"Never Goin' Back" directed by Augustine Frizzell Allow yourself to enjoy life [Director's Interview Vol.270]

Making a teen drug/crime comedy

Q: Around 2017, when this movie was made, the opioid problem (*) was becoming a serious social problem in America. Was there any risk or pressure in making a drug movie about teenagers?

Frizzell: Nothing in particular. Yes, it's a big problem, but the opioid problem has been around for a long time, not just in 2017. My father was addicted to painkillers, so going to the hospital for him to get medicine was a big deal for me even when I was a child. So I think the opioid problem and teen drug use are two separate issues. Teen drug use can be called "youth" (lol). Most teenagers - certainly not all - have used drugs at some point. Rather than criticize the opioid crisis, prescription drugs, or drug company capital, I focused on depicting casual drug use among teens and telling my own story as a film.

(*) Opioid problem: A social problem in which narcotic analgesics prescribed by doctors have become widespread in the United States, and the highly addictive nature of these drugs has led to a number of addicts and many deaths from overdose. Problems also arose, such as addicts turning to cheaper drugs after they were no longer able to receive their prescription drugs. In 2017, former President Donald Trump declared an "opioid crisis."

Q: In the scene where you get high by eating cannabis-infused cookies, I was impressed by the use of minimalist production techniques, such as focusing on the pancakes rather than using so-called visual effects. What kind of experiences and ideas led to this production?

Frizzell: Hmm... I wonder (lol). Even during filming, I knew I didn't want to add any special effects. Rather, I tried to capture them honestly, so that I could understand what they were thinking. Also, if it were a drug or a hallucinogen, I might have been tempted to use that kind of effect, but this is cannabis. From my experience, when you get high from cannabis, you feel like food and you just want to eat it (lol). So I would often order pizza and eat the whole thing. I wanted to show that kind of inexplicable appetite, so I decided to focus on food during the shoot. Afterwards, while editing it, I thought, ``Let's make it even funnier,'' and that's how it ended up.

"Never Goin' Back/Never Goin' Back" ©2018Muffed Up LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Q: This work can be described as a ``teen crime comedy,'' but the lightness and openness that is the appeal of this work lies in the fact that Angela and Jesse never repent or learn anything. Why did we decide to eliminate the obvious lessons and Arrival?

Frizzell: You know " Signs " (1989-98), right? In that show, the characters never grow or learn lessons in every episode. It was fun and I loved it. I didn't want to do the same thing, but it's a big work for me.

Actually, I don't think you can objectively evaluate the big lessons in life. Even if you think you can do it when you're young, it's actually impossible. Looking back on myself, I feel that I have learned and changed more than I expected at the time. The younger you are, the harder it is to recognize what is really going on. That's one of the reasons I didn't draw the lesson.

Personally, I think setting goals, whether in movies or in real life, is part of being a productive person. Of course that's important, but most of the time, in order to overcome suffering and misery, you have to look for happiness, and you have to find a goal that will give you happiness. Goals that, if achieved, will mean you're living the life you want to live.

I'm an ambitious person, so I want to do a good job and I'm always working. That's why I sometimes tell myself, ``Work is not all there is to life.'' It's all about balance, and both those girls and myself when I was younger had to go to the beach, eat donuts, and pet cats to overcome our misery. By doing so, you can find joy and enjoyment even in difficult situations. Life is too dark if you don't allow yourself the freedom to enjoy life in this way.

Arrival as a filmmaker