Geoffrey Fletcher smiles when Violet & Daisy is described to him as feeling like a strange mash-up of Tarantino and Wes Anderson.
"I love so many different genres," Fletcher says. "I love crime films - and unusual coming-of-age pieces. I also felt that, when you combine elements not usually associated with each other, you can see things anew."
His dark, violent comedy which he wrote and directed, casts Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel as a pair of assassins, partners in mayhem who think nothing of dressing as nuns to disguise their intentions: blasting the target they've been well-paid to blast.
"To have young women in this world, a lot of opportunity for convention- and genre-bending arises," he says. "One of the important things for me was that, if I was going to have girls with guns, I wanted them to remain girls. I thought that alone would bring a lot of opportunity for exploring new realms, genre-wise."
Fletcher cast Ronan and Bledel both because he admired their work and because they brought a visual contrast to the roles of best friends who are often dressed alike. To bring a certain weight to a piece that is often unexpectedly funny, he cast James Gandolfini as their target, the job they've agreed will be their last.
It's a change-of-pace for the forceful Gandolfini, a role that's quiet, with a certain warmth and even sweetness. It's a part that Gandolfini sought out.
"He got a hold of the script and he actively approached us," Fletcher says. "He was passionate about the part and deeply invested in it. It's so different from what anyone has seen him do, as far as I know."
This interview continues on my website.