Such kind words about me in this interview with director
@RadicalFriend regarding my work in his
@SpaghettiJnFilm. Thank you!
Popflick: Cam McHarg plays August and Shine's dad. He's very macho and physical, yet he's the most vulnerable character in the movie. The first time we see him, he's riding the pink bike, which symbolizes femininity and girlhood. The image is both funny and incongruent. Were you trying to comment on dysfunctional masculinity?
Kirby McClure: Cam is a brilliant actor, and I hope he gets more opportunities after this movie. He went deep with me to bring this character to life. I saw the dad as being a flawed human being who is a stereotypical man. But masculinity is eating away at him because he can't be just the breadwinner. He can't be this symbol of masculinity because he has to raise two girls and cook for them. All these different things that traditionally would be considered female tasks. He must do these things, and he's also struggling with addiction, but he's doing his best. He's making lots of mistakes, but he means well. Some people wanted that character to be almost a little bit more conventional, an abusive alcoholic. But I found that there's always another side to the story. Abusive people and alcoholics they're like that for a reason, and you have to have empathy for these characters.
This guy means well. He's trying to hold it together, but society and the pressures on him are just breaking him apart. The disappearance of his daughter is a chance to prove himself. He goes on this mission to get her back. You see him just getting drunk the entire time, almost, but then, when that happens, you see him drinking coffee. Now, he's no longer on alcohol. He's on a mission. He's focused. He's going to chase his daughter. He will go wherever he has to go to get her back because he sees that as a way to redeem himself from all the bad stuff he's been doing. If he could get her back, he would have done something right.