'Demolition' Man :: Director Jean-Marc Vallée Brings his Rock & Roll Sensibility to his Latest Film

There's a particularly bracing scene in Jean-Marc Vall�e's new film, "Demolition," in which a 15-year-old boy (Judah Lewis) has doubts about his sexuality. He asks his mother's new male friend (Jake Gyllenhaal) if he thinks he might be gay, since he's been crushing on an older boy in the locker room at school. They're in the middle of a hardware store, and as the Gyllenhaal character begins to speculate, the boy adds: "Sometimes I imagine his dick in my mouth." The answer to his question is pretty obvious.

What's so wonderful about this scene is that it's so conversational and honest. Neither character is out to bullshit the other. And the boy, volatile and alienated, is truly trying to figure out his sexuality. There's no shame or guilt. And there's no judgment.

An Inspired Script

Credit the inspired script by Brian Sipe, as well as the loving and thoughtful direction by Vall�e, who's previous work includes, "Wild," "Dallas Buyers Club," "The Young Victoria," "Caf� De Flore" and his 2005 breakthrough Canadian film "C.R.A.Z.Y.," which, ironically, also dealt with a teen struggling with his sexuality.

"Demolition" is an atypical look at coping with loss. Davis (Gyllenhaal) is a Wall Street hot shot whose wife dies in a car accident. So begins a spiral of odd behavior that baffles his father-in-law (Chris Cooper). Davis begins to take things apart to try and see how they work. This leads to the titular behavior, the all-out physical destruction of things (including his home) that may or may not lead to rebirth and redemption.

Early on, Gyllenhaal has issues with a hospital vending machine -- his bag of M&Ms gets stuck on a coil, which leads him to write a rambling, personal complaint letter to the company that operates the machines. His letter lands on the desk of an unhappy customer service rep (Naomi Watts) (whose radical rocker son is the teenager with the aforementioned sexual identity issue), and a relationship develops.

Blown Away

The director was given the script after producers Russ Smith and Leanne Halfon saw a screening of "Caf� de Flore" in 2011. "They called Brian Sipe and said, 'Brian we found our director,'" explained Vall�e. Brian watched the film and agreed to send the director the script.

"I was blown away," Vall�e continued. "I called them back and I was like, 'I want to direct this. This is for me.' I was so moved. I was so impressed by what I had just read, and at the end I found myself crying and I didn't know why. And I read it again, and I cried again. What makes me cry here? I wanted to understand. It wasn't because someone was dead. I was crying because it was beautiful. It's rare that you cry because (something is beautiful)... You never see material like that, so unique and special."

Screenwriter Sipe weaved his own thwarted creative journey into this story. "I sold a script pretty early in my career and then realized how hard it was to actually get anything made," Sipe says. "I tried different characters and different stories and different genres, and I got to the point where I just didn't know what worked. And I quit. But out of that experience came the character of Davis, a guy who couldn't feel anything anymore -- he was numb and apathetic."

Rock & Roll Sensibility

Vall�e was attracted to the script's rebellious nature, as well as the rock and roll feel of it. "I make films using rock music," he shares. "And the story of rock is to make noise. And of course you have to make noise with 'Demolition.' And rock is making noise with loud instruments and telling your parents to fuck off: I'm going to do it my own way. And Brian was telling the industry to fuck off. I'm going to do it my own way.

"(The industry) didn't know what to do with this. They were all scared of it. A script where you don't know where it's going, where you don't really care for the character in the first 10 pages, because he (Davis) had this strange way of reacting to the death of his wife... and yet, you do care for him. You want to know where he's going. You like his voice. You feel that it's coming from a beautiful place -- a place where you feel truth."

The film's title is deceptive, sounding like a high-octane action film that will disappoint young boys looking for car crashes. Instead, they will discover an unconventional love story told in a very singular cinematic style where the central character is deeply tortured and confused.

"I'm drawn to stories that are presenting characters that are not afraid to be imperfect, show their flaws and show them in the middle of their crises at the point where they're losing control," Vall�e imparts. "He (Davis) is everyone at some point in their lives. This is what we are. We lose control. We mess up. We make mistakes. We make bad decisions. But then it's how you cope, how you change."

For Vall�e the movie is deeply personal: "I guess I'm drawn to those character, like Alice in 'Wild,' who have to put up a fight. They can be homophobic, racist. They can be sex addicts, drug addicts, alcoholics. They're not perfect and, in this case, this guy forgot to take care of himself, his love. The line at the end, 'There was love between us, I just didn't take care of it,' it's my story. I relate to that. Too often, I made decisions in my life that were easy. It's like when Naomi asks him, 'Why did you marry her?' and there's a pause and he replies, 'Because it was easy.'

Natural Chemistry

Casting his "three lost souls" proved key to the film's success.

Jake Gyllenhaal has been taking chances of late, with films like "Enemy" and "Southpaw." Here, he continues to challenge himself.

"Jake responded, like I did, to the material so that was an easy choice; he wanted to do it badly." Vall�e explains. "You put the camera on Jake's face and there's an intelligence, there's depth, there's something sensitive, there's a goodness and there's a melancholy. And that was perfect for Davis. You had to care for this guy."

On finding Naomi Watts: "She was perfect for it. There's something about her face you fall in love with. She's beautiful and sincere and intelligent. And sexy."

And the two together: "Jake and Naomi have a natural chemistry. They're like kids playing. They're so comfortable with acting, the way they react to each other and their love of the material and characters."

An Amazing Newcomer

It was through Casting Director Jessica Kelly that Vall�e saw amazing newcomer Judah Lewis for the role of Chris.

"This kid came into audition, and when he walked through the door and he had such a rock star quality, something so charismatic, so beautiful -- as beautiful as a girl -- and yet very male. Like a young (Rolling Stone member) Brian Jones."

Lewis took to Chris immediately. "What drew me to him was how truthful it was, Lewis reveals. "What we see so often today in film is this romanticized stereotype of younger kids, and I think Chris completely plays against that. He really is just a kid walking through life and wondering who he is and where he is, and not what society wants him to be but who he truly is."

No Judgment

Never one to shy away from explorations of sexuality, Vall�e's early film, "C.R.A.Z.Y.," also featured a 15-year-old boy confronting confusing feelings about his sexual orientation.

"There's a lot of similarities with the "C.R.A.Z.Y." character (Zak)," Vall�e concedes. "But it's funny, because he (Chris) was created on the page and Brian didn't see "C.R.A.Z.Y." before creating this character."

The director elaborates: "The character is putting on a fight to try to be honest and find out who he is, where he's going, what's this crisis. This poor kid is just trying to be himself. He's not sure, so he asks a stranger (Davis), 'Do you think I'm gay?' It's a beautiful scene in a hardware store. It's like a fable. And we treated it like it was real. And it's treated without judgment, matter of fact."

"And I'm not afraid of these characters. I've got gay friends. They're part of my life. They're people that feel different and have to put up a fight. It's human to put up a fight. I put up a fight every time I make a film. Making a film is fighting. This one was a fucking fight."

Instinctive Approach

As far as working with his actors, Vall�e relies on his instincts more than anything else. He actually shoots the rehearsal, "from day one," and, he reveals, "There's no blocking. It's just reality. Much freedom. And I react to it. They react to my cameras; I react to what they do. We have a sense of the intention and what the scene is about, the emotions. And I try to capture it. We're all about capturing and believing in the storytelling and the emotion and touching the heart of people."

Vall�e's sincere enthusiasm for "Demolition" runs deep. "It's the kind of project where I can play with the medium that I love so much, this toy that I love a lot, filmmaking. Using the camera, making images. And I want to celebrate at this point in my life, at my age and where I am professionally, a different cinema. Something that dares to offer you a new voice. A different voice. It's a voice I wanted to be associated with, and I wanted to honor. And here I am talking about it, being moved again. (He speaks through tears) And feeling happy. And proud. I'm so fucking proud of this film."

"Demolition" opens April 8.

Watch the trailer to "Demolition":