Haligonian’s provocative film playing at Inside Out

Tara Thorne's directorial debut Compulsus had been simmering within throughout her whole life.

The film was selected for the Inside Out festival – a hybrid 2SLGBTQ+ affair running May 26 to June 5, 2022 – and was shot right here in Halifax.

“This script was a lifelong idea, thanks to the patriarchy,” says Thorne. “All these micro-aggressions that happen to women were a starting point.”

It jumps off the fact two-thirds of Canadians know a woman who has been abused physically, emotionally or sexually. Compulsus is about a woman who, frustrated by a lack of help in the justice system, takes matters into her own hands.

As Thorne's film heads to the festival – to screen in-person next week – she is in a bit of disbelief, and is happy the difficult subject can get some attention.

“Three former Haligonians are on staff or have been on-staff at Inside Out, and I feel so lucky. It feels like a hometown festival, because cast and crew know people there,” she said.

“Everyone wants TIFF or Sundance, but a queer-focused festival will help this movie be seen. It will play at the Bell Lightbox, and having gone to TIFF 15 years as a journalist, I know the venue is beautiful. This festival cares about queer film, and I'm excited for it to show.”

While there is elation at the fact her film will soon reach an audience, it was anger and frustration that brought Compulsus to the page.

A 2013 ditty called We Saw Your Boobs, performed by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane at the Oscars, began to stoke a fire in Thorne. The years after saw the arrival of the #MeToo movement and the prominent sexual assault trial of former CBC personality Jian Ghomeshi.

“I remember seeing the Oscars in 2013. The camera would pan to Oscar nominees and winners, as he (MacFarlane) sang about the nude scenes from their careers. Some were edited in, but some reactions were live. These actresses just had to sit there, laugh and be good sports,” she said.

“But with #MeToo in Hollywood, the Ghomeshi trial and Lucy DeCoutere's experiences during that trial, I realized how naive I was. Statistically, there's so much sexual assault, and so much goes unreported. I thought I had escaped it, and so had all my friends and family. Through all these events, I came to realize that wasn't true.”

Thorne began to consider the way authorities and the justice system handle assault against women, and an idea struck.

“I can't imagine what it's like to go through that, and then not report it, and live life like nothing happened. I began to think 'what if women didn't just go live normally? What if they fought back?' ” said Thorne.

Thorne says it's cliche, but turning 40 really pushed her into chasing her dream of making her first feature-length film.

“I left The Coast and I was on EI. AFCOOP had a workshop called Writing Small, and you had to develop and write a first draft of your screenplay, with the intention to apply for Telefilm's Talent To Watch program to get it made,” she said.

“I have always been motivated by deadlines and structure, especially as a journalist, and the program kept me accountable. I had a goal, and I hit it.”

An uneasy coincidence did arise in a Hollywood film's release. Carey Mulligan vehicle Promising Young Woman – about a woman who seeks vengeance after a past trauma – came on the scene.

“Right after I submitted my first draft, buzz started about that movie. It was delayed due to the pandemic, and I found myself wondering if the movie was the same as mine, but with movie stars,” she said. “Thankfully, that didn't end up being the case.”

Thorne filled her cast with actors from the area, many of whom she knew of, even if she didn't know them personally.

“I've known Kat McCormack for a dozen years. But Leslie Smith, Koumbie, Katie Dorian, and Jimmy MacLean, I knew their work,” she said. “I had the privilege of working in arts journalism for 20 years, and I'd watched their films or seen them on stages.”

There was only one performer Thorne wasn't acquainted with, but Hilary Adams decidedly earned her role early on.

“Hilary was the only stranger, but her audition was just astonishing. Casting is so weird, where you see someone come in and you know them. (Producer) Nicole Steeves and I did the casting, and we agreed on these incredible people,” she said.

Thorne gives credence to the cast and crew who made a difficult, ambitious film go smoothly during shooting and post-production.

“It was an amazing set. It was kind, professional and fun. I was a first-timer, and knew very little about what I was doing. The crew was largely women, and many said the vibes were different from other sets,” she said.

“We were collaborative, and I feel like the hierarchy that used to exist on film sets is disappearing. So many on this film had more experience than I did, and I didn't lord over anyone. They were all so talented, it would have been a fool's errand.”

James MacLean took on the unenviable role of playing “Bad Men”, as he's credited, and appears in shape and voice only, his face largely indistinguishable.

“Jimmy did an amazing job, and I gave him so little to go on. The parts of the men were under-written purposely, to stand in for the typical victim part, treated as if it doesn't matter. He managed to make all these men different in many ways,” she said.

On the other hand, Lesley Smith – who plays protagonist Wally – was given a meaningful, resonant role, and some realistic attack scenes shared by Smith and MacLean were under police supervision.

“The city of Halifax decided at the last minute that we needed police for nights we did stunts. For public safety, they needed to be there. If people saw Leslie attacking Jimmy, we didn't want people to think it was real,” said Thorne.

“When police were shutting down streets for the movie, that made me feel like a professional film director. No one bothered us on overnights.”

But during filming a scene with leads, who played a lesbian couple, Thorne called the cast and crew “sitting ducks.”

“Most people walking by just asked to be in the movie. But we had encounters with men who didn't want to leave, who wanted to watch women kiss, or be in the way, and it really underlined why I was making this movie,” she said.

Thorne felt this was important to talk about and put to screen, but doesn't hold illusions it will suddenly change the culture around violence against women.

“The fact is, people who need to see this film aren't going to see it. I've accepted that .. Our main character Wally, at one point, says she can't do things on a global scale, but can do things one guy at a time. But we can't do what Wally does in real life,” she said.

“However, I can express my frustration. I can make a film that puts this fantasy on the screen, and discuss the systems that won't take care of women. Does this fix the justice system? No. But Wally doesn't feel hopeless, and it does give her a sense of empowerment.”

Director Tara Thorne's Compulsus will be at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for the Inside Out Film Festival on June 3. Watch for screenings in Halifax soon. To learn more about the film, visit insideout.ca/toronto-films/compulsus/.