There are films of many kinds at the South by Southwest Film and TV Festival, but ones like Brian are an example of stories that are truly special emotional gems that offer audiences a touching and eye-opening character study. This film follows Ben Wang's titular Brian, an acebric high school student who is prone to panic attacks that tend to pop up at the most inopportune times. It's an issue that Brian is still learning how to navigate, and life in high school doesn't make it any easier.
Having seen the movie, it's easy to say that director Will Ropp did a fantastic job here. Brian is an intriguing and deeply explored character, one who may be annoying and off-putting at first, but audiences will come to love him by the film's end. There's a heart at the center of the story that is simply rare to see, and it's made all the clearer thanks to a wonderful supporting cast.
Ahead of SXSW, The Direct spoke with Brian stars William H. Macy (Brian's therapist) and WandaVision's Randall Park (Brian's dad), who both discussed why Brian is such an important film and how their life experiences parallel the movie.
Why SXSW's Brian Is So Important
"Movies Give Us the Opportunity to Humanize People..."
- The Direct: "This film is so important, it really shines a spotlight on the struggles of people who don't really get that spotlight very often. In your own words, can you just talk about why the messages and just the topic of this film is so important, especially in today's society?"
William H. Macy: I feel like I could really stick my foot in my mouth, but I feel like the plight of being 14, 15, 16, that time when you're stepping from adolescence toward adulthood, in that in-between time, we've lost our way a little bit. When I hear a young person say, I don't know who I am, I don't know my identity, I don't know my sexuality, I'm not sure of anything, I think the proper answer is, yeah, I didn't either.
Yeah, of course, that's at 16. Good news. You'll be 17. You're going to live through this. Yes, you're lost, and you don't know who you are, and you don't know what the world needs from you, and you don't know where you're going. Hey, it's the human condition. It's okay. And we get all hepped up about it. Life is tough. I don't care who you are, and it's tough. If you're a rich guy, it's tough. If you're a poor guy, it's tough...
You know what it is... I think we've lost faith, not religious faith, but the practical faith that it'll work out. Because, you know what, if you look hard enough, you'll realize all those traumas that you thought were the end of the world, they worked out. Turns out, the next day, she didn't actually say that you misheard her, or they're not moving, or whatever the answer is, you know, things work out. You just have to have faith that they'll work out, and even a deeper faith. Then if they don't work out, it's not going to kill you.
Randall Park: I think movies give us an opportunity to humanize people, especially when they're stories about groups that may, you know, maybe we don't get to see every day or people outside of our own personal bubbles.
And I just feel like it's important to tell stories like these about these people, because it just builds empathy and understanding, and I think that that's what, at their best, movies do, and to tell a story about, you know, I certainly don't know anyone quite like Brian in real life, but I know they exist. And I think just from watching this movie, I feel a little bit more of a heart for people going through that.
William H. Macy on Diving Into Brian's Therapist
"I've Probably Seen More Therapists on Screen Than I Have In Person..."
- The Direct: "There have been a lot of therapist performances, but do you find yourself comparing your performance to other therapist-type roles, and maybe trying to figure out things that you want to do, that you don't necessarily see on screen often, or avoiding things that maybe you know you see too much?"
William H. Macy: Nothing like that came to mind for me. I mean, I guess I know more about movie therapists than I know about actual therapists, because I've probably seen more therapists on screen than I have in person. So I don't know.
The long-winded answer to that is, what is a therapist? In this case, I am the therapist. So the script made it very clear that Dr. Reynolds thinks Brian is a great kid, really smart, and not in trouble at all, and that he just needs a little time. It's also clear that Dr. Reynolds adores the kid, and I brought that into the room with me.
And Ben [Wang] is exactly what you think he is. He is adorable and so honest and so straightforward. And as an actor, he's very facile with the lines and stuff like that, and he's improvisatory, even when not with the lines, but within the lines, which I really appreciate.
- The Direct: "Throughout the film, Brian is trying to trick you into revealing personal information about your life, which made me wonder, how much of that personal backstory for the character did you work out yourself that we just don't see on screen?"
William H. Macy: None. What's important is that Brian wants to know more about me as a way of deflecting what he's there to do, which is to keep talking until he figures out something he can do differently tomorrow to make his life a little more palatable, a little easier. So, no, it wasn't about who the doctor was.
- The Direct: "Have you ever personally worked with someone or known someone close to you who was dealing with some of the same issues that Brian deals with, and did you bring those experiences with you to this performance?"
William H. Macy: I probably did. I've got two daughters. They're now in their 20s, and they are fabulous women, and they probably went through all the machinations that young people have to go through. And I got to sit there and watch that, and some of it was hysterical, and some of it was frightening, and some of it was stunningly annoying to sit through.
The entire conversation with Brian star William H. Macy can be viewed below.
Randall Park On His Improv In SXSW's Brian
"I Don't Even Remember What Was Scripted and What Was Improvised..."
- The Direct: "Your character has an extremely dry and dark sense of humor. Brian even calls out in the film. How much of that is like written in the script versus like, did you get to improv and kind of bring your own flavor to that as well?"
Randall Park: Yeah, we improvised a lot, to the point where I don't even remember what was scripted and what was improvised, because Will [Ropp], our director, gave us so much±and it's unusual for an independent film, just because, you know, limited budget means limited time, and you kind of have to get things moving...
But with people like Edi Patterson and Ben and Sam [Song Li], at least us in the family, we really got to play a lot, which was very fun, and we took it to such—we had free rein. We just took it to such weird, crazy places. And I'm sure some of them made it in the movie, and some of them didn't see it.
- The Direct: "I'm curious, in your personal life, I know you have a daughter. How much of your real-life parenting and that experience did you bring with you into this role?"
Randall Park: I think a lot. I mean, there's definitely, you know, I have played parents before. I actually had a kid, and I've played parents after I've had a kid, and I think I definitely feel a lot more connected to the characters I play, the parent characters, post having a child, just because it is such a full experience to have your own child and to raise a child.
And in this movie in particular, to have a child who is going through some stuff really resonated with me. My daughter is, she's 13, and she's on the autism spectrum, and she certainly has her challenges, you know, that are unique to her and require us to really be attentive and to really just show her and let her know that she's loved unconditionally.
And I think that that's something that really resonated with me about this character, and particularly with what Brian's going through and both parents. You know, Edi and my character, we have this unconditional love for our son, even though he said some pretty crazy things at the least opportune times, but we know it's not his fault, and that's something that really resonated with me.
The entire discussion with Brian's Randall Park can be watched below.
Brian does not currently have a release date.
