By George & Josh Bate
Directors like Steven Spielberg, Celine Song, Kenneth Branagh, and Alfonso Cuarón have used filmmaking as a medium through which to tell autobiographical stories about some of the most challenging periods of their lives. Westhampton, a new drama from Obscured Releasing, follows a filmmaker, who, like Spielberg and the others, makes a movie about a real-life event that forever changed the trajectory of his life.
Marking the feature directorial debut of Christian Nilsson, Westhampton stars Finn Wittrock as Tom Bell, a filmmaker who has recently completed and released a semi-autobiographical film that depicts a car crash that forever changed the life of his high school girlfriend Beth. Years after the tragic incident, Tom is forced to return to his hometown of Westhampton, where he faces townspeople who are far from welcoming and hold grudges toward Tom for what they perceive to be a failure to take responsibility for his actions. As Tom navigates a hostile time back home, he crosses paths with the brother of his high school girlfriend (Jake Weary), a teenage girl who is drawn to him (Amy Forsyth), an old friend (RJ Mitte), and more.
The HoloFiles recently had the opportunity to speak with Westhampton writer/director Christian Nilsson and stars Finn Wittrock and RJ Mitte about their new film, its semi-autobiographical origins, playing an off-putting and at times unlikable lead, and more.
Akin to how Wittrock’s Tom Bell makes a movie called Westhampton to process an event from his past, filmmaker Christian Nilsson makes a movie called Westhampton to process an event from his past. That is, Nilsson grew up in the Hamptons, where his film takes place, and weaves in elements from his own high school experience in which a friend died in a car crash.
As Nilsson sat with the loss of his friend, he began to question: what if he had been the one to cause the accident? And it’s with this key deviation from the truth that Westhampton stumbles upon a profound exploration of the fictions we tell ourselves that make the harshest of realities livable.
“I think the irony is that it was, in a lot of ways, my own experience making this film,” Nilsson explained. “It was a story that took years to make. And the idea that the two stories [of the fictional film Westhampton and Tom Bell’s real life] didn’t line up actually was something that happened over time, as I realized that my own feelings about things that had happened in the past didn’t quite line up.”
Touching on growth, forgiveness, and closure, Westhampton offers a fascinating exploration of the often blurry lines between reality and fiction, and the healing properties that blurring those lines can entail. “It is an exploration into atonement and forgiveness in a way that I hope is original, and tries the audience a bit,” Nilsson said. “I think that gap between reality and expectation is an interesting vehicle to be able to pull that off.”
Two-time Emmy nominee Finn Wittrock plays the film’s protagonist, who features in virtually every moment of the story. Wittrock has assembled quite the filmography to date, with stellar performances in American Horror Story and The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story being among some of the actor’s finest work. He somehow remains woefully underappreciated, however, a sentiment that becomes all the more evident upon watching Westhampton.
In one of the film’s first scenes, Wittrock’s Tom Bell punches the moderator of a Q&A in the face. At one point, he walks away from a physically disabled woman on the ground, rather than help her. He is unreservedly a flawed character, yet one that Wittrock plays with such authenticity and honesty that it is difficult not to somehow still root for him.
Wittrock explored what it was like to play a protagonist who contributed to a tragic event and who continues to conduct himself in a questionable manner. “I think you kind of have to get over your own sense of wanting to be likable, which is not always easy for an actor, you know?” Wittrock reflected. “It’s what we try to do all the time. But let’s take the risk of maybe someone not loving this character and try to play it as honestly as possible. And I think that that usually is what people actually do the best – this sort of rawness about it.”
RJ Mitte of Breaking Bad fame, meanwhile, emerges in the film as its unexpected beating heart. The actor known for his role as Walter White Jr. plays Fitz, the only person in Westhampton who does not treat Wittrock’s Tom with disdain. Instead, Fitz is friendly, helpful, and enthusiastic in his behavior toward a man everyone else vilifies.
Mitte discussed how his character’s attitude toward Tom reflects a sense of childhood wonder and idolization everyone can relate to. “I think [Fitz] was a kid that looked up to [Tom], that idolized him,” Mitte stated. “ And that just never went away, regardless of what other people said or thought of. That childish wonder is something that’s really nice that we take for granted. The wonder of childhood. And looking up to my cousins and stuff and you always have that one, right? That one guy that, no matter what bullshit he was doing, you liked him anyways and you loved him, and you loved him even more because of it. And I think that’s something that we take for granted in real life.”
Anchored by stellar performances and offering a peek behind the curtain of how filmmakers like Spielberg draw on autobiographical events to create deeply personal and healing films, Westhampton makes for a profound watch that adds nuance to the tried and tested themes of growth, forgiveness, and closure.
Watch the full interview with Westhampton writer/director Christian Nilsson and stars Finn Wittrock and RJ Mitte below.
