William Kaufman’s (Sinners and Saints, Daylight’s End) sui generis bank heist thriller The Channel is all set to drop this coming July 14.
Written and directed by Kaufman, and starring Clayne Crawford (Finestkind, “Lethal Weapon”) and Max Martini (The Tender Bar, “The Purge”), the film follows a desperate criminal, his out-of-control brother, and their motley crew of ex-marines as they flee from the scene of a bank-heist-gone-wrong to escape New Orleans and the determined FBI agent who pursues them.
Commenting on the film, Kaufman said that, as a filmmaker he has always been drawn to the action thriller genre and he quickly decided, with his partner Paul Reichelt, that they wanted to try their hand at creating a brutal, dangerous and bloody heist film:
“But if we were going to go down that familiar path, we needed to try and tackle it for a different perspective. That’s why the story isn’t about the bank robbery… In fact, the heist happens in the opening minutes of the film. My focus as I set out to write it, would be about the criminals, the two Sheridan brothers from the Irish Channel and how their choices affect themselves and those they love, as they desperately try to escape the consequences of their actions. All this set in a world where violence is never sexy and cool, but instead, brutally ugly, and absolutely terrifying … To me this film, in many ways is a love letter to the films of my youth. An unapologetic, dark, violent tale about the cost of living with the consequences of the choices we make, and how they affect ourselves and the people we hold dearest.”
In anticipation of The Channel set to release in Select Theaters and On Demand on July 14, CinemaChords caught up with the film’s lead actors Max Martini and Clayne Crawford who explained what they felt makes this film stand out in such a crowded sub-genre, how they approached playing characters who perform heinous deeds whilst triggering the audience’s empathy at the same time, and how the film also raises vital awareness about the impact of PTSD.
