John Cameron Mitchell’s fascination with punk
The director's "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" is steeped in a punk motif
“Everyone’s an alien when you’re in love,” says John Cameron Mitchell. The actor, writer, and director, renowned for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, is discussing How to Talk to Girls at Parties, his new film based on a short story by sci-fi writer Neil Gaiman. Set in the London suburb of Croydon in 1977, the enjoyably off-kilter movie follows the budding romance of Enn (Alex Sharp), a young punk with a puppy’s vulnerability, and Zan (Elle Fanning), an alien visiting earth for alarming ritualistic purpose.
“The Romeo and Juliet story of two people who are not supposed to be together and breaking down barriers is what I grew up with,” says Mitchell. “I was a queer kid and fighting for my own identify in the middle of AIDS. Every connection was charged. Every one night stand had weird poetry in it, of life and death. These boys and girls caught at the nadir of their culture in the late ’70s — that was supposed to be the end of the world for Brits.
“One of the reactions was punk,” he continues. “Which is make your own culture, do it yourself, pick up your own guitar. Question authority. Smash the omens and say, ‘Our days are not numbered.’ The aliens, of course,…have a very set system of attrition.”
Mitchell recreates the punk aesthetic onscreen with a faithfulness that approaches obsessive. “I love how queer punk was,” says the 55-year-old. “At the beginning, it was about creativity — not so much about the laws of punk and what is punk and what isn’t. I have Elle Fanning’s character continuously asking, ‘What is punk?’ and no one can quite state it. It’s a slippery term which, of course, makes it, I think, more resilient.”
Mitchell feels genuine creativity in today’s society has been sidelined by dreams of instant success. “One of the best ways to create something is just to do the best version of whatever is in front of you and not worry too much about what’s gonna happen after. Nowadays, kids feel that they need to be looking forward to their IPO for their YouTube channel. But I think it takes away some of the fun by thinking about how many eyes are on it, how many bums are gonna get in the seats. It takes the joy out of creating. So, whether it’s a cabaret gig or an album or your workshop theater production or your short film, just make that for what it is, and the rest will come. If you make it good, more people will want to see it.”
How to Talk to Girls at Parties opens Friday, June 1, at area theaters.
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