The power of friendship

If there's one reason to see this film, it's for the genuine performances by the ensemble, bringing writer-director Matthew Weiner's brilliant screenplay to life.

Owen Wilson is a womanising local weatherman who hears that his off-the-grid best friend Ben Baker (Zach Galifianakis) has lost his estranged father, the two return to Ben's childhood home to discover Ben has inherited the family fortune leaving the ill-equipped duo to battle Ben's formidable sister (Amy Poehler) and deal with his father's gorgeous 25-year-old widow (Laura Ramsey).

Matthew Weiner, who changed the landscape of television with his critically acclaimed award-winning drama Mad Men, brings his masterful storytelling to the big screen.

Different kinds of writing

"In terms of writing, to me it's like the difference between a novel or a short story or a poem or play - there are different kinds of writing, you're telling the story in a different format. But what was really interesting about the directing experience was that it was a whole new group of actors and it was shooting in a new location," says Weiner.

"It reminded me of the pilot of Mad Men in the sense that there was a real sense of discovery and it was a challenge. It was really a thrill to try to create this completely new world with these actors. I think the biggest difference between TV and film is probably that on TV, at least on Mad Men, we've been doing it long enough that there's a system. We shot 99% of this movie in places that we had to alter and drive to and create, with actors with whom I had a very short rehearsal process. The movie is so personal and meaningful for me. I had to open myself up to the unexpected in a way I never have before."

For Weiner, the film is clearly a labour of love and his passion as filmmaker and storyteller is undeniable.As a happily married man who has lost most of his male friendships and felt that a whole part of his life had disappeared.

What holds people together

"I started thinking about what holds people together and what that role is of friendship," says Weiner. "I realised when I started writing the story, I was writing about a character who was unable to feel. Feelings are part of real life and Steve Dallas (played by Owen Wilson) has all of this behaviour - whether it's womanising, taking drugs, partying, spending too much money - they are all ways to avoid actually dealing with the feelings of life and avoiding the experience of life. The only thing that he has going for him is that he has this friend (played by Zach Galifianakis). These two are so comfortable together that they don't even need to talk about why they are friends."

Another important theme that went into the story was inspired by Weiner's then six-year-old son.

"I had taken a bite of a chicken leg that was on a platter, and found it was raw so I threw it in the garbage. He looked up at me and said: "Daddy, that was a chicken's whole leg." I started to realise that my whole sense of the world has been separated by technology, by adulthood, by dependence on all of these forces that have nothing to do with what I should be able to experience."

"I always write from a place of theme, and I think the audience appreciates it. I wanted it to be a thoughtful movie," says Weiner.

Our relationship with nature

"For me, the most important topic is friendship. The first line I had in the script is that line that Owen has where he says: 'That's the thing about friendship; you see it on TV, people go to the doctor, no one eats alone, but they are alone. Friendship is a lot rarer than love because there's nothing in it for anyone.' That was the place I started when I said: 'What is the value of friendship? What is holding people together?' Because it is so rare. I wanted to show that they were there for each other and had been there for each other the whole time. At the same time I wanted to talk about the hard choices in life, which is: At what point do you have to accept responsibility for yourself?"

Weiner was also interested in our relationship with nature.

"It's a really big theme, but I feel as the city encroaches more and more on the country and as the whole idea of a farm disappears, we have become more and more removed from our natural state. But that's a necessity of the modern world and it's a cliché to say that that's good and the city is bad, but I believe that a lot of our inability to experience our life is because we are overwhelmed with the pace and the technology and the sound of the city."

Along with that comes the deepest part of the film which is: What is it that we are feeling in our everyday life? Is it our ability to be in touch with nature enough to know what the weather is going to be like or in touch enough to acknowledge that the food that we are eating is natural on some level and has life in it? Weiner feels blessed with his casting of Wilson and Galifianakis.

A sense of outrage

"Owen is so extraordinary in the film, and you know I hope the unexpected story of the film is - not that people don't expect the actors to be this good - but that they really deliver very deep performances. Zach's character is very virtuous, intelligent, an honest person who is filled with a sense of outrage about the way the world is and he wants to change it. He's a total idealist and you've got to love him for that. One of the amazing things that Zach does in this movie is that he is so funny and has so many great comic moments, and then you realise there is something wrong with his character. As you grow to see that, the character realises that as well and he tries to make a change."

One of the great things about Weiner's experience moving into feature film making, was that he was able to bring artists with him that worked with him on Mad Men.

"My cinematographer Chris Manley, production designer Dan Bishop, my editor Chris Gay, and of course Scott Hornbacher, who is a producer of Mad Men, as well as other people on the creative team. We all have such a shorthand with each other. It was really funny - we were on the set shooting a scene with Amy and she says to me, referring to myself and Chris Manley, the cinematographer: 'You guys have been working together for a long time?' I said: 'Yeah I guess so -why?' And she said: 'Because you are walking around here talking and he's not saying anything, and everything is getting done.'"

"I know and trust this team who is at the top of their field. Having David Carbonara from the show do the music, having Ellen Freund come to North Carolina and do the props - this is stuff that is really important to the texture of my work and their work. The story was very meaningful to everybody - that's a lot of why they were there."

Succeeded admirably

Weiner has succeeded admirably in his desire to tell a story where the characters start off in one place and really end up in a different place.

"They literally switch places and I think it feels completely earned. I'm always trying to make entertainment that I want to watch and I think the film's unpredictability and inevitability is the thing that makes it entertaining."

Are You Here is a very special film that will steal your heart. It is ideal to share with friends and loved ones and guarantees that once you leave the cinema, you will make sure to reaffirm your bond with those you want to share your life with. It's a life-affirming and meaningful cinematic experience that shows how important friends and family are in our lives.

Read more about Are You Here and other films opening this week at www.writingstudio.co.za