This film will mess with your head. That is if you let it work its magic. You see, it’s subtle, it’s finely layered, it creeps up on you. On the surface, all looks normal. It appears to be a “regular” story about a girl with memory loss. You watch her journey as she struggles to remember. You may find yourself thinking: “This girl is annoying. I don’t think I like her”. You will wonder what will happen next. You will have many moments where you will say: “Hold on, who,what, where, why and when was that?”. All these things will happen to you. But why?
“Lapse” is really unique in its structure. That is its strength - and some will say its weakness. Because if you don’t pay attention, you will miss it. It’s not your average, run-of-the-mill movie that you can watch with half your brain switched off. You can’t pop to the lavatory and expect to pick up where you left off. And yet the film meanders along, events seemingly simple and straightforward. Don’t be fooled. This film is a bona fide puzzle.
You may choose to dismiss the whole thing, forget you saw the film, tell yourself it made no sense or that in the end you really can’t be bothered to care about unraveling its intricacies. But if you like a challenge - something more than mere entertainment - this film will offer it, and offer it bountifully. Abundantly. Copiously. You get the drift.
Writer-Director Marianne Hansen based this film on the feeling she’d get from watching a David Lynch film. More accurately, she based it on the exact feeling she had after watching “Memento” - she had to watch it again right away. These type of films are not for everyone, but for those who like them, they are brilliantly told stories. “Once you unravel “Lapse”, you will find that everything comes together in so many subtle ways”, Marianne explains, “there are always new tidbits to discover, new connections to make. This film holds up really well over repeated viewings. It kind of demands that you watch it more than once”. Marianne likes to mess with people’s expectations. In “Lapse” nothing is as it appears.
“This is a story about how terribly wrong things can go”, Marianne continues, “it’s the same thing every time. When we don’t want to face up to whatever is rearing its ugly head in our lives, it only exacerbates the problem. Matters get worse, because they gain power”. Marianne adds: “And blaming other people for our problems without taking some responsibility for the situation is a telltale sign that we’re hiding and in denial. We usually project issues we can’t handle in ourselves onto others, it’s all pretty much psychology 101, but so true. It’s why we always have the same issues repeating themselves - like a karmic yo-yo. And they will keep repeating themselves, until that “Eureka” moment hits us”. The protagonist in “Lapse” is one such person. Here denial, escape and projection is taken to their extremes. “Renee is very human, and she portrays in the majority of the film behavior and characteristics that we usually would like to pretend we don’t have. She’s a ugly mirror held up before us, but I personally have a soft spot for this kind of flawed heroine. She is so tragic, I really feel sorry for her. But at the same time, she makes me laugh, because she’s completely lost her marbles”.
The remaining three characters support the protagonist in her rise and fall. Chloe is a lovable, ditzy blonde, only she’s a redhead. She’s not perfect, but she knows it and doesn’t pretend to be. That makes her incredibly endearing. She’s sort of an antithesis of Renee. Guy is both mentor and villain all rolled into one - a mysterious character whose motives are unclear, so he is constantly shape-shifting. He has the answers, but he doesn’t serve them with a spoonful of sugar. Jamie is the love interest - the classic prize that in this film no one wants in the end, because not everything that glitters is gold.
“Lapse” is an unlikely commercial movie, but it could become a cult film. It’s the kind of product cinephiles might stumble upon and take to their hearts. Luckily for them, this movie will provide intellectual fodder for days. It’s great for book reports and film analysis. It is not suitable for children and it probably won’t appeal to granny either. “But we don’t all have to like the same things”, Marianne muses, “I just hope that “Lapse” finds its audience, because I know it’s out there. That is my sincerest wish for this film”.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT
I've put almost 6 years of my life, every single penny I owned (and some I didn't own) and large quantities of blood, sweat and tears into "Lapse". This is called making an independent film. And I made an independent film, not because "Lapse" is a passion project that I felt the world could not miss out on - although I do think it is a really original piece of storytelling that I hope people will appreciate - but because I live to tell stories, and "Lapse" was my first.
I once read in this astrological "vocation and career" report that I am one of life's true romantics, because my reality is the inner world of fantasy and imagination. I apparently always try to inject the mundane with a hint of the mythic and the meaningful, and I suppose it's true. I've definitely found that I can endure all sorts of hardships and live a pretty mundane and boring day-to-day life, as long as I have my dreams and my stories. It's what gives me purpose, and the few times I lost track of my purpose, were also the times when I was in my darkest moments, feeling really depressed and thinking my life had no meaning.
Now, it's all good to live in the future, but it's even better to live in the present. And I really hope that "Lapse" will open that famous door that allows me to tell stories for a living. That's why I primarily made this film. But "Lapse" took on a life of its own, and it has become a film that is so much more than I originally envisioned. I am truly proud of it. It could have looked glitzier and more glamorous with a better budget, but in the end, I think the low-budget feel of the film is one of its strengths. I have no regrets and I have learnt so much. I have grown both professionally and personally, and I am grateful for every lesson bestowed upon me. I feel like a seasoned director now, ready for any challenge!
I would like to thank all the people who have helped me arrive at this moment in time, I couldn't have done it without you. And I would like to thank all the people who, as its future audience, will (hopefully) embrace "Lapse" and see the multitude of layers and angles that I worked so hard at bringing to life. All this in order to tell a story about how reality is subjective and therefore we often miss the bigger picture. I truly believe that the world would be a better place if people were more able to put themselves outside of their own reality and try to see things from another perspective. It's only human to always want to be right, but it's also human to admit when one is wrong. Renee was someone who was so adamant in her belief in her own "rightness" that she only made mistake after mistake. Had she not been so blinded by her own flaws, or so afraid to face up to them, her story might have been a different one. She might not be the most sympathetic of protagonists, but to me she is "real" and therefore very tragic.
I hope you will enjoy "Lapse" and take with you, your own personal experience of it.
Thank you for your time.
- Marianne Hansen
"HOW LAPSE CAME ABOUT"
It has taken Lapse almost 6 years to go from idea to screen. It has been a difficult journey. When Marianne first got the idea for the script, it was meant to be a low-budget project that she could easily make herself. Easily was not how it turned out. However, had she known how difficult it would've been, she probably wouldn't be standing with a finished film in her hands today.
A friend of hers had made a film in the desert. Granted, it was a less ambitious affair, but it inspired Marianne to do the same on a grander scale. The desert is a perfect setting, it looks beautiful and it is quiet (or so it seems). The only thing missing was an actual story. Marianne pondered this for a while, but to no avail. One night she went to sleep, and that night she dreamt, and in the morning she awoke with a story in her head. Or rather, a series of images that could be linked together to make a story. This was 2004 and it would take her two years to write the script. Dreamlike images are rather non-concrete and a script is very concrete, and a good script is not only concrete, but it is also concise, sharp and well-structured. "Lapse" was not an easy script to write.
Once the script was completed and copyrighted, she started to assess her financing options - which were really rather thin. In fact, she realized in the end that no one was going to finance a film by a new and unproven female director who was shy, modest and absolutely sh*t at selling herself, even if she had directed theatre and made some short films, of which her thesis short won Best Art Film at the 2006 FAIF Film Festival. So she decided to self-finance. She pulled together everything she owned, including her mothers inheritance (Marianne lost her mother at age 20) and increased the limit on every credit card she had. She even got her father to take out a loan for her in his name - at a really bad interest. Right, she thought, this is what I will make my movie for. And so she did.
"CASTING LAPSE"
Marianne already had Sirry Jons and Karolina Dryzner in mind for the lead roles in "Lapse". They were both good friends that she knew from her days at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She did a semi-audition where both actors read both parts, so she could figure out who should play what role. Karolina nearly didn't make it into the film, as she was almost cast in a lead role in a film in her native Poland. Other actresses auditioned for the part, but in the end the role went back to its original owner. The casting of the male roles was a different story. Over 1000 actors submitted themselves, and from those Marianne picked maybe two dozen to audition, and of those, barely a handful were suitable. Keith Roenke, who plays Jamie, was entirely new to acting and had no experience. His audition was rough around the edges, but it showed potential and a certain natural-ness that was very appealing. Emmett, who plays Guy, was referred to her by a director friend. Emmett was in L.A. as part of a reality documentary TV-show called "Hollywood Trials" where a group of 10 Irish actors were sent to Hollywood to try their luck. Nearly all 10 actors submitted themselves and Marianne didn't have the heart to turn any of them away, so she auditioned all. Emmett stood out and won the part. He, too, almost did not play the role, as he turned out to have scheduling conflicts with a project back home in Ireland, and two days before the start of principal photography Marianne was scrambling to find a new actor to replace him. But in the end, it all worked out. The cast of "Lapse" was cemented and committed to celluloid. And everybody did a great job for no money whatsoever, so thank you guys!
"SHOOTING LAPSE"
Principal Photography was fraught with problems of its own. From wild fires and storms to crew members who walked out and one who even stole from production, it was a miracle that "Lapse" finished on time and on budget. However, Marianne is well aware that a film shoot without problems is like an ocean without water. It simply doesn't exist. So whenever she is about to embark on a shoot, she proclaims "Bring It On! I'm ready for whatever!" And so it begins.
It all started on September 27th 2007 at 6 AM at director Marianne's apartment. Here the cast and crew enjoyed some breakfast, tea and coffee and signed their contracts. Everyone then set off in groups and car-pooled to the Bronson Caves, more famously known as the Bat Cave, as the 1950's Batman TV-series was shot here. The first problem of the day was already at hand. It took all morning to carry all the equipment from the parking lot to the caves - putting the shoot behind schedule right from the start. The gate was locked because Marianne could not afford the fees required to unlock it. Everyone pitched in and a few hours later shooting was underway. Then the day's 2nd problem presented itself. The sound mixer's equipment did not work - after some back and forth and calling and visiting various sound houses, the problem was pinpointed. The equipment was frozen, caused by being in the cargo hull during its flight from New Orleans. Antonio, the sound mixer, had only arrived in Los Angeles that morning, fresh off a plane. So the sound equipment was left in the sun, and was soon operational again. Marianne went ahead and shot some setups that had no dialogue - only to find months later in post that the foley was sorely missed.
Among other things, the first day of filming had the climax of the movie scheduled: When Renee shoots Guy. The make-up artist had diligently applied the gunshot wound to the forehead of actor Emmett Scanlan, when it was realized that he had a setup to shoot prior to being shot - pun intended. The cinematographer assured the director that the gunshot wound in the forehead would not be discernible on the footage, as it would be in shadow. This would, of course, not turn out to be the case. Months later, Marianne would sit at her editing table and look at Guy walking broodingly trough the cave with a gunshot hole right in the middle of his forehead. Luckily, this footage was easily cut around.
Day 1 ended (like many other days to follow) in a race against time. The sun was setting and there were still shots that hadn't been shot. After stressing out the actors and everyone yelling at everyone else, the last remaining setups were successfully committed to celluloid. The sun promptly set and day 1 ended on budget and on schedule.
The following two days at the Bronson caves followed the same pattern. Lots of hauling of equipment early morning and evening, as well as a race against time when the sun starts to set. But every day was finished on budget and on schedule.
It was decided at the end of week 1 - which only consisted of 3 days - that day 4, which would have been the first night of filming in the desert, would not be a night shoot, but instead a day-for-night shoot. A lot of talking went on between the gaffer and the cinematographer, and it was decided that both for practical and creative reasons shooting day-for-night was a better choice. Director Marianne agreed, relieved as a producer that she no longer had to worry about gennys, lights and night permits, not to mention the cold, the pitch-black darkness as well as the desert night life.
But day-for-night shooting presented its own set of problems. Actors would squint at the sun, which supposedly, in order to look like moon-light, should always be behind them. The sky should be framed out of shot and the light direction kept constant. Needless to say, all of these so-called rules were broken at one point or another. By end of day 8, one day behind, the night scenes were finally in the can. And the whole set rejoiced!
At this point the key grip had already been replaced and the gaffer, having had another project come up, had himself substituted with a new guy over the next couple of weeks.
More problems were to follow. Heavy storms cut short - and in one instance even curtailed - several days of shooting, as worries about damage to the camera abounded. This was a major problem, as it became a real possibility that filming might not be completed. Assurances from Panavision that the insurance would cover any damage to the camera and that no one's reputation would suffer as a result, eventually put the production back on schedule. There's some pretty windy scenes in the final film!
But nature was not done wreaking havoc! The wildfires subsequently broke out. Although the desert wasn't on fire, nearby Big Bear Lake was, and the previously wide-open desert landscapes were covered in blankets of smoke. In the early morning mist, the desert looked like Camelot, with all its land shrouded in a mythical haze. Quite beautiful, but also quite contrary to the purposes of the shoot. However, worst of all was the lack of light, because shortly after noon, the smoke would blow in and cover the sun, rendering its light flat and shapeless - which in turn makes for flat and shapeless images. Several more shooting days were cut short.
By the end of week 4, the entire (2-person) camera department left and was replaced by new people. The production manager brought in the new 1st AC - a friend of hers - and the cinematographer brought in the 2nd AC, a fellow student from her days at AFI. Both actors Karolina Dryzner and Emmett Scanlan were done with their scenes, and it was time for Keith Roenke, who plays Jamie, to join the set. The original gaffer also returned. Week 5, volatile weather aside, was very serene and blessed with positive energy. New people add new vitality.
This was a fortunate occurrence indeed, because week 5 was also the week where lost time had to be recovered in order to put the production back on budget and schedule. Some scenes found themselves going from 10+ setups to one. It was a stressful week for the director, but the producer was happy - resulting in a somewhat split personality for Marianne Hansen. She was also starting to feel the effects of severe sleep deprivation. Being not only the director and producer, Marianne was also the onset cook and responsible for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 10-15 member cast and crew. This usually meant she would sleep 3-4 hours a night, as she would get up early to prepare breakfast and lunch, rush home from set to cook dinner, spend her evenings grocery shopping and cleaning up the kitchen and stay up late to prep for the following day, which included rehearsals and preparing shot lists. While others would go the local saloon for drinks and arrive home at 2AM drunk, driving around in circles in the motel's parking lot, Marianne would be packing craft services for next day's shoot or lie in bed listening to the 3rd AD's snoring from across the room.
This leads us to a new topic among the already plentiful production issues. The 3rd AD, basically a glorified PA, was brought on board during week 3 and 4. The production manager had found him on Craig's List - a ominous sign already that he was a perfect stranger. A young man had answered the ad and agreed to take the job, well aware that it was unpaid and with a 3rd AD credit. However, as the days passed, he proved to be quite the - shall we say - embellisher. The most memorable of his tall tales was the claim that he was an accomplished camera operator who was going to work on a George Clooney film next - and thus he wanted a camera department credit instead, preferably as camera operator (although he wasn't operating the camera) - and who would, when sent on errands, abuse the production's (AKA Marianne's) credit card and purchase extras on the side for himself. This was ultimately Marianne's own fault for giving him the card, but nonetheless, he chose to be a thief. Presumably the justification was that he was paying himself in lieu of wages. He ultimately issued an ultimatum where he demanded pay or he would walk. Needless to say, the guy walked. And received no credit whatsoever when his fraud was discovered.
Principal photography ultimately comes to an end, and the shoot wraps on budget (more or less) and on schedule. But it would not be in keeping with the spirit of the shoot, if there were not one more mishap to finish it all off. Eager to get home, her car brimming with production equipment and food, Marianne is pulled over on the freeway for going 80 mph and is issued a speeding ticket, for which she subsequently has to attend traffic school. All the other cars were going 80 mph too, but unlike the other cars, Marianne did not notice the police car when it appeared.
But despite all the problems, it was a memorable shoot that only evokes happy memories and lots of funny anecdotes.
"LAPSE IN POST"
Post-production took over 2 years to complete. This was primarily due to lack of money and time. When principal photography was completed on Lapse, Marianne was heavily in debt. Moreover, her US visa was expiring. So she returned to Denmark in December 2007, thinking she'd get a job, edit in her free time and basically have no life for the next two years in order to finish the movie and pay off her debt.
However, a job was much harder to come by than anticipated, in spite of all the rumors that Denmark was in dire need of people to fill a vast number of vacant job positions. At least there were no jobs to be had in entertainment (that is Danish film and TV) that Marianne was eligible for. She could start as an entry-level, unpaid intern - which was not an option considering all the debt she had to pay off - or alternatively she needed several years of management level experience for high-end positions - which was also not an option, as Marianne was pretty much a recent college graduate.
She even tried to find a job within tourism - Marianne has a BA (Hons) Business Studies with a specialization in travel and tourism - but to no avail. She had never used her degree, and now - more than 10 years later - it had little value. People these days all have master's degrees.
So she went back to doing what she had done in the US - and which she had done well: Child-minding. Marianne had been a nanny for several years and got a temp job in a preschool in a small town in the middle of the countryside about an hour outside of Copenhagen. The temp job turned into a permanent position and to this date, she still works there. At full capacity the preschool has a total of 60 children - quite a difference from the days when she would look after one or two children at a time.
It wasn't until June 2008 that Marianne had all the footage from "Lapse" to edit. She had severe problems with the lab in Santa Monica, who - among other things - forgot to transfer some reels and also omitted to do a flex file for several hours of footage. Marianne had received a very good deal on lab services during prep, but when the time came in October for the work to actually be performed, the lab had undergone new management, and the new manager was not keen on the quote Marianne had been offered. He honored it, but the quality of the work provided suffered. After 6 months of back and forth, the issues were finally more or less resolved. Marianne didn't have the money to pay the lab, so her father took out a loan for her in his name, and this loan has turned out to be the most expensive part of all her debt - the interest is so high, the debt only goes down by a few hundred kroners a year. Two years later, maybe 3% of the loan has been paid off.
There were also problems with the sound. Marianne had 9 DAT tapes she needed to transfer, but didn't have the money to get it done. Luckily, a production company she had interviewed with for a job, offered to help her out for free. However, the automated transfer, they had their equipment do, dropped some of the takes. So Marianne panicked and thought perhaps those particular takes hadn't been recorded, but her sound mixer assured her this wasn't the case. The production company let her borrow their DAT machine and Marianne transfered the tapes at home. All the sound was there. However, being far from a professional sound person, Marianne actually did a very poor job on the sound transfer, and many months later, when the sound designers came onboard, all the sound had to be retransferred. She also hadn't transferred the sound with a proper time code, so that too took some finessing to get around.
Editing went on for several months. After work, Marianne would come home and edit all evening and she'd also work all through the weekends. She spent the first month or so doing reverse-telecine and syncing sound. By November 1st 2008, she had her first rough cut. It was over 120 minutes long. And not very good. But it still felt incredible to have a put-together film to look at. She started showing it to select people and getting feedback - most of it bad. Someone recommended, that in order to apply for finishing funds from Filmværkstedet - a division of the Danish Film Institute - she'd need the backing of an established production company. One company in particular was recommended to her - a subsection of Zentropa (Lars Von Trier's production company) and she sent them a letter along with a screener. She waited 3 months for a reply, and finally got a positive response. They wanted to help her. However, the joy was short-lived. Three weeks later, Marianne was dropped again. Apparently, orders had come from higher up that during these times of worldwide financial crisis, it would be best to be prudent and not have too many projects on one's slate.
The news hit Marianne hard. Retreating into a shell for nearly a month, she felt she no longer knew what to do in order to finish the film. But after a few weeks of feeling sorry for herself, she decided that giving up was not an option. Lapse had not been made in the spirit of plenty - it was always an extremely low-budget affair, so why change at this point? Marianne decided that just as she had made the film for whatever she had, she'd finish it the same way. But first things first. The film needed a final cut - and a good one - so she started to look for an editor. She got a hold of Denmark's equivalent of the Hollywood Creative Directory, and contacted around 200 editors by email. Of those she heard back from around 30-40, and of those maybe 10-15 were interested in helping out. After meeting with editors all of June and early July 2009, Marianne asked Birger M¿ller Jensen, a well-known, award-winning editor with 30+ years of experience to help her as supervising editor. He accepted and the partnership proved a golden one. Editing started in mid July, but didn't kick off till mid August. By September 20th, Marianne had her final cut - and it was a good one. One she was proud of. The film had been completely reconceived, scenes shuffled around, performances tightened, dialogue cut - the final version was a mere 75 minutes long.
This picture-locked rough cut was promptly sent off to Sundance for the 2010 festival. It had been a dream of Marianne's for a long time to go to Sundance, but it was not meant to be. "Lapse" did not get accepted. Nor did it get accepted to Slamdance. So the struggle continues with ongoing festival submissions throughout 2010. Hopefully at some point, some programmer will see what's so special about "Lapse" and give it a chance. In the meantime, the film has entered into its final stages of post production. Marianne was lucky enough to find two recent sound graduates from the Danish Film School to work on the film's sound. She also has a composer in Los Angeles working on an original score. He has been attached since the days when "Lapse" was only a script. Marianne returned to Los Angeles in October 2009, exactly two years after principal photography, to do some ADR, meet with the composer and (then) colorist and shoot the opening sequence of the film. Marianne also approached the Copenhagen School of Graphic Design (K¿benhavns Tekniske Skole) and was given two students who, as part of an internship, would design the promotional film poster and official website. She, however, has had less luck with the color correction of "Lapse". Her initial colorist had to be replaced and a new one was not found until February. The projected completion date of early January 2010 will most definitely be postponed, probably to April/May 2010.
ANECDOTE 1
"LIP READING AND THE LETTER O"
Kimby Caplan was the second 2nd AC, who came aboard for the last week of principal photography. She had attended AFI together with cinematographer Helle Jensen. She is also hard of hearing and lip reads. However, due to the wildfires, the crew would wear masks to protect themselves from smoke particles. During a particular incident, beautifully captured on DAT tape as fate would have it, Kimby had used the letter O to name a take on the clapper board. This is not usually done, due to the fact that the letter O is easily confused with the number 0, and is therefore normally skipped. The entire crew were trying to tell her this, but all she could see where mouths moving behind white masks. Needless to say, she became frustrated and yelled out: "I can't read anybody's f**king lips!"
ANECDOTE 2
"WILDFIRES GALORE"The wildfires around Los Angeles county were particularly powerful in the fall of 2007. The schedule was built around 5-day weeks, and everyone would go home over the weekend and drive back Sunday evening. The drive would usually take around 3 hours. But the Sunday night preceding the last week of shooting was the night the wildfires reigned. Freeways and highways were closed down, even as people were driving, forcing them on hourlong detours. It took actor Keith Roenke 5 hours to arrive! Director Marianne Hansen saw a hill, adjacent to the freeway she was driving on, consumed by a fast-spreading fire, and large embers would rain down on passing cars. It was quite a sight to behold, unlike anything she had seen before.
ANECDOTE 3
"A DAY AT THE MOVIES"Strong winds and storms cost ""Lapse"" a day of shooting. Apart from bad sound and bad hair (for the actors that is), the camera department was also worried about getting sand in the camera. Instead the cast and crew drove to the nearest cineplex and went to the movies. Director Marianne Hansen wanted to see ""Across the Universe"" by fellow female director Julie Taymor, but the majority went with George Clooney's ""Michael Clayton"" which turned out to be a good film when all is said and done. Admittedly, Marianne did dose off once or twice, but her excuse was the three hours of sleep she was getting per night.
ANECDOTE 4
"TO IRELAND AND BACK"Actor Emmett Scanlan wrapped his last scene on Oct 15th. He packed up all his belongings and headed back to L.A. where he would board his flight back to Ireland. The following day the prop that is Guy's bag was mysteriously missing. Of course Emmett had used it as an extra piece of luggage and had taken it with him to Dublin, thinking he could keep it and since he was no longer featured in the film, the bag wouldn't be either. This was, however, not the case. The schedule had to be moved around a little, as everyone awaited the return of the missing prop in the mail.
ANECDOTE 5
"WHAT'S ON THE MENU?"
Apart from writing, directing and producing, Marianne Hansen was also the designated cook. Her meal options were not always popular though. In an attempt to keep things simple, the menu became rather one-note. She quickly learnt the age-old rule in independent filmmaking: "Don''t skimp on the food!" - so she wracked her brain and tried to vary the menu more and come up with less "healthy" food options - film crews love their comfort foods. One of her most unpopular days was Emmett Scanlan's last day of shooting, where she served jacket potatoes (AKA baked potatoes) with various fillings for lunch. How could she forget that in Ireland the potato is associated with poverty, hunger and starvation? Needless to say, she never heard the end of it. He went on about it right up to the moment he left the set. And Marianne never made baked potatoes again.