Cristian Solimeno is an actor by trade – most will recognize him as the detective from Dario Argento’s MOTHER OF TEARS – but he has also branched into filmmaking. With a few shorts under his belt, he will make his feature debut with THE GLASS MAN. STYD the inside scoop on the picture. The plot is as follows:
Martin loses his job thanks to the banking collapse. Instead of telling his wife he continues his 9-5 routine and gets into enormous monetary difficulties. Then late one night there’s a banging on the door. It’s debt collector Pecco who tells Martin he’s bought his arrears from the loan shark and wants to start clearing out his house. After much anguished persuasion Pecco tells Martin there’s only one way to stop the repossession; he still has an important job to do that night and if Martin does it with him, he’ll wipe the slate clean. Naturally Martin wants to know what the job is, but Pecco won’t tell him – he has to yes right away or the deal is off. So Martin reluctantly agrees…
Solimeno elaborated on the origins of the story: “I got the idea for the script after reading some of the newspaper stories about the abject depths desperate unemployed people went to after being fired. What would someone have to go through mentally to get to such an awful place where bloody murder – and far worse – is the only option? I wanted to find a way of manifesting that kind of stark horror in a psychological thriller context.”
The cast includes Andy Nyman (SEVERANCE), James Cosmo (BRAVEHEART), and Neve Campbell (SCREAM). Campbell came on board because wanted to work with Nyman and was cast as his wife. Solimeno stated, “Perhaps Neve categorizes it as a genre movie more than I’d like because the story is just so unique and the aesthetic I want to give it is on the artier side. But the violence does creep in, and that’s the best aspect about a genre crowd: they are more prepared to go with such experimental and challenging material than most audiences.”
Solimeno gives the following description of the film: “An exploration of the fears regular people have in the real world, the dark places they have to go in times of extreme stress, forced to cross a line they never dreamt they’d get even close to.”
Sounds pretty intriguing, and with the solid cast behind it, this one could be a winner. Currently in post-production, the UK thriller is produced by Paul Fournel and comes from Tigermoth Motion Pictures. A trailer is expected soon.