Director J.C. Chandor on His Film “Triple Frontier”

INTROSPECTIVE KIND OF TOUR FOR THESE AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

SO, YOU KNOW, YOU TALK ABOUT BEING, YOU KNOW, FROM A MILITARY FAMILY, AND YOU DO HAVE THESE EX-MILITARIES, I MEAN, BEN AFFLECK'S CHARACTER, FOR INSTANCE, PLAYS, YOU KNOW, A REALLY ROBUST MILITARY OFFICIAL BUT WHO NOW IS SORT OF A FAILING REAL ESTATE AGENT OR REAL ESTATE DEALER.

THAT MUST HAVE BEEN KIND OF DIFFICULT TO WANT TO PORTRAY, RIGHT?

I MEAN, IT SORT OF CASTS THEM IN SLIGHTLY LESS OF HEROIC LIGHT THAN THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THEIR MILITARY ROLES.

YOU KNOW, A LOT OF GUYS AND SOME GALS MY AGE HAVE SPENT THE LAST 18 YEARS, YOU KNOW, FIGHTING, AND I THINK WHEN YOU COME OUT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS HYPER -- IT'S ALMOST LIKE A -- BAD -- ONE IS LIFE AND DEATH AND THE OTHER IS NOT.

THE ANALOGY IS A LITTLE MIXED, BUT IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE.

THEY GO FROM SORT OF BEING THE ABSOLUTE HEIGHT OF THEIR PROFESSION AND THEIR PERFORMANCE AND THEN THEY GET BROUGHT OUT INTO THE REAL WORLD, AND THOSE SKILL SETS DON'T ALWAYS -- A LOT OF TIMES THEY DO DIRECTLY TRANSLATE, BUT A LOT OF TIMES THEY DON'T, AND YOU JUST NEVER QUITE GET THAT SAME LEVEL OF INTENSITY AND FEELING OF SELF-WORTH.

AND I THINK A LOT OF THE RESEARCH I DID FOR THIS FILM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE GREATEST STRUGGLE A LOT OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, YOU KNOW, FACE IS JUST GETTING BACK TO THAT FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT AND SELF-WORTH.

SO WAS THAT A CONSCIOUS FOR YOU TO FOCUS ON IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, SORT OF DESCRIBING TO AN EXTENT PATRIOTISM AND HOW VETERANS ARE BEING TREATED AS THEY RETURN FROM THESE ENDLESS WARS?

WE ALWAYS INTENDED THE FILM TO BE THIS SORT OF SQUWASHBUCKLG ADVENTURE, BUT CERTAINLY BY THE TIME THE THIRD ACT OF THIS STORY ROLLS AROUND, IT IS A LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE'S LIVES, AND IN A WEIRD WAY MY HOPE -- THIS IS SORT OF SUBTEXTUAL, IT'S NOT DIRECTLY IN THE FILM, BUT THE FILM ON ONE LEVEL ALMOST PLAYS AS A -- AS A PARABLE FOR THE LAST 18 YEARS.

THEY'RE SORT OF SUCKERED INTO THIS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THEIR PARTNERS KIND OF SAYS, YOU KNOW, LOOK, THIS IDEA IS GENIUS, WE CAN KILL A BAD GUY AND TAKE A BUNCH OF MONEY AND, YOU KNOW, WE'LL BE GONE IN A COUPLE DAYS.

AND, YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS WHEN I FIRST READ THE SCRIPT FOR THIS, IT SEEMED SORT OF LIKE THAT PITCH THAT, YOU KNOW, CHENEY AND RUMSFELD AND THE TEAM THERE GAVE US WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL JUST KNOCK OFF SADDAM, EVERYONE WILL WAVE AMERICAN FLAGS AND SAY THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WE'LL ALL GET RICH AND WE'LL BE HOME IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS.