An Interview With THE APOLOGY Writer/Director Alison Star Locke

Cinema Scholars interviews Alison Star Locke, writer/director of the new thriller The Apology. The film stars Anna Gunn, Linus Roache, and Janeane Garofalo. The Apology will be in theaters and streaming simultaneously on Shudder and AMC+ on December 16th.

INTRODUCTION

It’s no secret there has been a huge surge in the popularity of true crime stories in recent years. Since much of Gen X grew up eating their cereal while staring at milk carton kids and hearing horror stories about missing children like Adam Walsh, it’s no wonder that today’s storytellers are leaning into the nightmare fuel from their youth. Thankfully, among this fascination with tragedy, a movement to focus on the stories of the victims and survivors of these horrendous events has emerged. 

Every missing child story you hear represents an entire network of loved ones who are losing their minds and going through the awful motions to deal with the unimaginable loss. In the new Christmas-set thriller The Apology, writer/director Alison Star Locke explores these dark places in a story about an implacable mother who will never give up on her missing daughter.

Though it’s been 20 years since Sally disappeared, ever-vigilant Darlene (Anna Gunn) still hopes that her daughter might somehow, somewhere still be alive. Just as the bereft mother prepares for her first family holiday celebration since losing her daughter, Darlene’s long-estranged brother-in-law, Jack (Linus Roache), shows up unexpectedly in the middle of a pre-Christmas blizzard. 

While Jack’s intention of surprising his daughters for Christmas makes his sudden presence seem plausible, Darlene soon realizes that he isn’t just there to mend old bridges. When discourse turns to dark discovery, Darlene gets to see just how far she would be willing to go in her search for answers and atonement.

Backed by an incredible cast, Locke takes a simple premise and gradually expands it into an emotionally complex narrative. Anna Gunn’s performance as Darlene makes the mother’s grief nearly palpable. Later, as the film progresses, however, it’s Gunn’s nerve and tenacity that makes her character shine. In the role of Jack, Linus Roache creates just the right amount of unease. As his character tests Darlene’s emotional fortitude, Roache plays it downright duplicitous right up to the very end. And a brief but memorable appearance by Janeane Garofalo adds the perfect touch of comic relief and unconditional friendship that helps temper the overall somber themes.

Locke sets an ominous tone from the get-go, juxtaposing the visual merriment of the holidays with Darlene’s inner strife. Playing out entirely in the confines of Darlene’s cozy, snowed-in home, Locke and cinematographer Jack Caswell create a real sense of isolation with visual cues. Partially obscured shots or frames with elements out of focus amplify the sense of unease and new discovery. And the oppressiveness of the storm feels all too real as the house seems to creak and moan under nature’s assault. 

The Apology is a compelling bit of voyeurism into a darkly irresistible realm of “what if.” And while there are never really winners with a backstory so tragic, Locke still manages to tie The Apology up with a big shiny bow sure to please even the most hardened true crime fan.

Cinema Scholar’s Rebecca Elliott recently caught up with writer/director Alison Star Locke ahead of The Apology’s December 16 release. They discuss her inspiration for her feature debut, working with such an incredible cast, and going full Christmas.

INTERVIEW

Alison Star Locke:

Hi Rebecca. It’s so nice to meet you.

Rebecca Elliott:

Nice to meet you too! We better get straight to it! There’s been such a surge in the popularity of true crime lately. And then of course there’s always been stalwarts like America’s Most Wanted or Unsolved Mysteries. Did those kinds of things inspire you to write The Apology? What inspired you to create such a dark story?

Alison Star Locke:

Oh, you’re exactly right. That absolutely inspired me. I’ve always been interested in true crime stories, especially the idea that there’s all this suffering and intensity around what happens to these people and their families. But it also feels sort of a bit voyeuristic. And I really was curious, I think, about what would that be like in real life. I’m always fascinated with anything having to do with the process, how something is made, how something is unpacked, unpacking everything.

So, then I had a dream, as cheesy as this is but it’s true, about a knock at the front door. There’s a man on the other side who says, “I know what happened to your daughter.” And so then I woke up and I was like, “What an awful feeling.”

Rebecca Elliott:

Total nightmare, yeah.

Alison Star Locke:

Then I thought, who would this man be? Who would this woman be? What would their … How could they have it out? What would they do if they had that opportunity? What could you explore with that?

And then what I realized as I started writing is it was actually becoming a metaphor for my experience being a mom. Being a mom for my daughter, who’s autistic and needs a lot of advocacy and that sort of thing. And just how exhausting that stuff could be. How I really could border on obsessive when it came to her. And I thought, my goodness if she was actually missing, I would absolutely lose my mind.

Rebecca Elliott:

Oh yeah, completely. It’s just such a dark place to go to. Especially as a debut for you! And you have this incredible cast. Were you just so completely stoked to nail down Anna Gunn and Linus Roache? Can you talk about channeling that dark side with them? But also taking charge on a debut while also collaborating and learning from these experienced performers?

Alison Star Locke:

Oh, absolutely. Oh my God, it was like Christmas morning every time. It was so exciting when I had those first conversations with them. I thought, my God, even if they hadn’t said yes, I had the privilege of discussing my story with these master artists. What a freaking cool thing. But I went out and bought a bottle of champagne when we got Anna. I went and got champagne and had it with my family and friends. When Linus said yes, I went and got a cake. I’m a big celebrator.

Rebecca Elliott:

Yeah. Do it up.

Alison Star Locke:

You’ve got to. Life is too hard, and every step needs a celebration.

Rebecca Elliott:

Absolutely. I love that.

Alison Star Locke:

Especially when you’re a filmmaker. It’s like, oh my God. But in terms of working with them, I just kept thinking there’s going to be a lot about the process and working with folks like this that I’m not going to understand yet. There’s going to be a learning curve. There’s no way around it. So, let’s start with the basics. I’ve done these character bios, would you like them? Do you want to have long conversations? How would you like to do it? Trying to throw the ball in her court in that way, so that I wasn’t…I tried very hard not to overstep what they needed, but still, be clear about what my goals were for each moment and for each scene.

I think that was the key. And having a lot of conversations with them. I had a lot of really wonderful Zooms going through each beat with Anna or talking about the bigger issues involved with Linus. And he was a little less like, “Let’s talk about each line.” He would ask me the questions that he had, but mostly it was like, “Let’s talk about these bigger issues like is change possible in this kind of situation? What would that even look like? Is it just enough hope to say this much?” But still being truthful. Never absolving. I would always say, from the very beginning, “Accountability and passion are not mutually exclusive. They need to live together.” And that’s sort of one of the messages if anything to the film.

Rebecca Elliott:

I did want to ask you, just a nuts and bolts question because I’m a nerd like that. I’m not sure what all trickery you used, but it 100% looks like you shot in the middle of a blizzard in this cozy little house. And then of course you also have some pretty physical scenes. You also have a little bit of makeup effects and stuff. Can you talk about some of the technical aspects of shooting and managing all that when you’re also still maintaining this serious drama?

Alison Star Locke:

Oh yeah. I was an ambitious gal for this one! It was a lot of detail. We decided to make it in LA to be respectful. There were so many parents on this film. Not just myself, my whole producing team are mothers. Anna is a mother. So many of our department heads, there’s a lot of parents in the groups. And so it was much more attractive for crew and everybody to be in town. So, then we were like, “Okay, well, here’s the obstacle, it’s the snowstorm.”

So, that was a whole big team effort from the company, Snow Business, that came out and iced the windows and blew the snow. Our PAs would sweep the snow between takes so that it wouldn’t look like it had come into the house. And then all the way through to the way that Uèle Lamore, our fantastic composer, worked with Lana Wolverton, our editor. Who is just one of my favorite humans on the planet, and so, so smart, and has such great taste. I just want to talk about her all the time.

And then Julie Diaz and the team at Unbridled Film basically…Because I said I wanted to have all of that snow storm, all the creak of the house, everything be kind of a part of the world. And then also using a sort of strange out-of-place sounds to throw you off, but also get you into the psychology of the characters within that world.

So, there was just a lot of detail to try to track, and luckily I had a big, smart team to help me. Especially Kim Sherman, my creative producer. She was my real partner in all of that. She was also kind of the person who was my cold weather consultant because I’m from South Texas and LA. This is all fantasy to me.

Rebecca Elliott:

Yeah, I’m in Austin. It’s 80 degrees in December right now.

Alison Star Locke:

Oh, nice. Yay, another Texan. So, I’m from San Antonio.

Rebecca Elliott:

Yeah, so you have to have someone tell you what snow is really like.

Alison Star Locke:

Yeah, they would literally be like, “Actually the wind wouldn’t really blow it this way, we’ve got to do it this way. So, okay, we’re going to move the blower over this way.” But then Jack Caswell, our dreamboat DP, he would be like, “Yeah, but it doesn’t look right with lights. We have to adjust this.” Or is it better if we just do … So, it was constant teamwork decisions.

And Linus even, he’s so game. I wouldn’t be surprised if he directs soon because he’s really detailed and smart. And he would catch things that some of us wouldn’t catch. That’s actually not how you would light a fire in this kind of weather, you would actually … He would be showing me.

Rebecca Elliott:

How fun! I love to hear stuff like that.

Alison Star Locke:

Yeah, because I just kept saying to everybody, “This is the way I like to make movies anyway. And on top of that, it’s my first film. I want us to be a team. I don’t want anybody to feel like they can’t say something if they have an idea or if they’re catching something I’m not catching.”

Rebecca Elliott:

Exactly. Let me know. It’s a team effort.

Alison Star Locke:

I’m an overly obsessed person, but come on. Catch me if I’m falling, you know?

Rebecca Elliott:

100%. Okay, I only have a minute, so this is kind of quick. Why Christmastime and why isn’t Janeane Garofalo in everything?

Alison Star Locke:

Okay, Janeane Garofalo should be in everything. If I have my wish she will be in everything that I make.

Rebecca Elliott:

She was so great. I love her.

Alison Star Locke:

Literally, I was writing something and I was like, “Hang on, I’ve got to add this Janeane part. What am I doing? I have to rewrite this whole part and put Janeane in it.” She’s fantastic. She is so supportive. She’s so smart, so smart, and genuinely understands independent film. Amazing.

And why Christmas? I’m obsessed with Christmas movies in general, especially dark ones. They’re some of the ones that have meant the most to me. Honestly, I had the sense in the dream that it was Christmas. And then I was like, “I want to honor that.” 

Rebecca Elliott:

Lean into it, yeah.

Alison Star Locke:

Yeah, exactly. I was like, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

At first, I was like trying to do all these very specific character things about “it’s been so long, she wouldn’t have that much Christmas stuff out because she couldn’t handle it.”

And again, Kim Sherman, she’s like, “Ally, you’re making a Christmas movie. Have fun, girl. Do it.”

Rebecca Elliott:

Do it up!

Alison Star Locke:

Thank you, Kim.

Rebecca Elliott:

Well, it sounds like you had a great time making it.

Alison Star Locke:

Oh yes, some of my decorations are even in the movie.

Rebecca Elliott:

No way! I love it.

Alison Star Locke:

Personal decorations, yes.

Rebecca Elliott:

That’s great! Such a fun little detail to end on. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.

Alison Star Locke:

It was nice to meet you, Rebecca. Thank you.