Q&A David Wall

Father Keene and Father Simeon are two priests, both struggling with their own faults and doubts, whose friendship risks being torn apart when Father Keene is sent to shut Father Simeon’s parish down just before Christmas. As Father Keene’s visit begins to affect the lives of the parishioners he encounters, it also turns his own life inside out, urging him to face choices he’s made in the past and make a new choice about his future. Noëlle, rated PG, releases in select theatres nationwide on December 7. Catholic Digest recently spoke with David Wall — the film’s director, writer, producer, and leading actor — about the project.

CD: What urged you to write this story?

WALL: There were probably three elements. One, my wife and our four children — three children at the time — lived on Cape Cod at the time, and there was a yearly Christmas party on our street in this old whaling captain’s house. People from every age, every ethnicity, every religion, every social status, were represented there, and it was just such a magical gathering. In spite of all these people’s diversity, for that evening, at least, they were all there celebrating one thing — Christmas.

Secondly, as I thought about that party, about what was represented there, I started playing with the idea of the Church being that community — actually being a group of people who loved and cared for one another outside of the confines of an official church.

The third thing would be the Christmas story itself.

CD: Your film production company is Volo Films. What is the company’s mission, and how does Noëlle fit into that mission?

WALL: Volo is Latin for "I fly," and about a year before we began shooting, I had this amazing dream — and I don’t mean to sound nutty, but this is literally how it happened! It was so vivid. I was flying at this incredible speed in the dark, and I was in this huge palace, and I kept zipping by these enormous columns, and I was terrified that I was going to hit them. And all of a sudden it occurred to me that I couldn’t actually fly, so someone or something must be flying me. Once I realized that, the terror just drained out of the dream and it suddenly became exhilarating. I think life is a lot like that. We’ve got to have faith, we’ve got to have courage. And I’ve often likened the making of Noëlle to flying in the dark, so that’s where the name and that whole vision came from.

CD: How did faith play a role for you and the cast in this project?

WALL: Well, faith literally got this movie made. My wife and I sold our home on Cape Cod. We put up the bulk of the money from that sale into the movie. That basically gave all these other investors faith. Another thing that stood out to me, this local priest gave us their church and rectory (for the filming), just trusted it to us. I’ve never forgotten that. And another thing that comes to mind is, this movie’s set at Christmas. So we needed a lot of snow, we needed it to look wintry and beautiful. The Cape, as you may know, doesn’t often get tons of snow. So we just called everyone we knew who prayed and said, "Pray for snow." Well, we set a 50-year record that year for snow. I could go on and on, but story after story, it just came down to, "OK, I believe we’re supposed to do this, so I believe it’s going to work out."

A closer look at David Wall   David Wall with his daughter Brennan, who plays Noëlle in Noëlle   Age: 45 A few films that have inspired his own filmmaking: My Life as a Dog, Sullivan’s Travels, It’s a Wonderful Life, Strictly Ballroom, Notting Hill,Annie Hall, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Sense and Sensibility. Favorite prayer: “The one I probably use the most is ‘Have mercy on me, a sinner.’” And there’s another one I think about a lot (from the 14th-century work “The Cloud of Unknowing.”) It’s more of a philosophy than a prayer, but it’s by a monk hundreds of years ago, and it goes, “Be ever more, against the cloud of unknowing which is between thee and thy God, the sharp dart of longing and love.” And [I’ve always related to] that spiritually — this sort of longing to know, but [never quite getting] it. And that’s why I write stories and make movies; it literally helps me to see where I’m trying to go.” Some favorite books: Peace Like a River, Death of the Family, “Paradise Lost,” Quo Vadis, the short stories of Flannery O’Connor and Jack London.

CD: The film doesn’t shy away from presenting Catholic priests with all their human flaws — struggling with addiction, questioning their vocation, etc. Why was it important for you to show that perspective?

WALL: I personally believe that priests are ordinary guys who’ve chosen or, maybe been chosen, to walk an extraordinary path. So I think if I had portrayed them as perfect, that’s not only going to be unbelievable, in my opinion it’s (also) unhealthy — both for us the audience and for them. I think if I show them in their struggles, in their doubts, in their faith, where they succeed, where they fail — that puts a really beautiful light on the incredible weight they must carry. And I think it makes their calling all the more impressive.

	Father Keene (David Wall) sits down for a talk in Noëlle. (© Beecher Cotton)

CD: Father Keene, the central figure of the film, is someone who can elicit criticism from audiences: He can be brusque, judgmental, and he says he doesn’t like "the people side" of being a priest. But we also see that he can be protective, principled, and caring. As you were writing his role and then, later, acting it, how did you try to ensure that readers would warm to Father Keene despite his less admirable qualities?

WALL: That was maybe one of the trickiest things to deal with. I think one of the keys is, you’ve got to show the cracks in his armor early on. We also have to see him soften. I think you also have to see that people see that he’s a bit of a knight; he’s ready and willing to fight for someone — in our story, it’s the librarian — who’s being treated unfairly or cruelly. I think lastly, he’s a terrible scooter rider. To me, watching a guy who takes himself too seriously fall down seven or eight times in a movie makes sure that we as an audience don’t take him too seriously.

CD: On a related note, in the film Father Simeon calls Father Keene a "hitman" for the archdiocese who shuts down stale and "unprofitable" parishes. Because Father Keene is the representative of the institutional Church in the film, the institutional Church could come across as a bad guy — a powerful, far-away force that is more concerned with money than with individual parishes or people. Was this a statement you wanted to make with the film?

WALL: No, and that’s a great point you bring up. I was trying to focus on the community, not the Church per se.

...continued from "A closer look at David Wall" Favorite food: “I love a rare steak. Tacos. Sushi. Out here in California we have something called the In-N-Out Burger. It’s amazing.” Favorite thing to do with his family: Making movies and watching movies. “We’ve probably watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy more than anything.” His hero: “It would have to be my grandmother. She was an amazing woman who just died three, four years ago. She was a total artist in everything she did, and she never discouraged me, ever. She used to constantly tell me to never, never, never give up, that nothing was impossible. And she would always tell me, too, that the best part in life was the struggle. That stuck with me.” Best advice he’s ever received: “Don’t be afraid. Believe. Anything’s possible. [My grandmother] used to tell me that, but you know, the more I look into what Jesus said, that’s what he said too. That’s sort of like the magic key. You could fly in the dark with those words.” Where can I see the film? To learn more about the film, and to find a cinema showing Noëlle near you, visit noellethemovie.com.

	David Wall on the set of Noëlle (©Beecher Cotton)

CD: The movie deals with themes of forgiveness, vocation, second chances. It also has a pro-life message. It can be a challenge for a writer to address these themes without being heavy-handed. How did you handle that during the writing process?

WALL: I think the first way is to keep everybody human. I think if somebody was portrayed as perfect, or having all the answers, the film [would] get preachy real fast. And the thing that I also think is key is humor. Whenever a scene starts to get heavy, I would bring in humor. And lastly, in editing, I made sure with music that we didn’t play the obvious.

CD: The film takes place during Christmastime and has a Christmas release. What made you choose this setting for the film?

WALL: Well, one of the reasons that brought the whole story into existence was the Christmas story, so everybody in this [movie] mirrors somebody (in the Christmas story). Maybe not verbatim, but they’re going to play a similar role.

CD: You’ve said that your dream for the film is "Good news of great joy for all." Can you elaborate a little on that?

WALL: I think we as humans do tons of things out of guilt. Keene is really just an exaggerated example of that in human nature. This story, and even more importantly, the outcome of this story, addresses that guilt and, I think, offers healing. And hopefully audiences are going to identify that. It’s healing to laugh, it’s healing to cry, it’s healing to be filled with hope and to feel. That is good news. That’s joyful. That’s what I believe is going to happen to people when they watch the film.  CD

Julie Rattey is managing editor of Catholic Digest.