Mormon misogynist goes soft

Director Neil LaBute surprises everyone but himself with "Possession." On the eve of its release, LaBute talks about a case of mistaken identity.

By Dimitra Kessenides

Sept. 4, 2002 | NEW YORK -- Most of us heard the name Neil LaBute for the first time five years ago. It was August 1997; "In the Company of Men," his first feature film, opened; and suddenly the new director was thrust into our consciousness. LaBute was labeled a misogynist, a man with a cruel and dark (and, perhaps, accurate) take on the capacity of men to be downright evil. And he was a Mormon, no less, a fact that added a bit of mystery and confusion, but, mostly, we made up our minds about LaBute: He was a creative brute likely to be in favor of polygamy.

His next film brought further affirmation. The lineup of despicable characters in "Your Friends and Neighbors" differed from "In the Company of Men" only in number (more of them), and gender (some nasty women were thrown in for good measure). But then, along came "Nurse Betty," a comedy, albeit a very dark one. It had moments of downright giddiness, and we had to wonder: "Is Neil LaBute going soft on us?"

Could be. LaBute's newest film is the recently released adaption of British writer A.S. Byatt's 1990 novel "Possession." It is a romance, a poignant one, and a period film, to boot. Critics of the film have focused on LaBute's surprising "departure," but the director says it is he who is surprised -- by the world's insistence on defining his interests based on two or three films. "Possession," he says, clearly connects to the main focus of all his work -- relationships.

"It's about two sets of people who are in love and in relationships, at least, and things happen to them where they're emotionally tested," he says. "I have always written about that, not just as a filmmaker, but as a playwright, and now, as a sometimes short story writer."

LaBute was in New York recently on the eve of his film's release and one month before his short play, "Land of the Dead," was to be performed as part of the commemorative program "Brave New World," a three-day marathon of readings and performances about the aftermath of Sept. 11. He talked about overcoming the assumptions of his audience, as well as movie executives -- about his interests, his abilities and his religious beliefs, which, he points out, do not include polygamy.

Are you surprised by some of the reaction to this new film, that the one thing people say is how much of a departure it is for you? How do you deal with it?

It's sort of a you-can't-win situation. I don't know if I'm comfortable with it, but I'm comfortable knowing it. It's difficult to think of "Possession" as a departure when I've done so few films. The first two were so steadfastly one way. "Nurse Betty" was different from the first two, and that was surprising. This one is a surprising move away from that again. I guess it shows the breadth of my interests, that it's wide-ranging in terms of what I might do as a director. The writing I've done and continue to do remains pretty constant. I guess it's more surprising to people from a directing sense.

Why did you want to make this particular film?

I read the book and I loved it. I enjoyed the twin engines that it worked on, and in a very intellectual way. I thought it was well-written, and emotionally I felt very satisfied. It had a great ending, which is often the thing you carry around. Endings are hard to do, in books, films, whatever it is -- they're hard to get right. When you do see one that works for you, you often think of the book on those terms.

At some point, during a relatively brief career, I asked my agent about who held the rights to it. I've been an Anglophile for a long time, and I've been both a student and a teacher, so most of the elements of the book were appealing to me. I hadn't done anything in period -- I had onstage -- but I hadn't done anything on film that would test me that way. And I'm always looking for a test, a risk.

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