Review Fix Exclusive Tribeca Film Festival Coverage: Inside ‘Peggy’

Review Fix chats with “Peggy” director Justin O’Neal Miller, who lets us know what makes the Tribeca Film Festival short a special one.

Review Fix: How did you feel the first time you read the completed script of this film?

Justin O’Neal Miller: I wrote the first pass of the script in a flurry, after bouncing some ideas around in my mind for a while. The first draft often comes out feeling clunky, but I remember finding the voice in that early draft. When writing the first draft, I always want it to feel right. I suppose that I am directing in my head, to an extent, but I try as best I can to separate the two processes. Revisiting it later, I started to visualize it a bit more, and make decisions about framing, motif, and style.

Review Fix: Was it difficult to direct this film?

Miller: I’d say it was a difficult process, made much simpler and easier by an amazing team of talented, genuinely lovely people. There were a lot of challenges (kids, animals, large cast, VFX), but we did our best to think hard about the big problems and get out ahead of them. Such a huge part of directing is getting the right pieces in place, and the right players in the game. Appointing competent, honest department heads and actors is critical to creating an environment where ideas can flourish. I’ve seen amazing ideas wrecked by infighting and lateral energy. It’s hard to get down the field if you aren’t playing as a team.

Review Fix: What was the feeling like on set?

Miller: Everyone knew that we had a lot to accomplish, so there was a real focus, but there was also a lot of camaraderie on set. Sometimes the intensity of film making feels a lot like being on a sports team, or a really low-risk version of the military. You are kind of in the trenches together, and as long as the vision is in place, everyone is doing whatever they can to execute it. There were some stressful moments, but overall, I think that everyone had a really good time.

Review Fix: What stands out the most about your cast?

Miller: Whew. It’s hard to pick something specific, because I can’t imagine a cast any better than this one. I think the most striking thing about the entire cast is how well they fit together. Each performer was a joy to work with, not only on set, but in post. The hardest part of the edit was figuring out when to cut away.

Review Fix: What makes this film special?

Miller: Apart from the actual narrative and comedy in the project, here are a few cinematic mechanisms in this short that you don’t get to see often. We employ “Reverse Charlie Brown”, a term we used to describe the way that we avoid seeing kids’ faces. The camera is always up with the parents, only showing the back and tops of kid’s heads, in order to focus on the parents. We also use internal monologue from multiple characters, in order to reveal things about the social dynamics at the party. 

Review Fix: Who will enjoy it the most?

Miller: I’ve had people of every age, race, and creed come up and tell me how much they enjoy it. But I think that women, and middle-aged women in particular, find a kind of catharsis through the film that is not as easily accessed by young and/or male audiences. There are so many pressures on women today, and I think they are partially relieved with this short film. My favorite complement might be from women who can’t believe that the film was not written by a woman. That said, my wife Mindy, and sister Stephanie, had a LOT of influence on the script, and it would not have spoken to women the way it does without their help and input. 

Review Fix: Why is the subject matter of this film important?

Miller: Fitting for its titular character, “Peggy” tends to bury the heavy stuff under a layer of entertainment, and while this film is about adults at a kid’s birthday party on the surface, it is ultimately about a culture of coveting that is fueled by our social-media saturated, image-driven culture. A portion of that comes from knowing we are part Peggy, and part party-goer. That we push ourselves to be perfect in an imperfect world, and that we often push ourselves too far. We compare ourselves to these Instagram versions of our friends and neighbors, when we can’t even live up to the online version of ourselves. “Peggy” helps us deal with that, by laughing at the Peggys of the world, but also laughing at ourselves a bit.

Review Fix: Bottom Line: Why must someone see this film?

Miller: Even more than seeing the film, I’d advocate seeing it in a theater. There is a unique brand of humor in Peggy that people find refreshing, and it culminates in an unforgettable scene that is incredible to experience in the theater. Not because of the film itself, but because of the corporate reaction. The humor builds and builds, and when people are gasping and screaming and hooting and hollering by the end, it’s a remarkably fun experience. I’m slightly addicted to watching it with an audience.

Review Fix: How did you feel when you first found out that Peggy will be screening at Tribeca?

Miller: I couldn’t really believe it. I honestly still can’t quite believe it, and am still adjusting! It is such an honor to be a part of that festival, and I really don’t think that I had any “ins” there. I think they literally just pulled it out of the submission process, and I could not be more grateful. They call you when you are selected, and I believe that I will remember that phonecall for the rest of my life!

Review Fix: What’s next?

Miller: A lot. Too much, maybe. [laughs] I am developing “Peggy” as a half-hour comedy series, and have two features and one other (much larger) show in active development.  I am still figuring out how to best line them up, but there is a lot of hard work and fun around the corner.