If we were to tell you a Queerty writer made their filmmaking debut with an original murder mystery short, we’d bet you could pick the culprit out of a lineup with ease!
For over three years now, Jorge Molina has been revisiting classics from the queer film canon with his weekly column A Gay Old Time, covering the genre every chance he gets, from the campy Clue to the twisty Death Trap. He’s even written the definitive piece on why gays love a whodunit so much!
How about we take this to the next level?
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So, no, it’s not necessarily a surprise that Molina’s first film as writer & director involves a detective, a suspect, and murder most foul. What is surprising, however, is that he managed to take what he so loves about the genre and imbue it with real pathos, queer heartbreak, and—of course—one of those walls where someone uses red string to connect all the evidence… it just wouldn’t be a proper mystery without one.
The Motive stars Brandon Shypkowski (29 Palms) as “The Detective,” a famous sleuth called to a remote mansion where he’s shocked to find “The Murderer”—played by Brendan Scannell (Bonding)—standing over the body. Okay, so we know whodunit?, got that out of the way! But whydunit? As he tries coax the titular motive out of the obviously guilty party, the Detective comes to realize the truth is much more complicated.
Brilliantly evoking Agatha Christie and the murder mysteries of yore with vibrant writing and eye-catching production design, Molina’s debut is fabulously fun and fetching, a story that’ll keep you guessing ’til the very end—and eager to see what’s next from this promising talent.
After world premiering at the Miami Film Festival in April, The Motive has traveled to fests all over the country, and is next returning to LA for OutfestNEXT, playing in the “Thrills & Chills” short film program on July 26 (tickets & more information here).
Ahead of its next screening, Queerty is honored to host the exclusive premiere of The Motive‘s trailer, which you can watch below, followed by a brief Q&A with writer-director Jorge Molina:
QUEERTY: What were some of the original ideas and inspirations that eventually led you to The Motive? In other words: What was your… motive for the film?
JORGE MOLINA: The main inspiration came from two places. First, as any good piece of art, it all came from a breakup. My first real relationship ended rather suddenly and unexpectedly, in a way that I could not understand at the time, so I knew I wanted to make something to process and cope with that.
And second, as it’s immediately obvious to anyone who knows me, I adore classic whodunits and murder mysteries. It was through the novels of Agatha Christie that I fell in love with storytelling, so I knew that I wanted to tap into that genre for my directorial debut. One of the things that I love most about murder mysteries is that, by design, they make sense. There’s an implicit agreement between author and reader that, by the end, all clues will fit into place, all loose ends will be explained, there will be a clear culprit and a motive.
So I thought it would be an interesting exercise to take a genre that has logic and reason at its core, and juxtapose it with this life event I was going through that made no sense to me, and try to understand it through that lens.
The queer community’s love of the whodunit genre has been well-documented—in fact, you’ve written about it for Queerty! What can you tell us about the interplay of queerness & the mystery genre in your film?
Whodunits are so gay! They’re inherently full of an eclectic group of larger-than-life characters, all of whom have secrets, complex backstories, and dramatic relationships with each other. And they’re usually in some glamorous estate or exotic getaway location, so it’s really just like taking a trip with your best friends…
But in a deeper way, I do think it comes down to the controlled chaos at the heart of the genre. I’ve met so many gay people that found refuge in murder mysteries when they were growing up, at a time when their own lives may have felt too chaotic or difficult to cope with. Diving into stories that are filled with elevated life-or-death stakes, and knowing that there will be a solution at the end I think provided some sort of comfort that our own lives could not.
This is a brilliant two-hander with a pair of fantastic stars in Brandon Shypkowski & Brendan Scanell; what do you feel they brought to the roles?
I was so lucky to have Brandon and Brendan as my Detective and the Murderer, respectively. I love working with actors. The script remains an abstract thing until there is someone to bring it to life, and it’s important to me that they are able to not only embody the characters I’ve created, but also help shape them and bring parts of themselves into it that I would not have been able to.
The script is very much written from the point of view of the Detective, but Brendan was able to elevate the Murderer in a way I couldn’t have envisioned and brought so much of his own experience into it. Brandon gave the Detective so much emotional depth, even though he was being asked to play an archetype. I loved how they were able to tap into a more heightened genre and style of acting (you know I used Hitchcock’s Rope as a core reference point), and still create characters that felt human.
Of course, bringing an independent film together is no easy feat; what was one of the most surprising or challenging aspects of pulling off production?
Raising money is hard. Making movies (at any level) is expensive and lengthy, and finding the funds to make it happen takes an incredible amount of determination and ambition. Apart from that, I don’t know if I got lucky on my first production, but the most surprising aspect has to be how smooth and enjoyable this whole ride was. I knew that I needed to surround myself with people I trusted, that understood what I wanted to do, and that were also at the top of their craft.
It’s a cliché to say, but filmmaking really is a team sport, so you gotta bring in others that will elevate the project and each other. I was so lucky that every single member went above and beyond for this, from the actors, to Brent Bailey’s amazing cinematography that made that one room feel incredibly dynamic, (Emmy nominee) Tyler Kinney’s costumes and Evan Black’s gorgeous production design. Everything (the music, the editing, the colors) was a product of love and collaboration and I’m so glad that was my first experience as a director.
If you’re in LA, catch The Motive as OutfestNEXT on July 26, and be sure to follow the film’s Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Related
‘Glass Onion’ plus 9 more whodunits that prove why the genre’s a queer favorite
From ‘Clue’ to ‘Scream,’ the whodunit has long been a favorite of mystery seekers, but the genre holds a special place in the hearts of queer movie lovers.
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