Despite being relatively short (just over 200 pages), my novel LOVERS was a slow writing process. I had started it in 2017, and due to several other projects (novellas, non-fiction film books) and situations, it took a necessary back seat, but was finally finished in 2022. And during that time, I had revisited a few films whose themes were an inspiration.
Abel Ferrara’s 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH (2011) is a dark, moody, quiet drama that looks at how a couple spends their last day together before an impending scientific apocalypse. Instead of panicking, Cisco (Willem Dafoe) and Skye (Shanyn Leigh) hold up in their apartment contemplating their past lives and creating art. It’s unlike any end times film you’ve seen before, and encourages artists from all mediums to do something different. It’s easily Ferrara’s most underrated work.
THE SWIMMER (1968) first caught my attention when I watched it on the late movie when I was about 8 years old. I was at a sleep over at a cousin’s house, and when everyone else had passed out, I stayed up glued to the TV. I had no idea what the film meant back then, yet it stayed with me and left a lasting impression. It’s a masterclass in existential dread, of a man attempting to remember who he is, and the mystery of the finale still sparks discussion to this day. As LOVERS evolved, I had Ned Merrill (a brilliant Burt Lancaster) in mind.
LOVE ME DEADLY (1973) isn’t the first film to deal with its taboo subject, but is perhaps one of the more unusual films to look at the life of a person obsessed with the dead. Beyond being an exploitative drive-in film, main character Lindsay Finch (Mary Wilcox, who refused to discuss the film after it became a notorious cult hit) is deeply examined, from her mentally abusive childhood through her adult indoctrination by a most unusual cult. The film proved you can deal with grim subject matter without being over-the-top disgusting, and that concept was incorporated into my story.
1962’s CARNIVAL OF SOULS feels like a dream from its opening moments until its haunting finale, as we follow Mary Henry (a grossly underrated Candace Hilligoss) as she tries to make sense of her life after a car crash claims the lives of everyone involved except herself. LOVERS’ main character, Dan, was a semi-tribute to Mary, as he struggles to understand what is happening to him in his average, everyday life.
The one thing these films have in common is how their main characters are in states of discovery and unusual self-reflection. I’m hoping some of the themes I’ve built LOVERS around will haunt the reader (in a positive way) to consider where they’ve been and where they may be headed.
