‘Irving Berlin’s View of the East River’ films in western Mass: Behind the scenes of an indie movie set in the Valley
“Reset!”
There’s an inaudible moan among the cast and crew when director Sarah Knight cues the walk back down the path along the Connecticut River dike in Hadley to record another take after nearly an hour of running the same scene. The crew is behind schedule on the set of “Irving Berlin’s View of the East River,” and the beautiful scenery of western Massachusetts, the main setting of the short live action film, is working against them.
The sun is bright and beating down without shade from the budding trees of early spring. The only reprieve is a strong breeze, which dulls the microphones picking up lines from the actors and ambient sounds of birds and boaters on the river.
Director of cinematography Danielle Bryant and gaffer Rowan Lupton sweat through their sunscreen as they slowly step backwards at the same pace the actors walk forwards, careful to keep their one film camera steady. Knight is in full protective sun gear, complete with an olive-colored facial sunscreen mask and sun hat. Costume designer Sarah Goethe-Jones and makeup artist Kate Baisley keep their distance under sun umbrellas. Bags filled with a variety of makeup brushes, hair spray, combs, safety pins, and a pair of silver sneakers hang at their hips for any touch-ups between takes.
Knight promises a break to the 25 members of the cast and crew — as soon as the scene is finished — to keep morale up. But it’s not Knight who helps maintain their spirits. Instead, the cast and crew build each other up by cracking jokes, bonding over former productions, or even simply maintaining focus getting the perfect shot. Not one of the members of this indie, low-budget film dedicated hours working in the elements for the sole purpose of winning an Oscar, or, as discussed in the film, to rent an apartment on the East River like Irving Berlin. They simply love their art.
“It’s really a cinematic and thematic love letter to the area,” Knight said.
Adapted from a one-act play written by western Massachusetts local Richard McCarthy (who also contributes a monthly column to the Gazette), “Irving Berlin’s View of the East River” meanders through a conversation between middle-aged writer Matthew Cronin, played by Gary Gulman, and early-20s New York Times reporter Ariel Pierce. Pierce, played by Camryn Mi-Young Kim, has been asked by her editor to learn the story behind Cronin’s determination to spread his ashes in the East River. The conservation moves from professional to personal as they discuss the complexity of an artist’s feelings around the success of their career and the satisfaction that’s supposed to come with it.
Eventually, Matthew tells Ariel that he views Irving Berlin’s apartment on the East River as a symbol of his great legacy, and Matthew spreading his ashes along that very river is the closest to that version of success he will ever touch.
“As a part of the journey of life, the longer someone lives and the closer they are to the end of it, they would do their spirit good to make peace with their journey,” McCarthy said. “I think this character hadn’t made peace with his journey, and there’s indications at the end of the film that he’s more open to reconstituting his understanding of his own life.”
Knight had seen a production of the play while she was directing one-act plays at the American Theater of Actors 23 years ago, and she instantly pictured it as a short film. In 2023, McCarthy saw one of Knight’s documentaries at a local screening and reached out to his old friend. Once they reconnected, Knight brought up McCarthy’s work and the short film adaptation she thought up years ago, and McCarthy happily agreed to help.
“It just really spoke to me, especially as an artist, especially Matthew’s character,” Knight said. “And I remembered it all these years, and I always thought it would make a great short film. It speaks to the level of Rich’s writing. I think that it’s sort of evergreen in that way.”
A live action short has a much briefer run time than McCarthy’s original 46-page play, so he, aided by Knight, faced every writer’s worst nightmare: cuts. Knight wrote in an email that she initially had doubts about McCarthy’s interest in editing his script, but they synced up quickly to produce a tight 25 page screenplay.
“I didn’t agonize over cutting stuff, and she (Knight) was very helpful because you’re going to be attached to whatever you write,” McCarthy said. “Sometimes the art of writing comes down to the art of knowing what not to write.”
Knight already knew who she wanted to play the two leads as soon as she finished the script. Kim played a young scientist and whistleblower in the Hulu limited series “The Dropout,” and Knight said she was blown away by their performance. She had seen Gulman at his comedy show “Grandiloquent” in New York City around the time of casting, so “his soulfulness and magnetism” was in the forefront of her mind.
“I always love the idea of casting slightly outside expectations, and Gary certainly carried on the tradition of a comedian moving seamlessly into drama,” Knight wrote.
Gulman said he views Matthew as an alternative version of himself, one who wasn’t lucky enough to get the breaks and opportunities he’d had.
Originally a local comic from Boston, Gulman’s career took off after he made the final rounds of the reality competition show “Last Comic Standing” in 2003 and 2004. He’s performed on ”Conan,” taped a handful of comedy specials for HBO and Netflix and made an appearance in “Joker,” his first movie role.
“He thinks he would be happier if he had more success in his art. I’ve lived through that and I know that’s not the answer to happiness,” Gulman said. “Ariel tells him exactly what I’ve learned on being on both sides of success.”
Unlike Gulman, Kim is at the beginnings of their acting career, full of ambition and passion like the 24-year-old journalist they play. Yet Kim said they saw stark differences between the stoic, reserved Ariel and their outgoing self. In the film, Ariel carries her own sadness from a recent personal tragedy, and while Kim has yet to experience a similar loss, they resonated with it as the motivator behind Ariel’s empathy and wisdom.
“For her to be able to go through that experience and still be living with the fallout, and still be able to meet other people and connect with them on a genuine, human level through her work, I think that’s a really beautiful quality to have,” Kim said. “I think you see that empathy and that humanity in Ariel throughout the course of the film.”
“Irving Berlin’s View of the East River” was both Kim and Gulman’s first time on an indie film set, but they were pleasantly surprised with the level of professionalism and creative collaboration. Production took place from April 22 to April 27 with one day of rehearsals and blocking and five days of filming. During rehearsals, Kim said they ran through lines at the exterior of a house in Hadley and the interior of a Sunderland home which serves as Matthew’s home.
As the western Massachusetts native of the creative pair behind the film, McCarthy spearheaded the location scouting. While the story takes heavily from McCarthy’s knowledge as a writer in the Pioneer Valley, moving the play outside of the stage was a new experience. At the advice of Emmy-nominated film and television producer Nan Bernstein, he turned to an old-school form of communication to contact homeowners of potential sets.
“She said every house that you see potentially could be the house he (Matthew) lives in, you make up a letter and you put them in the mailbox and you’ll get a certain return and you’ll go from there,” he said.
McCarthy dropped letters into 30 different mailboxes. Eight sent back a response, and ultimately he landed on the two homes seen in the film.
“This has been a real ground-level experience in understanding what goes into a small short film, and all the logistics that go into [it] are amazing,” McCarthy said. “At this juncture in my life, you don’t have many new experiences.It’s been quite interesting and exciting, really.”
If Ariel helps Matthew realize his dream was never too distant from his reality, then the cast and crew of “Irving Berlin’s View of the East River” are making their own version of that reality. Many of them have ties to western Massachusetts because they either grew up, visited friends, or worked gigs here. Now, it serves as a stepping stone on the path to their own dreams and ambitions.
Emilee Klein can be reached at [email protected].
Daily Hampshire Gazette
