FNC: Crown and Anchor is a gritty Canadian crime drama with a killer hardcore soundtrack

Playing in a band together can often inspire lifelong bonds amongst its members, the sort of deep connection that rarely exists outside of families. So it makes sense that after their band Bucket Truck called it a day, members Matt Wells and Michael Rowe would come together again, even if the project took years to realize. That collaboration eventually took form in Crown and Anchor, a gritty crime drama the pair conceived of and star in, set and filmed in the pair’s hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

The film revolves around two estranged cousins — James Downey (Michael Rowe) is a cop fuelled with rage, who has left the city to work in Toronto, while Danny Power (Matt Wells) remains in St. John’s, struggling with drugs and engaging in petty crime in order to support his family. While both cousins have their own childhood traumas to contend with, they have taken very separate paths — James lives a committed straight edge lifestyle, abstaining from drugs and alcohol, while Danny is in the throes of drug and alcohol addiction. To make matters more complicated, James also used to date Danny’s wife (Natalie Brown) before they were together. No longer on speaking terms, the pair reunite in St. John’s following the death of James’ mother, where they spark off a dramatic chain of events that sees their very different lives come crashing together in a brutal and heartbreaking way.

The directing debut of Andrew Rowe (brother of star Michael Rowe), Crown and Anchor is the sort of simmering crime drama that was so prevalent in the 70’s, when films were allowed to leisurely follow characters without an endless series of jump-cuts. Rowe lets us live in the skin of James and Danny and their very different lifestyles, which makes the sporadic violence that erupts all the more unsettling. The performances all ring true, and Rowe showcases St. John’s in a way we’ve never seen on film before, with its back alleys and darkened streets replacing the idyllic picturesque views we usually associate with the city. In another unique twist, the film is filled with a great soundtrack of classic punk and hardcore from the likes of Gorilla Biscuits, Project X and Youth of Today (the soundtrack is set to be released on Revelation Records).

We caught up with Matt Wells and Andrew Rowe to discuss how the film came together, the unique soundtrack, and how the DIY approach helped them get the film done. Crown and Anchor screens at Montreal’s FNC festival on Friday, October 5th at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin at 9:30 pm, and Saturday, October 6th at Cinema du Parc at 7:00 PM. For tickets and the complete schedule, visit the official FNC site. For all upcoming Crown and Anchor screenings visit the film’s official site.

Bad Feeling: What inspired you and Michael to get this script together?

Matt Wells: Michael and I thought we’d be in our band [Bucket Truck] forever. We loved every second of it. When it ended we remained close and kept talking about starting a new project, we even wrote and recorded some new tunes. Life eventually took over and I got busy as a music/film interviewer on Much/MTV in Toronto and Michael started making short YouTube comedy sketches with his brother Andrew in Vancouver (which were amazing). Then he began to study acting, they made a couple of really great short films together, and Michael wound up scoring the role of Deadshot on Arrow.

By that time I had also started to pursue acting and we realized that we had found a way to “get the band back together” so to speak. It started with a short film that Andrew wrote for us called The Business of Acting and that sort of unlocked something and made us realize we could still pursue something creative together but just in a different lane than music. We also had spent enough time auditioning to realize that of all the scripts we were reading, Andrew’s material was still some of the strongest we had seen. I had started writing a script as a vehicle for Michael and I to act in together, we started collaborating on it and eventually he suggested I bring it to Andrew for notes which turned into Andrew rewriting it.

His rewrite was much more focused on the characters and a much more interesting way to tell the story of the cycles of addiction and violence I had wanted to explore. He knows us both so well that he was able to write the characters of Danny and James specifically for us which is a rare opportunity in this business. This entire project was always inspired by a desire for Michael and I to work on something together again but in the same spirit we had existed in the band; DIY and with friends and family. That’s exactly what we did by bringing in Michael’s brother Andrew, and our good friend and super producer Vince Buda.

Was it difficult delving into some of your family’s personal history for the story?

Matt Wells: My family’s personal history is not unlike most. Alcoholism, addiction, abuse, and violence casts a shadow over many in some shape or form. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t at least know someone who has been affected by that darkness. I was always fascinated by how my mother managed to break the cycle of addiction and violence she had lived through with her father, while some of her siblings could not. She saved me and my sister from that. She stopped the cycle before it could hurt us. If there is a hero in my life it’s her. The themes of Crown and Anchor were inspired by all of these things. It wasn’t difficult to dive into it on paper, in fact, I found it to be a way for me to better understand my Grandfather and I think find more empathy for someone like him. When he drank he was a bastard…but he drank for a reason. People abuse drugs and alcohol for a reason. Others deal with their issues more internally and perhaps suffer in silence. These are important themes in this film and I believe why it’s connecting with audiences so well. Andrew did an unbelievable job of staying true to the ideas that inspired me to start writing the story.

Why was it important to go back and film this in St. John’s? It definitely shows the city in a new light.

Matt Wells: Everything Michael and I have been able to accomplish in our careers started with the band, which started on the streets of downtown St. John’s. We found inspiration there. We found support there. The local film community has grown to world-class heights over the years and we wanted to share in that energy and bring some support back to the streets that supported us from the beginning. We, along with Andrew, also wanted to make a film that looked completely different than anything we had seen filmed there before. Newfoundland is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but we wanted to focus on the dark corners and back alleys that we grew up in, not only because it is true to the story and the characters, but because we wanted to show another side of the possibilities of filmmaking there.

How did the punk and hardcore soundtrack come about?

Andrew Rowe:  Before I started writing the script, I was trying to figure out exactly who the two main characters were. I loved the idea of them being opposites and two halves of the same person simultaneously. I knew I was dealing with a story about generational abuse within a family, and that James’ father was an alcoholic. One day it hit me that James would have been straight edge as a teen and that lifestyle would have continued on even if he wasn’t still in the hardcore scene. It would be one of many ways he attempted to be the opposite of his father. This one idea unlocked so much about the characters. I suddenly knew everything about them and their relationship, the whole movie flashed in front of me.

Punk music became a way to join the two cousins but also make them opposite. The songs would reflect them as characters: James’ music would be aggressive, alienating, straight edge, judgmental, and Danny’s music would be more fun, more loose, less aggressive, easier to relate to for the audience. The song choices had to reflect the characters. So, for James I chose songs like “Straight Edge Revenge” by Project X and “Living a Lie” by Side By Side, amongst others. With Danny I wanted calmer, more relatable punk music, stuff like “Start Today” by Gorilla Biscuits and “Germ Free Adolescents” by X-Ray Spex, etc. Specific songs were written into the script with an eye towards being able to secure the rights.

I used to be straight edge and played in a hardcore band, and I always wanted to see that scene show up organically in a movie. I was so happy I was able to do just that.

Is this the first narrative film to feature a straight edge character in a leading role? Was that aspect of Michael’s character an important element to include?

As Andrew [mentioned], the side of Michael’s character being straight edge was very important to the backstory and for Michael to understand how to approach the role, but it’s not a plot point. We never say straight edge and only people who really understand that world will catch it through subtle references or through the music. That’s what’s really cool about it. It’s just something that further colours the character of a man who is dealing with the demons of childhood trauma as opposed to it being a narrative film that features “a straight edge character in a leading role.”

Have any of the included band members seen the film? If they did, what was their reaction? 

Michael and I were (and are) massive Quicksand fans. That band was a big influence on our own band. When we were making our last album we connected with Walter Schreifels who visited St. John’s and contributed to some of our songs. That was a HUGE deal for us and it has turned into a friendship. Walter of course is not only behind the band Quicksand, but is a NYHC legend through his work with Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, and Project X, etc. He was instrumental in helping us secure some of his songs, which in turn helped us secure other bands. He’s been a big part of our creative lives in many ways, and we were nervous for him to see the film, but he totally connected with it and appreciated how Andrew used the music. We are stoked to premiere in NY on October 24th where we hope a lot of those hardcore dudes will get a chance to see it.

Did recording and touring in your own band influence the characters or the plot of the film?

Our band, much like our film, was a collection of genres. We weren’t quite punk, not hardcore, not metal, but a mix of all those things. That life didn’t influence the plot or the characters, but it did give us the tools to make an independent film. We were insipid by the DIY spirit of punk and hardcore as much as we were inspired by the music itself. The idea of community. The idea of “us against the world”. The experience of putting up our own posters, touring just so we could keep doing it, sending our own media blasts and albums to campus radio stations – the way Minor Threat or Black Flag built their collective scenes – That’s what influenced the making of this film. The tools we took from DIY punk and hardcore are the tools we used to make Crown and Anchor.

There are a lot of strong emotions and explosive moments in the film; what was the most challenging part of performing such intense scenes?

The scene between James and Danny in the kitchen was intense. Michael and I have been best friends for a long time and we often joke at how we’ve only really had one argument in all our years in the band. The day we filmed this scene however was very odd because there was an unspoken tension between us which was difficult because we are also producers and would have to talk about things…..but he wouldn’t talk to me. That pissed me off and the tension grew. By the time we hit the set it added to the explosive nature of that scene which was only made more intense by Natalie Brown because she is such an incredible actress. There was something pretty powerful happening that day not to mention that Andrew kept taking each of us aside suggesting we mess with each other to make it even more intense. It worked. We were all so fucking relieved when it was over!

What do you hope audiences take from Crown and Anchor? Either from the film itself or the DIY spirit behind it?

We just hope people walk away with more questions than answers. Those are the types of movies we love; movies that make you feel something and make you think.

Crown and Anchor screens at Montreal’s FNC festival on Friday, October 5th at Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin at 9:30 pm, and Saturday, October 6th at Cinema du Parc at 7:00 PM. For tickets and the complete schedule, visit the official FNC site. For all upcoming Crown and Anchor screenings visit the film’s official site.