Amazon MGM Studios has been killing it with its movie releases, such as the recent hit The Wrecking Crew, and that looks set to continue with the upcoming crime thriller, Crime 101. The movie stars MCU mainstay Chris Hemsworth as Davis, an elusive thief hoping to pull off his last score thanks to a disillusioned insurance broker, Sharon, played by Halle Berry. However, things don't go as planned, and he becomes the target of a massive investigation led by Detective Lou, played by Mark Ruffalo. As one can see, the cast is stacked, but it doesn't end there. Alongside those three iconic actors, the movie also stars Barry Keoghan (Ormon), Monica Barbaro (Maya), Corey Hawkins (Tillman), Nick Nolte (Money), and more.
The Direct sat down with Crime 101 director Bart Layton for an interview, during which he discussed his process of bringing the film's moral ambiguity to life and how the movie also functions as a reimagining of the classic Robin Hood tale.
Speaking about how he directed the film's moral ambiguity through the performances of everyone in the film, the filmmaker admitted that "most of it is on the page, you know, in the script, and then that kind of evolves less on the day." However, Layton explained that "When you have actors of this caliber, they are bringing layers, and they breathe life and reality into the script in ways that are kind of magical to watch."
When the idea of Crime 101 being a reimagined take on Robin Hood, Layton said that when a story features a thief "robbing from institutions or individuals or corporations who may not entirely wholesome themselves," you tend to land in Robin Hood territory. But that premise is "very much kind of buried in the onion skin layers" of Crime 101, the director noted, adding that it was "certainly something that [he] thought about, and that Chris [Hemsworth] and [he] talked about."
More of the interview can be read below. Crime 101 hits theaters on Friday, February 13.
Directing Moral Ambiguity in Crime 101
The Actors "Breathe Life and Reality Into the Script."
- The Direct: "What I really love about the movie is its exploration of moral ambiguity. As a director, when you are giving direction and stuff to your actors, especially in a film where you know everyone is in this gray area, like, literally everyone, how do you handle that and make sure all of those notes are played?"
Bart Layton: Yeah, totally. I mean, most of it is on the page, you know, in the script, and then that kind of evolves less on the day, but more in the conversations that we have right at the beginning. When I sit down with the actors, and we talk about it, and we go through the script, and we look at it line by line, and you want to understand—Occasionally, if an actor doesn't know why a certain moment or a certain line or beat is there, you definitely want to find that out before you're shooting. So it comes out in the conversations.
And you have these really exciting, creative discussions with the actors where you know they might be like, 'Well, what about this?' And you're like, 'No, that's great. That's better. Let's put that in.' And I guess that's the beauty of being the writer as well, is if one of your actors comes up with something better than what you've written, then you can go, yes, let's do that instead. Or, you know, let's incorporate that or the essence of it. When you have actors of this caliber, they are bringing layers, and they breathe life and reality into the script in ways that are kind of magical to watch.
Crime 101 Is a Modern, Re-Imagined Robin Hood
"That Was Certainly Something That I Thought About..."
- The Direct: "Watching this movie and thinking about it, I feel like, in a lot of ways, it is kind of like a reinterpreted, modern-day version of Robin Hood, you know, with a lot of differences. But was that ever something you considered while you were filming?"
Bart Layton: Yeah, I mean more in the writing of it, and very much kind of buried in the onion skin layers, you know. And I think maybe every time you write a character who is a thief, but also is maybe robbing from institutions or individuals or corporations who may not be entirely wholesome themselves, then I guess you land yourself in Robin Hood territory. That was certainly something that I thought about, and that Chris and I talked about as well.
