Features

On Location: X marks the spot

On Location: XIn the streets of Kings Cross, Encore found that Jon Hewitt is not afraid of a little frontal nudity and graphic violence, especially not when making his erotic thriller X.

It took a while for Jon Hewitt (Acolytes, Darklovestory) and his wife and co-writer Belinda McClory to make the film X. Almost 10 years in fact, although Hewitt says the germ of the idea was born even earlier. “I wrote a script for a 30-minute short film in the late 80s, early 90s. It was about a couple of prostitutes having an encounter with a serial killer, and it was pretty raunchy. As soon as Film Victoria read the script, they said ‘No fucking way on Earth are we going to finance this’.


It’s no surprise to Hewitt that the subject material of the film would make people uncomfortable. The story revolves around Holly, a jaded prostitute (Viva Bianca) and a fledgling newcomer (Hanna Mangan Lawrence) in Sydney’s Kings Cross red-light circuit. The film pulls no punches in its depiction of the graphic sex and violence that surrounds the characters. But Hewitt insists the story was developed to remain authentic to the lives of the seedy underbelly of Sydney he sees around him daily from living in the area, “We used to step over junkies with needles in their arms to get in the front door. And we see prostitutes all the time on the street, and young girls gradually deteriorate until they’re just no longer around. You think ‘what the fuck’s happened to them, they’re probably dead or…’ That world has influenced everything that Belinda and I have written.”
While the story languished over the years, a chance meeting with producer Lizette Atkins at Cannes last year meant the film was once again on the drawing board. Atkins said the film’s progress moved along at a cracking pace once she’d agreed to the film. “It all happened quite quickly, we went in for the Screen Australia low budget feature fund and we were the successful recipients. We managed to raise the rest of the money and less than a year later, we’ve shot the film.”
The vitality of the pre-production was matched by the shoot; the team had 20 days to make the film, with around 35 locations and 20 actors on a relatively low budget of $1.2 million financed through Screen Australia, Film Victoria, distributor PackScreen and private investors. But Hewitt said he’s embraced the challenges of the production wholeheartedly. “Shooting the film in 20 days – using the Red One camera with the Mysterium-X sensor – has given the film an energy that we may not have got any other way” he said.
The intensity will also translate onto screen in quite visually explicit ways. “We’ve made a film about women who fuck for money and that’s what we’re going to see. You know people aren’t going to get out of bed with their clothes on. We’re not going to get them into bed and then cut away. We’re going to see it. Cinema is seeing stuff. Otherwise you just write a book or a poem or something” Hewitt said. But the film won’t be pure titillation said Atkins. She notes the film’s subject matter lends itself well to the thriller genre and a well-written script and outstanding performances means it’s more arthouse than adults-only, “it’s definitely character-driven and it’s really got a feeling of that slightly European arthouse mixed up with a thriller of erotic overtones.” The fact that the story is carried by two women – rather than the more traditional male perspective – will also help differentiate the film in a sea of erotic thrillers.

CAPTURING THE ENERGY
When Encore visited the set of X the night of May 5, the office of Hewitt’s real life solicitor at 57 Darlinghurst Road looked radically different from every
other night – serving as the seedy office of Holly’s boss, Katherine (played by Belinda McClory herself).
After years of ‘service’, Holly is retiring and the women are having one final conversation.
-“I never thanked you for giving me a chance,” said Holly.
-“You made money. That’s thanks enough,” replied a dry, almost indifferent Katherine.
-“Why did you pick me?”
-“We needed a blonde. And you looked tough, a survivor.”
The madam then hands a photo to her departing employee. It’s a memento of the early days: her very first mug shot. The women laugh and make a toast, to the end, and to the beginning…
The look of the film “a gritty, real feel” according to Atkins was benefitted by shooting entirely on location around Sydney, and especially in Kings Cross. According to Hewitt, access to the nightlife and the sordid establishments was vital to carrying the film. “We’ve got out on the streets at midnight with 5,000 drunken nutcases and shot in amongst them. We can’t create that film, we have to embrace it. Living here and knowing what the world is like has made it a bit easier for me to understand when and where to shoot, we’ve tried to capture the Cross or this red-light energy as much as anything else in the film.”
Essential to this was location manager Chris Wheeler, who’d worked with establishments around the area for shows like Underbelly. “He was able to say ‘Listen, it’s been a happy relationship, I’ve brought you some really big shit, now’s the time to bring a bit of altruism to the table and not want a huge amount of dough for this low-budget Aussie film,” explains Hewitt. The decade-long relationship has paid off for this film, enthuses Hewitt. “It’s a testament to how good he is that we were able to get those locations so cheaply, because it’s not a community of people who want to be in films particularly.”
Despite the low-budget, both Atkins and Hewitt have grand plans for the film. For Atkins, the film’s completion in October means the hunt for an international sales agent, the commencement of festival screenings and an anticipated release next year. Hewitt hopes the talented cast and crew will be rewarded on the award circuit.
“Everyone in this film has worked for the award, no matter who they are, from the stars down to the lowest person” he said.
Hewitt’s method of filmmaking has found critical acclaim in the past and the way he’s approached X has been no different; “I found making a film is me and the crew going on a journey of discovery with the actors. And something happens in that moment between ‘action’ and ‘cut’ that creates something. It’s like capturing lightning
in a bottle or something” he said. With his previous successes behind him, and the release of the sixth feature film imminent, he can only hope the bottle can contain that this effervescent energy.

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