, both Davis and Baker are certainly keeping their fingers crossed, but neither is unduly obsessed with making things work out. "I'm not giving up that easy," says Baker. "It's all a learning process, I just got into the business a couple of years ago, you can't rush it."

'You have to be realistic" adds Davis pragmatically. "At the moment we're nobodies in this business. But at least we did it, we have our movie. And even if it goes down the toilet, when I'm 50 I can sit in my basement and have a few beers and watch it." With that, he finally hands over the coveted cassette tape. "It's a rough cut." he pleads "Just remember that."

Later that night, I pop it into the VCR not really knowing what to expect. But there was no need for concern, Characters turned out to be a thoroughly entertaining romp, with very sturdy acting throughout, and a snappy script. If that was just a "rough cut," then Davis and Baker have very little to worry about ... they're already in the game.

A Couple of Characters by Darina Molloy
Irish Voice

Vol 13. Issue 3. Jan 20th-26th, 1999

What the others said ...

Introducing his film debut to the audience, Bryan Baker described it as the "lowest budget movie ever", being made in nine months and shot in twelve days. What he neglected to mention was that "Characters", through winning the Best Drama award at the New York Independent Film Festival, has received international recognition (and respect) that many blockbusters struggle, or fail to achieve.

"Characters" is an entertaining jaunt in film; it tells the tale of Bryan (Bryan Baker) and Ed (Ed Beausang), recent immigrants to New York, and their quest for love and happiness. Bryan is a wise cracking, fast talking barman, whereas Ed is a sober (but mostly hungover) social worker. Both while the night hours away drinking and their incoherent speeches fail to impress women. Despite their continual hangovers, life could not be better, until their romantic attachments become tangled. Receiving an "Are you okay?" talk from his Supervisor regarding his drinking, Ed confuses her empathy and concern with love. Meanwhile Bryan has fallen for the feisty girl (Whitney Oelerich) in the video shop, who is being secretly "minded" by two inept petty crooks at her uncle's behest. Will true love triumph over such odds?

Pictured at the New York Film Festival, January 1999.

John Fawley has issues to discuss with the way he was directed.

"Characters" works well as a spoof comedy. The boys lurch from bar to bar and stagger into work, and conduct a verbal slanging match. The young aspiring gangsters do the same, plus they wave guns about. But it is through the verbal quickfire between Ed and Bryan that "Characters" excels; some of their quips are almost unbearably funny. Sometimes, however, the joke goes on too long; an example is the morning after scene at their house, when Ed is getting sick. Repeating Bryan's teasing is irksome for the viewer.

"Characters" is a fine film, and refreshingly funny in places. All right, so it could do with a little editing and polishing, but with the film's budget and time frame it represents a remarkable achievement...hopefully this is not the last to be heard from Baker and
Davis.

The IE Arts Review
Editor: Miriam Stewart. July, 1999 Issue No.17

The all-round stupidity of the male is the final message of Characters. The film is shot in long takes with a minimum of editing and progresses through dialogue rather than action. This dialogue reveals the inadequacies of the two recent arrivals, Brian (Bryan Baker) and Edward (Ed Beausang) and conveys well their propensity to fantasise rather than do. This inadequacy is matched by that of the two American goons employed to look after the young woman that Brian falls for. They may be vicious but are, ultimately, just as gormless as the Irish lads are. Both sets of males live a fantasy existence where the promises of the American dream, although differently ingested, result in the same kind of displaced (and misplaced) inadequacy.

Irish Film: The Emergence of a Contemporary Cinema
Martin McLoone. British Film Institute. 2000

"Oh baby, I got the whole package!"