*This interview has been edited for clarity.
“You’re Not There,” an indie drama from Writer Justy Kosek and Director S.J. Creazzo is a naked look at trauma. It’s an introspective film, and a slow-build romance that wants to look deeper at its characters. Its leads, Nick Mauldin and Nellie Spackman, play well off of one another, giving viewers something to ponder. And above all, it’s not an easy film. It works its way into your mind by making you think of trauma and relationships in a real sense, not a Hollywood one.
We reviewed the film prior to its December 17th release. Now “You’re Not There” is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, and most VOD services. At The Movie Buff, we recently had the chance to sit down and talk with the film’s cast in crew, notably Creazzo, Kosek, and both leads. The conversation led to takeaways and things to ponder, much like the film itself.
‘You’re Not There’ is Heavy-handed but Hopeful
While Creazzo is no stranger to The Movie Buff or the directorial world (he directed the 2022 indie drama “Skipping Stones,” which we reviewed), he had some powerful things to say about “You’re Not There.” “Skipping Stones” will always be dear to my heart,” Creazzo stated. “But creatively, as a director, I think “You’re Not There” is my best work.
That’s no small praise, and its clear to see that Creazzo still thinks fondly of “Skipping Stones,” which won three awards on the festival circuit, among them an Award of Excellence for ‘Best Film’ at the Accolade Competition.
However, “You’re Not There”—while still dealing with heavy-handed themes of loss and trauma (like “Skipping Stones”)—is somewhat more hopeful. And in that, it may have been up to the amount of care and hope that Kosek put into his characters and Creazzo put into their direction.
For instance, Nellie Spackman highlights the bravery and fortitude her character, Maggie, has amidst her traumatic past. “I think [Maggie] wakes up like every day, fighting,” Spackman said. “And she says, ‘I’m just going to push myself out of my comfort zone.” Spackman added that Maggie has gumption. “Even though she has experienced these horrible things in her life, she is so determined,” she finished. This all leads to Maggie’s need or desire to live a ‘normal life,’ which Spackman underlined.
Of Earnest Connections
This need for normality plays a key part in the film. Until—Spackman elaborates—she accepts some things may not be able to be overcome, even though she wants them to, “and that’s okay.”
All of this is notable, especially in the ways Maggie attempts to break through her walls and have an earnest relationship with Baxter, played lovably by Nick Mauldin, throughout. Part of the reason for this earnestness is the multi-layered character of ‘Bax,’ who struggles with his own anxieties and insecurity. In fact, the reason the movie works the way it does is due to the way Bax suffers from his own trauma, whereby someone he cared about was hurt by his actions, even if it wasn’t really his fault.
“It’s this idea of learning to trust himself with somebody else’s feelings,” Mauldin stated, “which is something he hasn’t done in a long time.” Mauldin added additional introspection into his character, stating that while [Bax] knows what’s going on in his life, he has no ideas what is going on in Maggie’s life, and isn’t sure he wants to peek behind that curtain.
Nick and Writer Justy Kosek also elaborated on how Nick’s relationship with an on-screen friend (played excellently by Bryce Michael Wood) came to be. In the film, Bax and Winston (Michael Wood) have a close relationship, but you get the impression it is Bax who goes to Winston for advice, and not the other way around. “Winston was a character in the original short story the film is based on,” Kosek said. During re-writes, however, Kosek stated they had cut Winston’s character due to time constraints. Fortunately, though, interest from the film community ultimately led “You’re Not There” to become a feature film, Kosek said, allowing him to bring Winston to life.
Talking Away Messages from a Real Film
Kosek stated he knew immediately he wanted to cast Bryce in the role (who had just come off of “Hamlet” on stage). “I wanted to subvert the typical toxic elements of the bromance,” Kosek stated. “I wanted to [Winston] to be that guy Bax calls, who is the most emotionally intelligent person in the room.”
Being a trauma-focused drama, I wanted to know what themes and takeaways Kosek and company hoped viewers would take away from the film, which they were happy to answer. “The things I write, I write for people to feel more connected and less alone,” Kosek said. This is especially true, according to Kosek, in a world where financial pushes often slant movies toward commercial stories instead of ones that accomplish this aim.
“It’s about understanding what someone else is going through, and giving them that space to experience and process what has happened to them.” nick mauldin
“Hopefully people take away that first step,” Director Creazzo stated. Elaborating on some plot elements—especially in Maggie confronting and trying to forgive her past self—Creazzo didn’t want to “whitewash” trauma, but show it in a way its characters have to live with. “Also, forgiveness of oneself first… and accepting responsibility,” Creazzo added. Spackman added to this, saying that healing is not linear, and that she hopes people feel understood. She also added that films often tend to focus on trauma victims forgiving themselves. “It’s like it’s all good, it’s not my fault, and I forgive myself… and I think a lot of people don’t feel that way.”
Nick Mauldin, however, hit the nail on the head of what is important in a film like this, and that’s empathy. “It’s about understanding what someone else is going through, and giving them that space to experience and process what has happened to them,” he said. Mauldin also spoke on his character’s trauma, and how [Bax] probably wishes he could reach out to this person he’s hurt before, but unsure if he ever will get to that point.
On-Set Respect Makes a Better Film
Creazzo tied back to his earlier work, “we come into these people’s lives at a point, and we leave at a point. Nothing is completely resolved; [but]there are the beginnings of healing.” He also added the “complications” of dramas. Nothing is resolved and all good in two hours, nor should it be.
Talking to the actual creation of the film, Kosek talked about the usual film hangups you can have, such as getting the right shot, fitting into time constraints, etc. However, he had glowing things to say about Director/Producer S.J. Creazzo and cast. He called Creazzo and cast his secret weapon, stating the director was like putting a cheat code in a video game. He added the cast were incredibly talented, looking back on his own time in acting. “I”ve worked with a lot of actors who would not have been capable of getting the kind of emotional complexity I got from this whole cast—especially Nick and Nellie—in 2-3 shots.”
Kosek finished that there was an immense policy of ‘respect’ on-set—as well as professionalism in rehearsals and work ethic—that mitigated many filmmaker’s issues that can potentially arise.
Watch ‘You’re Not There’ on VOD and Physical Media
Cutting to the chase, Creazzo himself added that his secret weapon was Director of Photography Rich Cook. “I will simply not direct another film if he is not my DP. The film is beautiful looking because of Rick and his entire team,” Creazzo stated.
Additionally, both Nellie and Nick stated that of the number of film sets they’ve been on, “You’re Not There” was the most seamless—and one with the least amount of stress—they’ve experienced.
Wrapping the whole thing up, Justy Kosek stated the goal of all his films was connection. “If the works that I do have any kind of point or like thing for the audience to walk away with, it’s really ‘text someone you miss.’”
Text someone you miss” justy kosek
As stated in the start of this interview, “You’re Not There” is available to rent or buy on most VOD services. Additionally, Creazzo added that it is for sale on DVD/BluRay on Amazon, and will be available in Wal-Mart in the future. Of note, “You’re Not There” celebrates a win for ‘Best Picture’ along with ‘Best Actor’ for Nellie Spackman at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival.
For those who want to check out more of Director Creazzo’s work, feel free to look up the aforementioned “Skipping Stones” or “Dark Night of the Soul”—released on VOD on November 14th—starring “Cobra Kai’s” Martin Kove and Kristanna Loken.
