Oscar-Nominated Editor Saar Klein Talks Directorial Debut of AFTER THE FALL

Academy Award-nominated editor Saar Klein discusses his jump to directing for the crime drama After the Fall, which takes on the issue of unemployment and how the repercussions of that affect the other aspects of one man’s life.

“We started writing this before the financial downfall – a couple of years before – and it takes so long to make an independent film, or any kind of film – that by the time we finished it,” Saar said. “The idea wasn’t necessarily to do anything about the economic downturn, but more about a human story that could happen at any time in our history, in any society.”

He said the film explores the difficult decisions a man has to make to survive in today’s world, but from a different perspective than the usual. “I was actually concerned when I wrote a story about a married couple with children and a man who falls into a life of crime that I don’t really know anything about.”

Saar said one thing he learned while researching the film was that most people he talked to said it was not at all uncommon for couple to have separate duties in the household that the other really didn’t know anything about.

“His whole approach to work is different. It’s sort of the concept that if you work hard and you play by the rules, you’ll be taken care of, you’ll have the house, and the pool and the family,” he said. “And these days are long gone.”

When asked about the gradual moral decline and sense of decency by the main character in the film – played by Wes Bentley – he said he does evolve into a different person. “I think he does lose it, and then on top of that I think that there is a wildness inside of all of us, there’s a capacity for violence or lying or cheating.”

He describes his lead character as a man who in the beginning lives by a moral code that believes a person should treat others as they want to be treated, but he is forced to change into another type of person that actually becomes advantageous.

“He’s forced out of that code, and he thinks he’s going to struggle with that, but actually it empowers him with his wife, with his children, with people around him. And that’s the sort of dilemma that if you are aggressive in this society, you do succeed usually.”

Saar also addresses his work as an editor and what he learned working with great film directors including Terrence Malick.

“Before The Thin Red Line he had a huge influence on me. He’s got an incredible eye for visuals, I mean Terry just looks at a shot and there are certain rules that he knows, and he’s a great director of photography in his own right – he could shoot his own films.”

He said the crucial thing he learned from Malick and other talented directors is the strength of a shot, and how it relates to all other elements of the movie. “I’ve always been a visual person, it’s always been interesting to me. As an editor, I’m attracted to projects where there is a visual element.”

He also said he learned from Malick not to overdue the planning of shots, but to remain “loose” so the action can unfold before you. “To create situations where magic can happen, where accidents can happen, and you can kind of capture them.”

Watch the full interview for more on After the Fall – which premieres in Los Angeles December 20 and will also hit iTunes and VOD – and to hear more from Saar about his editing process.