Neil Burger didn't make a film about the Iraq war or politics. In Burger's third foray as a Hollywood director, which follows "The Illusionist" and "Interview With the Assassin," he instead set out to make a movie quite simply about America.
As he sat down in the living area of his Georgetown hotel room this past Monday, Burger exuded a cool demeanor, unfazed by the uphill struggle his already delayed project, "The Lucky Ones," faces at the box office. In recent years, actors ranging from Reese Witherspoon to Tommy Lee Jones, and directors such as Paul Haggis have executed films reflecting emotions related to the Iraq war. Yet despite big names and respectable outcomes, studio executives steered clear of green-lighting any related projects because previous movies on the subject have turned low profits. Starring Rachel McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Pena, "The Lucky Ones" follows the comedic and emotional ventures of three soldiers returning from service in Iraq. Burger points out that the military conflict itself is only a small part of the film's composition.
"The movie is really about America now, and I think that the Iraq war is just one small part of our collective identity," he said. "The movie wants to take a snapshot of America now, and sort of the changing American landscape, the changing American character and the changing American spirit."
It may seem almost audacious for a filmmaker to leap from the universe of Prague's underworld of magicians and class struggles to creating a movie intended to reflect contemporary America's soul. But Burger insists that the two are not so far removed as they appear.
"In 'The Illusionist,' it's the truth versus the trick, the truth versus illusion and faith and then in this movie, it's truth versus outright lies or self-deception," he said.
Although "The Lucky Ones" stars passionate anti-war crusader Robbins, the film has been supported by the U.S. Army. With such contrasting opinions and ideals held by so many in Hollywood, it would seem an inescapable fact that any movie regarding the Iraq war would be drenched in political statement and opinion. Yet Burger, the film's screenwriter and director, said the project does not carry any specific agenda.
"It's really looking in a very clear-eyed way at a political moment in time, which is this moment, and listening to what the public conversation is about what's going on and trying to be true and honest about it," he said.
While "The Lucky Ones'" leading characters are fresh from duty in the Middle East, their journey isn't across a foreign desert landscape but across the U.S. itself. Drawing from films such as Hal Ashby's "The Last Detail," "The Lucky Ones" is primarily a classical American road film.
Burger described his own experiences in traveling between coasts as a driving influence in creating the film.
"I've taken lot's of road trips, you know - back and forth throughout the country, and seen quite a bit of the country," he said. "I've just assembled a lot of anecdotal evidence over the years, and also interviewed soldiers, and you know just from my own experiences wove it together into this epic emotional journey, which is actually very funny, as well as being a little heartbreaking."
While the landscapes of America's heartland create a breathtaking vista for the characters to travel across, the country itself is still a secondary player. The focus of the journey is on the individuals and how, upon their return to a divided homeland, they come of conscience and spirit.
"Well, we set out to kind of make sort of a love letter to America," Burger said. "And what we ended up doing is making a love letter to these three characters who kind of embody what's best about America."
While the genres of the cross country road trip and the military hero piece often tend to idealize their subjects and the conflicts they find themselves in, Burger said he used sentiment and humor as a vehicle for the audience to relate to characters on a more personal note. If anything, it seemed it was Burger's primary intent that in bearing witness to the pilgrimages of "The Lucky Ones'" key characters and their gradual realizations, we are able to look closer into our own beliefs, and be called to action by the mysteries we discover within ourselves.
"This country is built on individuals, but it's also been backed by a strong foundation of a collective sense of purpose or national universe," Burger said. "Those are always at a tension in a sort of way. It's like the individual versus the greater good. And I think that somehow, that more collective sense of service is kind of in tatters right now, and there's people who are serving the country, and there's the rest of us, who are maybe a bit too self-centered back home."
You can reach this staff writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
