SourehCinema – “Old Henry” is a movie by the indie director, Potsy Ponciroli, is about a farmer who takes in an injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse comes for the money, he must decide who to trust. Defending a siege, he reveals a gunslinging talent calling his true identity into question.

 “Old Henry” was among the top ten best independent films from the National Board of Review and was nominated for best film at the Venice film festival. By the way, this movie was among Braka Obamas’s favorite movies in 2021.

Jamie Kirkpatrick in a recent interview told us about his experience doing “Old Henry” and the Editing profession in general.

* What was it like to do an indie western, like ‘Old Henry’ in the first place?

I love Westerns and have always wanted to work on one, but they aren’t made that often. And when they are, they are usually big-budget pictures with major stars and I don’t regularly get offered films like that. When I first heard about Old Henry, I was already excited by the prospect of editing something in the Western genre, but once I read it, it was clear that it was something special and had been written by a true fan of the genre.

* Could you tell us more about your experience doing it?

Because it was a low-budget independent production, the schedule was very short. Also, the film was shot in the middle of the Covid pandemic so I was editing remotely from my one-bedroom apartment in New York while the film was being shot outside Nashville, Tennessee. My Assistant Editor was also in Nashville. Every day he would receive dailies, prep and organize them on a local Premiere system, and then I would remote-connect to that system and start editing. And because the schools in New York were closed at the time, my two children were doing Zoom classes six feet behind me each day while I was editing. It wasn’t the ideal setup but we all made it work.

* In today’s world, an indie western like “Old Henry” is not appreciated as much as other movies that are more aligned with the “narrative”. What I mean by “narrative” is “Hollywood’s narrative.”

 A movie like The Power of the dog has been an awards frontrunner since its debut, but something like Old Henry has not been favored by mainstream critics. In the case of TV shows, “Yellowstone” has been neglected by mainstream critics but America loves it.

The question is, why the critics are ignoring “Old Henry” but they are worshiping The Power of the dog?. Why do you think it is like that?

Unfortunately, genre films have always been overlooked by the Oscars and other awards organizations in America. One of the most memorable instances in recent times was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. I think there’s prejudice within the awards communities that genre films like Westerns somehow don’t rise to the level of art. The irony with The Power of the Dog is that it actually has a lower Rotten Tomatoes score than Old Henry. That said, The Power of the Dog is a haunting, powerful film that completely subverts the Western genre tropes that Old Henry celebrates, made by one of the great filmmakers of our time, so it’s not surprising that critics and voters are celebrating it.

* Do you believe a movie can be saved through masterful Editing?

Undoubtedly! The editing process is often referred to as the “third rewrite” because one has the ability in the editing room to address (and change) virtually every aspect of the film, including structure, pace, tone, even performance.

To be clear, that was not the case with Old Henry. If anything, Old Henry may have been one of the easiest films for me to edit simply because the script was so concise and Potsy’s vision of what he was shooting was so clear. In fact, I didn’t leave a single scene on the cutting room floor, which is really rare.

* What kind of technical aspect of filming should be followed to get the best result?

I think nowadays people get too focused on the technical aspects of filmmaking. Old Henry is a prime example of how a good story, well told, doesn’t require much money or technical wizardry. As long as you have relatable characters in a compelling situation, people will respond to it and I think the success of Old Henry has proven that.

* How much can good cinematography make your life easier?

This is a great question! And the answer is immense. But when I think of “good cinematography” I’m not just talking about great lighting and beautiful visuals. The best Cinematographers design their shots to work together so that there’s a visual flow to the entire movie. It was clear to me from about the third day of dailies that our D.P. John Matysiak had both an incredible eye for camera blocking and composition, but also a clear vision for how each scene worked with the next. I was genuinely excited every day to see what he was sending me next and the film was a real joy to cut because of his fine work.

* Do you see yourself Directing a mainstream movie one day?

I do actually and thank you for asking. Obviously working as an editor on films takes up large amounts of time but over the years I’ve directed several short films and music videos. And I’m currently developing a feature film about a girgirls’ftball team in 1980s Staten Island that I hope to shoot in the summer of 2023.

* Has there been a movie that you wished you’d worked on?

When a movie affects me deeply on a creative level, I do sometimes think, “I wish I had cut that.” I don’t mean to imply that I could have done something better; quite the opposite. It usually means that the original editor has done such a masterful job that I wish that I could be associated with something of that caliber. A few films that come to mind are Under the Skin, Arrival, You Were Never Really Here, Dunkirk and Dune. (If it wasn’t apparent, I’m a huge fan of the films of Denis Villeneuve and editor Joe Walker.)

* Do you have any advice for young and up-and-coming technicians?

It all comes down to learning your craft. And with the technology that’s available to everyone now, that’s never even easier. One thing I suggest to up-and-coming editors is to find scenes or films you love, rip or convert them to files using free software you can download and bring them into your edit software. Premiere, Final Cut Pro and Resolve all have functions that will identify the edit points in an imported clip. This way you can analyze how something was edited, shot by shot, and discover why it works (or why it doesn’t). I’ve done this with some of my favorite films and I always find it extremely educational.

 OLD HENRY Official Trailer