Reel life: Catlow marks anniversary with local films

Film critics notebook:

• Barrington's historic Catlow Theater celebrates its 89th anniversary this weekend by hosting free showings of three movies made by local filmmakers beginning at noon on Saturday, May 28, at the Catlow, 116 W. Main St., Barrington.

Barrington resident Jake Laystrom directs "Holiday." Audrey Wilson of Arlington Heights directs "What Happened to Us." Then Prospect Heights filmmaker Tim Troemner directs a six-minute short titled "Whoa, I'm Dating a... Monogamous Human." Troemner also curated the Catlow's Local Short Films Fest last January.

"We decided to show these movies for free to help celebrate our anniversary and to get a larger crowd interested in seeing these local talents' work," Catlow owner Tim O'Connor said this week. "We're very big on helping local filmmakers getting their work seen. There aren't many outlets for them to show their work on the big screen." Go to thecatlow.com for details.

• Red, one of "The Angry Birds," will make appearances at several Classic Cinemas theaters through Monday, May 30, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Red will visit the York in Elmhurst, the Elk Grove, the Fox Lake, the Cinema 12 in Carpentersville and the Charlestowne 18 in St. Charles. Go to classiccinemas.com.

• The Blue Whiskey Cinema Series will close its 2016 season by showing the award-winning indie production "Terrible Love" at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 1, at the Star Cinema Grill, 53 S. Evergreen St., Arlington Heights. Christopher Thomas' drama concerns a veteran (Rufus Burns) who returns home from the Iraq War and must continue to fight against post-traumatic stress disorder. Go to bwiff.com.

Director shares 'Plan'

Sculptor-painter-writer-director Rebecca Miller hit Chicago recently to speak about her comedy "Maggie's Plan" with Greta Gerwig and Ethan Hawke. We spoke by phone.

Q. Is it easier to create an unethical character, like a villain, or a totally ethical one, like Gerwig's?

A. Being an ethical character like Maggie creates its own set of problems because her ethics are so idiosyncratic. She's doing the right thing as she sees it, and living the right life as she sees it. That's so rare. We live in a society with a set of rules that aren't necessarily ethical or honest. But those are the rules. When somebody starts playing with a different set of rules, that can create havoc.

Q. So Maggie's ethical choices drive the plot and create havoc?

A. As a writer, I'm always looking for what I call the law of causality, looking for what causes what. One of my favorite things about characters is that they have contradictory elements. Maggie always wants to do the right thing, but she fails to imagine the fallout of what she's going to do.

Q. How has your background as a sculptor and painter helped your work as a filmmaker?

A. I think about composition and color. I think about emotionally what that does. Every frame needs to be communicating visually. You can't just shoot what's happening. It's how are you shooting it? Because that will often communicate the dramatic tone or the comic tone. My training as visual artist comes in pretty handy.

Q. I understand you took a lot of time to prepare for "Maggie's Plan."

A. They say that if you don't have money, it's always good to have time. Truth is, I love preparation. The preparation we have is the time we use to think about things, to consider every aspect of the film, like "What colors are we using?" or "Is the dialogue right for this situation?"

The more prepared you are, the more free you are to change things on the set if you want to, and also, the most secure you are. If you're not prepared, the most insecure and reactive you are. That's a really bad combination.