Cherie Nowlan
Q. As a director, what appealed to you most about this project?
David McMillan is an outrageous CATCH ME IF YOU CAN character – exceptionally talented, highly intelligent, creative, and an excellent actor and liar. He’s the sort of criminal cops can’t help but like and respect on some level. I was fascinated by his story, partly because so much of it is improbable and almost impossible to distinguish fact from fiction. We took a fair bit of creative licence in telling his story, which hopefully he’ll appreciate. The extremes of his life make for exciting drama – he made more money than he could spend and lost everything, including the love of his life. I was also interested in him because he’s from the right side of the tracks as opposed to being born into the criminal class. He is passionate in his defence of drug use but his addiction is why he chose crime as a career. And he’s paid a big personal price for that choice. I think that’s an interesting story to tell.
Q. How would you describe David and Clelia’s relationship?
David and Clelia were big users of heroin so they were co-dependent in an ultimately very destructive way. I think they were extremely loyal to each other and were friends and business partners as much as lovers. It was a complex relationship, much like Bonnie and Clyde. David was a defiant and unrepentant criminal but he cared deeply about his friends. I’ve seen recent footage of David talking about Clelia and her untimely death is something he appears to deeply regret and mourn. He is the man who got away but he has paid a terrible price along the way.
Q. What level of research did you undertake before embarking on the shoot?
I read everything I could about McMillan that was available online and we had a wonderful researcher, Andy Muir, who gave the actors and me a lot of help and support. Andy had a treasure trove of resources but because the film is only based on true events, I didn’t have to become a historian. Sometimes knowing too much gets in the way of telling a good story and for practical reasons, events and characters are combined and collapsed. So like David, we bent the truth when we needed to but I think essence of the story is true.
Q. Why do you think such a gifted man chose a life of crime?
If David hadn’t been so enamoured with drugs, he could have easily been a wonderful filmmaker, an inventor, a scientist, journalist or any number of things. But once you acquire an expensive drug habit, you have to finance that somehow. Because David was so intelligent, he naturally became entrepreneurial. I also think that once any person experiences the truly vast profits of drug smuggling and drug dealing, it’s hard to return to a straight job. Some people think using drugs mentally changed him and I’ve wondered whether the long-term use made him schizophrenic. Once he’d crossed the line morally and legally, there seemed to be no turning back and no stopping him.
Q. What aspects of David’s personality were you keen to convey?
I think Toby Schmitz captured the complexity of David’s personality – his ferocious intelligence and capacity to care for people close to him on one hand then his reckless disregard for the consequences of his actions on the other. He was crazy brave and extremely creative and patient. Those qualities are admirable and inspiring in a healthy person. But in somebody with a passionate commitment to drug use, it’s very dangerous, stupid and deadly.
Q. Why do you think we find people such as David McMillan so fascinating?
We all have the capacity to make bad and stupid choices so we recognise ourselves in people like David McMillan. He was, after all, a kid who could have had it all. The fact that he went off the rails as a teenager and an adult is both a cautionary tale as well something we can experience vicariously. Maybe our criminal heritage makes us sympathise with these kinds of Ned Kelly/Robin Hood like characters. If we’re honest, we’d all like to be able to make an easy couple of million dollars every month. You can, after all, end up on the Forbes richest list by drug smuggling. Of course, you could end up dead as well. Drug smuggling is the ultimate capitalist enterprise and I don’t see a downturn happening any time soon.
Q. THE MAN WHO GOT AWAY is a love story, crime caper and police drama with many highs and lows. What, for you, was the most challenging aspect?
This story had all the elements of a feature film but shot in 15 days instead of six weeks. That is an enormous task creatively and logistically. Relationship stories take time and so do action sequences. This film had it all - plus some unpredictable Melbourne weather thrown in for good measure. But that kind of pressure can also produce good work and it can be a lot of fun, providing you have the right team working with you. And the UNDERBELLY team are the best.
Q. Did you feel compelled to adopt a particular style of direction and look that would indicate the telemovie’s connection to the UNDERBELLY franchise?
Luckily, this story was a natural fit for the heightened, pulp fiction style of UNDERBELLY. This is the first time I’ve worked with DP, Joe Pickering, and we were going for a style that was GOOD FELLAS meets THE FRENCH CONNECTION. We had a ball working together and anything we came up with, the editor, Deborah Peart, ran with and made her own. With this kind of action drama, you can pretty much go to town with style and technique and that is liberating as well a lot of fun.
Q. What special qualities do you feel Toby Schmitz brought to the role of David?
Toby Schmitz would have to be one of the smartest actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He brought his fierce intelligence, charm and wit to the role that was essential to making David McMillan and his escapades believable and entertaining. And Toby has mad acting chops so he just lapped up the intense workload. With his dark good looks as well, he is a truly charismatic screen hero.
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