Thomas Jane is an animal. The actor -- who is best known for his roles in films like The Punisher and The Mist, and the hit HBO series Hung -- was driven to make a major move in his career by a bestial sense of inspiration. "Figure out what kind of animal you are and be that animal," he says.
Apparently, Jane is of the genus director and the species Dark Country, the vehicle for his behind-the-camera debut.
"I wanted to make a strange movie," he says of the film, in which he also stars alongside Hostel II's Lauren German. Jane plays Richard, AKA Dick, who meets and marries Gina in the heat of the moment in Las Vegas. As they drive across the desert the following night, determined to start a life together, they find a battered, bloody man in the road who seems to have been the victim of an accident. They place him in the back seat of their car and drive for help, but he soon begins screaming nonsense at the couple and eventually attacks Dick. After some struggling Dick kills the man with a rock to the head, and he and Gina decide to bury the body rather than go to the police. This is of course where the trouble kicks in and things get creepy.
Jane cites his influences as legends like David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Mann, who all had "a unique style and unique voice," he says. "They stuck with me." The mysterious, noir style he so admired all his life "is being made less and less today," he laments. He explains that, "I wanted to use the influences that turned me on," to make Dark Country an "homage."
Jane was also sure to pay tribute to his other passion by working alongside graphic novel artist Tim Bradstreet. The two already collaborate in their RAW Studios company, which they founded with 30 Days of Night writer Steve Niles. "I wanted to bring that graphic style to film," says the self-proclaimed "comic book guy." The result is a mysterious noir piece that looks like it was pulled straight from a book in the comic store.
Yet Jane describes Dark Country as "uniquely mine" and points out that he is "not copying anybody." He took the script, written by Tab Murphy, and found his own voice with which to direct. "Finding your voice," he states, "it’s your mission." And what does Thomas Jane’s voice sound like? "The movie speaks for itself."
Jane admits that the dual role of director and star was "incredibly stressful." However, his drive to make the film allowed him to put the tension of the job aside and pour his whole self into the project. "It becomes one job," he says, "and that is telling the story." He also points out that the project being so "small and easy to contain" was a big help. Along with horror veteran Ron Perlman, who plays a questionably motivated police officer, Jane and German are the only main actors and the props are primarily sand, cars and a gun.
Jane's desire was "to contribute to the great canon of films I was inspired by." Dark Country's dark, emotional style definitely places it in the realm of film noir and Hitchcock-style mystery. Yet at the same time, he says, "I really put my signature on the movie."
The film Jane's put his name on is intended to "appeal to the widest variety" of viewers. It is an attempt to bring the films he grew up loving to a modern, progressive audience and trigger their revival.
His desire for Dark Country to succeed is also personal. "If this movie can find an audience I’ll be able to direct another," he says. Thomas Jane, director, has just been born, and like the beasts that thrive in nature, Jane says, "I'm sure that my voice will evolve."
