This Monday, one of the decade's most influential independent screenwriters will be making his way to Charlottesville. As an addition to its fall season, Offscreen is offering a sneak preview of James Schamus' latest film, "Ride with the Devil," at 7 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Theater.
Schamus, who has garnered numerous awards throughout the 1990s, including Best Screenplay at Cannes in 1997 for "The Ice Storm," both wrote and produced this new Civil War drama. After the screening, Schamus will hold a question and answer session for any students who wish to discuss the film.
"This is the first time the film has been screened in the South," Schamus said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily. "I hope people are open to it and will provide positive commentary."
"Ride with the Devil," based on Daniel Woodrell's novel "Woe to Live On," chronicles the actions of a poorly organized rag-tag group of bushwhackers who terrorize Union loyalists in Confederate Missouri. One of the four primary members, Jack Bull Chiles (Skeet Ulrich) meets a young widow (Jewel) during their travels and the two begin a relationship.
Schamus said he found Woodrell's novel particularly intriguing because it differs so greatly from the majority of Civil War narratives.
"The guilty conscience that's represented in history has made it easy to scapegoat the Southerner," Schamus said.
He said "Ride with the Devil" is not an apology, but rather a representation of a struggle.
"This is one of the rare exceptions in Civil War drama where a Southerner speaks and he doesn't lack three teeth or have hair coming out of his ears," he added.
Schamus said adapting the novel was a very delicate process. "It's cruel to be kind," he said. "Sometimes to be faithful, you have to make significant changes ... but, personally, I like to remain as faithful as possible."
Schamus, who also adapted "The Ice Storm" from a novel, has proven his ability to get inside the world of a book and put the material in cinematic terms.
Schamus said his greatest concerns come from the respect he has for the authors whose work he chooses.
"Woodrell liked the film very much, which was such a relief to me," he said.
This film marks Schamus' sixth collaboration with director Ang Lee, and the pair already has a seventh project in the works.
"When we first started working with Lee, he was still trying to learn the feature film system," Schamus said. "By the time we made our third film ["Eat Drink Man Woman"], he was pretty much a master."
Another interesting aspect of the production for "Ride with the Devil" is Jewel's debut film performance. Schamus and casting director Avy Kaufman had seen Jewel's videos and said she was perfect for the role of Sue Lee Shelley.
"She has the freshness and the natural ideal of the frontier embedded in her," Schamus said.
Although "Ride with the Devil" takes place in the 1860s, it has relevance to today's University student. "It's about how people can carve out their personalities and their personal experiences in a time of great conflict," Schamus said. "The Yankee Ideal marching on the worlds of these characters is not unlike the Starbucksation of America students experience today ... just look at what's happening in Seattle."
Tickets to the free event are now available at Clemons and Alderman Libraries, as well as Plan 9 on the Corner.
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