Interview: Anthony M. Greene Talks 'The Henchman's War'

Anthony M. Greene is a cool dude. Not only is he multi-talented, but he also sounds like he thoroughly enjoys what he does. As he prepares for the release of his first feature-length film, The Henchman's War, Greene sits down to talk about the film, his inspirations, shooting in the Washington, DC area, and his take on the character dynamics at play in the movie. 

You can read the interview below!

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So you’re a native Washingtonian, that’s great!

It is. Born and raised.

You both wrote and directed The Henchman’s War. What motivated you to write it? Any particular inspiration?

Well, I was in my house and I had nothing to do for a week, so... that’s when I wrote it. [laughs] Actually, my initial inspiration was from watching movies like The Four Brothers and trying to figure out why the henchmen always took so much s**t from their bosses. During the time that I wrote it, I was heavily influenced by going through older movies like Sergio Leon’s film Once Upon a Time in the West and really just liking that whole minimalist approach to filmmaking.

Of course, with that stuff being embedded in my mind, I wanted to make a movie that was kind of melancholy and noir-ish in that sense. And The Henchman’s War kind of stemmed from that.  

You used a lot of local areas for scenes like driving scenes as Joe goes down the Northern Virginia I-95 corridor. So was it a goal for you to include local scenery and local talent as much as possible?

 

I had no money. [laughs] I didn’t have it. The thing is, this area is very beautiful. When you grow up here you don’t really think about it that much. And it has three different states sort of encompassing the same circumference that have different things to offer and a lot of people don’t take advantage of that. Most people when they come to this area head right down to the Capitol and monuments and just really concentrate on that. But from everything to the farm where Joe had a confrontation to the beach scene at the end with Miranda, all that stuff was local stuff within thirty minutes away from each other.

And it wasn’t a lot of… I wanted to make sure that we could use what we had. I was able to use a lot of locations guerilla style without having to get permits and stuff like that. And make something on a lower budget that didn’t just take place in the house for the whole hour and ten minutes or so.

Regardless of budget, I liked that a lot. I’m also biased because I live in the area. [laughs]

Right, there you go. ‘Cause right now thirty minutes from DC and I’m at Chesapeake Beach and we’re at the beach where at the end when Joe meets Miranda. And this is a place I go to a lot and it was cool.

So you’re a multi-talented guy. You wrote and directed this film and on occasion you’ve  composed music for your other works. Did you compose any music for this film?

[laughs] Nah, I supervised the music and I bought a lot of stuff. I picked up a lot of local people that I’ve dealt with. I kind of really liked what they were able to do so I wanted to stay away from my music and just put all the elements together.

I used to host open mics on U St. when I was younger. I used to DJ down in the area and everything so I knew some people who knew music too and could take the time out. I was really happy to bring in people who were talented enough to do a good job.

The most interesting dynamic, for me at least, were the scenes with Cubby and his wife. They’re kind of imbalanced in a sense. He’s having morality issues about the unnecessary killings and she sees the position as a high honor because it was her father’s position. How did that particular dynamic evolve?

First of all, they’re really good actors. So when I was able to bring them on, I rewrote their scenes specifically for them two. And when you really look at it, the only people who are never really advancing on anyone with a weapon, but the complete catalyst for everything that happens for Joe and for Cubby is because of the love of the women in their lives, which is more present in the book we have for the movie from Joe’s perspective. But also for Cubby a lot of the lifestyle when he’s talking in the office at the end, you know, it’s like ‘my life took a turn because of my love for this woman.’

And I really wanted that to be an underlying thing that connected both Joe and Cubby. It helped them make a decision that took them on a path that maybe they didn’t want to go on to. You know people who wanted to do one thing and then meet someone who convinces them to be a surgeon and then they’re unhappy surgeons. [laughs] So, it was really just a thing that when I wanted to have these two sit across from each other, I wanted the two of them to really have something in common.

And Cubby’s wife is really the catalyst of showing just how much this life is affected by the women in their lives. I love the argument that Cubby and Sandra have. And it’s understood that she is the most powerful one in the movie. And there were scenes that were cut out that have her interacting with other people where her prowess and how clear she was would have been shown. But I want people to understand that she’s just as much of the reason that Cubby existed as Miranda is to Joe.

I liked that a lot actually. I think it was well done.

I appreciate that. It’s nerve wracking because a film is so subjective, because you have people who like it and some people who think it’s awful, so you never know how people are going to feel about it. You just put it out there and wait.

I liked a lot of the backseat and light and dark shots you used in the film. Specifically the driving scenes and how they kind of represented Joe King’s journey throughout the movie. Is that the representation you intended on portraying?

Yeah. It was. If anybody asked me when I first started I would say it was like Homer’s Odyssey or something. It had to be a journey because when we first meet Joe, the thing that spurs him to his demise is already done. And I didn’t want that to be as important or centrifugal to everything because it was about him getting home. Because the war he is having is about himself and you know, all the things that have happened over time and led up to that morning when it all starts is just the segway for him to get to his journey and to his final destination.  

And the whole movie, he’s sailing to that point where he can be there with Miranda again and live out his life the way that he wanted to. And it was about driving, getting to where he needed to be. I wanted it to be understood that… Because one of the biggest issues that I had was that I didn’t want it to be play like a revenge show. And a lot of people saw it as a revenge show.

But Joe, he has moments where he’s trying to avoid the actual confrontation and taking of someone’s life. Of course the very first one in the beginning is a given and that’s his most deliberate time when he pulls the trigger. Everything else from then on is either a standoff or self-defense. Because it’s more about the journey of getting to his final destination where he knows he’s headed.

I did notice that. He was a henchman and everything, but it didn’t seem like he was killing people just for the sake of killing people.

That’s good. I’m glad somebody saw that. [laughs]

There are a few scenes that looked like they were a lot of fun to film. Which one was your favorite one to do?

You know what, I think my favorite scene is going to be everyone’s favorite scene, and that’s the argument between Cubby and Sandra in the house. I think the energy they have when they go back and forth with each other; it gives the movie its grounding point. That one moment really gives you something, and you’re like ‘ok, this is a pretty cool moment.’