09/03/2021 - We spoke to the director of this Irish indie comedy revolving around the misfortunes of two petty-criminal cousins, which is taking part in this year’s Dublin International Film Festival

Director Cathal Nally (left) on the set of Be Good or Be Gone

Cineuropa spoke to Cathal Nally, director of the Irish independent comedy Be Good or Be Gone [+see also:
film review
interview: Cathal Nally
film profile]. The story of his debut feature, penned by Les Martin (here also serving as a producer and lead actor) and Paul Murphy, is set in Dublin over the course of four days and follows the misfortunes of two petty-criminal cousins, Ste (Martin) and Weed (Declan Mills), who receive a temporary release from prison. We had a chat about the making of the movie ahead of its participation in this year’s Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival.

Cineuropa: How did the idea for Be Good or Be Gone come about?
Cathal Nally: The idea came about when Les Martin met Paul Murphy. As an actor, Les was thinking about creating his own work, rather than going to auditions and the like. Paul was writing short scripts: Les took a look at them and saw something there. So they teamed up and started a script which became Be Good or Be Gone. I think a simple, redemptive story set in Dublin with working-class characters was something they were both interested in making.

How did you happen to work with Les Martin, here playing one of the two leads and also serving as the producer?
I was approached to direct the film, initially. Les had cast himself long before I got involved and had gone through several production companies during the development stage but was getting nowhere with them. There had been lots of rewrites over many years, and the project was stuck in development. I hadn’t worked with Les before and had no idea what he was like as a performer. I knew the script had great potential, but I needed to test him before taking the project on. So I did, and once I’d done that, I knew he was somebody I wanted to work with.

Weed is perhaps the most interesting – and the weirdest – character in the whole story. How did you cast Declan Mills for the part?
Les had cast Declan before I was involved; it was actually Declan who sent me the script in the first place. I’d known Declan for years and had seen him in a few theatre productions, but I’d never got to work with him. While reading the character of Weed, I could instantly see Declan in the role. I had no worries with him at all. My only concern was whether there would be a chemistry between Les and Declan. So I had them do three scenes and screen-tested them. They were perfect together, and there was a real chemistry there. It was instant. Once I saw that, I was on board.

What kind of artistic vision did you share with your cinematographer, Stephen C Walsh, and your composer, Joseph Conlan?
I’ve worked with Joe Conlan exclusively since 2010. We have a very good working relationship, and I completely trust him. I know what he can bring to a project, as he has a serious wealth of knowledge and experience – something like 40 years of TV and film composing in the United States. He knows what I like and what I don’t like. He’s very easy to work with, and on a personal level, I just love the guy.

Stephen had shot a few feature films before taking on Be Good or Be Gone. So he had some experience, but this was my first feature. We had a tiny budget and a lot to cover in a short period of time. So I opted for basic set-ups only that would be easy to edit and that would also allow us to move fast. Because it was such a small budget, I was concerned more with getting the sound right. A lot of the film is exterior, and we were shooting in active environments, amongst the general public. So getting the sound right was really important. Simon Murphy was our recordist, and I wouldn’t move to the next set-up unless he was happy. In the end, there were two lines of automated dialogue replacement required in post; everything else was recorded perfectly.