There’s many incredible films playing at VIFF for this year. One of the more compelling films is Flowers of the Field, which tells the story of a man named Aaron who is trying to figure out just who he has. When he discovers something about himself, then it seems like things are about to spiral out of control. But does anything get figured out? I can’t answer that for sure, and I’m not sure if anyone can, but Alexander Crowther could answer plenty of questions that I had for him in regards to this role as he told me what it was like to be the main character and just how interesting the shoot really was.
HNMAG: So how did you get into the role of Aaron? Did your agent get it for you and did you apply yourself?
Alexander Crowther: So this was something that my agent Tovah flagged and it was for casting director Jason Knight who I had gone in for a few times. Those are the two people I should thank most for this opportunity.
HNMAG: Is this role different or similar to roles you’ve done in the past?
Alexander Crowther: Well, it was my first lead in a feature, which was a little terrifying. When I found out I booked the role, I was doing a theatre contract in London, Ontario acting in The Glass Menagerie playing the Caller. So, that character’s probably 180 degrees away from Aaron in Flowers. The role in that play, that’s a character who says every thought that plays in his head without shame or taking anything for granted other than the fact that all his dreams and thoughts were worthwhile or worth expressing. It’s kind of an honest and forward character. Then after Flowers, I got a role on a fantastic CBC series which I think is coming back in October called Pure. I’m playing another honest and straight forward character so in between those two roles was kind of a chance for me to explore something a little darker, a little more complicated, and certainly someone who is able to express themselves. I feel like Aaron is a character who feels a lot and observes a lot, but sometimes those feelings might be too big to clearly express what he’s saying. At the same time, I think he has a sense that the thoughts he wants to express are sometimes worthless and not speaking can give him the advantage of speaking. Taking in, and not showing his cards which I think has captured him indefinitely.
HNMAG: So was it kind of a challenge to take on this new and different style of character?
Alexander Crowther: A little bit. There was a character I played years ago, called Voidsec. It’s an old German play, another kind of doomed love story. He’s also a character who, just like Aaron has a similar feeling that something is not right in the world. In that case, he projects out and sees visions of fire in the sky and hears voices of terror coming from underneath the ground. I think for Aaron, he can relate in a sense. But the focus of the problem HE sees is within himself and that’s what needs to change.
HNMAG: What kind of location did the shoot take place in?
Alexander Crowther: Well, we shot in a beautiful farmhouse in Uxbridge, north of Toronto. A big house, lots of empty rooms so often before shooting a scene, often if it was one that required a little bit more concentration, the ability to just duck into one of those rooms, have some privacy, was really appreciated and kind of unique to this project.
HNMAG: How was your relationship with the director?
Alexander Crowther: I feel really lucky to have met Andrew Stanley. He has a very strong, very unique vision. He’s thorough, meticulous, and is producing the work that I’ve always aspired to be a part of. I guess my first encounter with Andrew was shortly after I was cast. We both drove up to Uxbridge where we would be shooting and Andrew basically walked me through the entire film, shot by shot. I got a whole sense of the journey of that character and the actual physical space before we started shooting. I think the week before, he had gone up with our great cinematographer, Jeremy Cox. Together, both of them really conceived the framing and positioned the lighting. So incredible preparation on behalf of Andrew that allowed me and the rest of the cast the freedom to go on instinct.
HNMAG: Very interesting style of preparation he had. Did you get along with other cast and crew members?
Alexander Crowther: Absolutely. Sarah Buell and Will Roberts who run the production company Birchwolfe that made the film, they just assembled a really fantastic crew. It was a film that was operating with a limited budget. We shot for about three weeks and it was VERY efficient. I remember one day in particular we had a generator that went down and the whole crew pivoted from a day for night shoot. From John’s (Ryan Hollyman) office to a scene in the daytime that didn’t require power or lighting in which Aaron confronts Tom (Kristopher Turner). There was NO time wasted by anybody, so my hats are really off to Will and Sarah for the team they assembled.
HNMAG: Do you feel this might’ve been a touchy film to star in given the subject?
Alexander Crowther: Yeah. You know, conversion therapy is something that has damaged a lot of people and I think that is really implicit in the piece. At the same time, I think Andrew wants to place flowers in this context to examine wider questions about certain aspects of human behaviour. The question about around the desire to change or turn away from one’s nature and really examining why someone would want to do that. It’s a disturbing but compelling question and I think Andrew gives the film space for that question to be taken up by the viewer.
HNMAG: Do you feel you can relate to this question? How did you get comfortable with the question?
Alexander Crowther: Personally, the dynamics that I most strongly related to come from experience in certain acting classes. Particularly those that are centred around a guru or master teacher. So those experiences, you’re working with a group of people, who are really sincere and have a passionate desire to change. They want to develop better and they’re placing themselves with a lot of vulnerability in the hands of someone who promises to change them and lead them to a new place, make them better. I think this movie asks the question “Why?” What would make someone from the teacher’s perspective feel like that is something they can offer to someone and also from a student’s perspective why would someone feel like they are not worth it or they do not have the stuff yet? I think that’s a way that I connected to a lot of the dynamics in this film.
HNMAG: So it asks questions, but does it answer some as well?
Alexander Crowther: I think Andrew is more interested in keeping the questions alive. The experience of watching a movie is I think is to wrestle with some problems that are presented rather than proposing a solution necessarily. So that’s more in line with what Flowers is about.
HNMAG: Aside from the lighting issues, were there other disadvantages of being on set?
Alexander Crowther: It was a nice time being up in Uxbridge which took up the majority of about two weeks. When we shifted to the suburbs of Thorne Hill to do a lot of the scenes with Aaron’s mom (Sharon McFarlane), it was a bit of a letdown because I was going from seeing beautiful farmlands to this kind of creepy suburban wasteland. The house we shot in was some kind of airbnb party palace that was vacant. I think it was designed for a family to live in at one time. But it had kind of become this airbnb party nightmare so there was a really creepy feel to that particular location. It made me miss the beauty, fresh air, and camaraderie of Oxbridge in the weeks preceding.
HNMAG: Now what were some of the other highlights of being on set?
Alexander Crowther: One of the things about being on set in a confined location is you really get to know people and there’s a lot of opportunity for community to build. Around meals, on the drive up because it’s an hour drive from the city. I really appreciated getting to know everyone and being a part of the Flowers team which at the end of the process felt like a family. Earlier, I had said to Andrew “In a way, the movie was the retreat that you DON’T want to be on, and the process of making Flowers was the IDEAL retreat.” You’re surrounded by friends, get valuable support and you feel loved as opposed to Aaron’s experience in the film.
HNMAG: How do you feel knowing it’s being screened at VIFF?
Alexander Crowther: I’m just thrilled that Flowers has found a place to have a proper debut and appearing in the ‘True North’ slate, there’s some really excellent Canadian features that we’re beside. It’s a real honour and such a privilege that we’re part of an impressive slate. I’m really excited.