DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Counterweight started when I stopped recognizing myself in the mirror. After spending most of my early 20’s aspiring to look like young Harrison Ford, I found myself at 25 about as far as one could be from Indiana Jones or John Book: out of shape, balding, with a double chin that wouldn’t quit. It was bewildering to look in the mirror and not see any part of the boy who came before it. Where did this person even come from? How had I fallen so short of my ideal?

This script was developed with the belief that something this personal can become universal. We have all compared ourselves to others, felt insecure in our bodies, or felt afraid to be seen. This baggage can very easily stand in the way of our attempts to connect with others. I wanted to tell a story about a character who is forced to reckon with these feelings, and in the search for that story, I stumbled upon the most basic of all predicaments: Locking yourself out. It was another example of an experience everyone goes through. But what stuck out to me was the opportunity to fuse two situations everyone has experienced into a story that no one had seen before.

The basic action is simple: A young man, Jordan, accidentally locks himself out of his room and has to find a way back in. Jordan is fearful and insecure in his skin, and now he’s stuck outside the one place he feels safe. At his most vulnerable, he projects and reckons with these fears.
Because so much of this film takes place inside Jordans mind, I tried to represent this perspective within the soundscape of the film. I wanted the film to sound dissonant and disorganized in a way that immediately unsettles the audience. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Punch Drunk Love” was a major influence, as was Richard Ayoade’s “The Double,” and Alain Resnais’ “Last Year at Marienbad.” Visually, we discussed ways to recreate the in-camera trickery of Mike Nichols “Catch 22” and the unreality of John Ford’s “The Battle of Midway.” I wanted the experience to be disorienting and absurd in equal measure.

In many ways, this has been the most liberating and cathartic creative experience I’ve had yet. I fully believe that every ounce of blood, sweat, and ranch dressing comes through on screen. Most of all, I believe that the story speaks to the insecurities lingering in the back our minds. And while I’ve come to terms with the person staring back at me in the mirror, the process of learning, accepting, and writing about that person has been just as rewarding. Counterweight is a document of that process. I hope you find it to be as rewarding as I do.