As part of our continued look at the ins-and-outs of work, we turn to David Easteal’s debut feature The Plains, a three-hour epic framed around two men who spend hours together chatting on their commutes back home. Shot almost entirely from the backseat of a car over the course of one year, the film offers a hypnotic study of time and friendship.

The middle-aged Andrew (Andrew Rakowski) is at the helm of Easteal’s film; not only does he occupy the driver’s seat throughout the entire film, but he also supplies most of the film’s drama through a series of intimate phone calls he shares with his wife and mother. At his side, for most of the film, is David (Easteal playing a slightly fictional version of himself), who listens to Andrew discuss his marriage, family, and work.

“We were engaged in this process over 12 months. Our relationship changed and developed through that process of the making of the film. The closeness that you sense in the film I think was reflected in real life. The growth happened through the process of making the film, not just prior. Although we had a friendship pre-existing, it deepened.” DAVID EASTEAL

 

The overlap between Andrew and David’s pre-existing relationship and that which unfolds over the course of the film gives The Plains a powerful, lived-in feel. Though the film is shot in an incredibly precise manner — Easteal has said they always started shooting at 5 PM — it is these very demarcations that carve out a space for its two leads to express themselves freely. This interplay between meticulousness and spontaneity sets up some of the film’s most surprising moments, with Easteal showing a clear understanding of how to pace the development of ideas and when to let seemingly extemporaneous emotions unravel. 

David Easteal is a rising filmmaker who lives and works in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. His films have screened at festivals across the globe, including Rotterdam, FICUNAM, and Mar de Plata, in addition to several renowned institutions such as Film at Lincoln Center, BFI London, TIFF Cinematheque, and Centre Pompidou. 

Text written by Nicolas Pedrero-Setzer.