Andy Tennant’s Unit 234 isn’t an ordinary action thriller, as Isabelle Fuhrman’s Laurie finds a man named Clayton (Jack Huston) lying on a gurney and locked inside a storage unit. The film weaves, winds, and takes unexpected turns as Don Johnson’s Jules and his men seek out Clayton at the storage facility, but what do they want with him? It’s best you watch the film to find out for yourself, because no spoilers here!
Fortress of Solitude received time to pick Tennant’s brain about Unit 234. The filmmaker – who directed Hitch, Fool’s Gold, The Bounty Hunter, and Anna and the King – revealed how the movie subverts the traditional action thriller genre and the special difference that Fuhrman made behind the scenes when they were shooting in the Cayman Islands.
Fortress of Solitude: I really enjoyed the tribute to your filmography as Laurie watches the TV in the office. Was that something fun that you intended to do from the get-go, or did it just materialize as the movie went on?
Andy Tennant: Is it the shot of Hitch? The dancing?
Yeah, that’s the one.
Yeah, it was just a little Easter egg, but also what I really like is her reaction to it. She rolls her eyes. [Laughs]. Like, “Yeah, never mind.”
What was it about Unit 234 that made you say you want to do this?
Well, several reasons. One, I’m never offered a thriller. When I was, the script surprised me as I think it surprises audiences; it’s got some really clever twists. I was always impressed by Derek [Steiner’s] script. With most of these movies, it’s all about escaping, and the escape scene is at the end. In this movie, the escape scene is in the middle of the movie, and they get away. I was like, “Oh.” [Laughs]. So, I didn’t know where it was going after that, and it kept me on my toes. [And directing Unit 234] was a great opportunity.
You mentioned how Unit 234 switches up the order of the escape scene. Were there any movies that you thought of as reference points or inspiration of how to execute this film?
I wish I had a smarter answer for you. No, because it was all in the script. As a writer-director, there’s nothing better than having a lot of your work already be done by the screenwriter, in terms of the action and where the intensity was. My job was to keep the actors honest, to keep the pace going, and to honor the dread of what it would be like. A friend of mine, who’s actually a brain surgeon, came to see the movie, and he said, “You know what it reminds me of? This is Home Alone for adults.” [Laughs]. I liked that, so there you go.
Unit 234 is contained to mostly a singular location – inside the storage facility and the parking lot outside. What were some of the challenges you had in filming this?
Well, the challenges were we were shooting in the Cayman Islands. Most of the movie takes place at night, and a lot of the movie takes place at night in the rain. That is not fun for anybody. But that’s why I was graced with Isabelle Fuhrman, who’s soaking wet, running around, and doing all the stuff that she’s doing in the movie – and she was game for all of it. The rest of us were kind of miserable, wet, and grumpy. It would be four in the morning, and she’s like, “All right. Let’s go, let’s go. Let’s do another one.” So, that took a lot of the challenge away from me. It was fun to watch her do her stuff.
Speaking of Isabelle Fuhrman, I’m glad to see she’s been recognized for her range as a performer, beyond being seen simply as Esther from the Orphan films – which were great, though. What do you think Isabelle added to the character of Laurie that wasn’t necessary on the page?
For a start, she’s wickedly smart. I mean, I think she’s like a Mensa person. She’s brilliant, amazing, and her background is incredible. She just brings confidence, energy, and is game for stuff, and I think that translates when you’re working, because the hours are long and the takes get repetitive.
There’s a scene in the movie where [Laurie’s] trapped in the storage unit. She’s tied up, and she’s hearing bad stuff happening outside the unit that she can’t see. She doesn’t know what’s going on, and the tears come – the anger, the rage, and the helplessness of it all. And I was like, “Where did that come from?” This was take one! Isabelle didn’t have to warm up to it. She didn’t have to take five minutes to get into the headspace. She was like, bam! So, it was terrific.
And the same with the rest of the cast. Listen, it’s a movie with three people, basically. Between Don [Johnson], who knows his stuff, and Jack [Huston], that was the easy part. It was really fun to watch them, especially with all the twists and turns that come with the story.
Don Johnson and Jack Huston play characters that change the audience’s perception from when you first meet them to the last time. I’d imagine from script to screen you had to carefully manage how much you show of each character – just showing little bits here and there and taking away. What, if any, direction did you give Don and Jack of what you wanted to see from them in the story?
We did some work on the script — in terms of where I connected to the movie in relation to Don’s character as a father and all that stuff. I think we’ve all been in the business long enough to know that, in this particular genre, the delight is in the suspense. It’s not necessarily in the revelation, and if you don’t have the suspense, then the revelation is just a piece of news. So, we were very collaborative in how much to give, but if you look at the movie a second time, there’s a lot in there that both characters say and do that actually informs where it ultimately goes.
I appreciate that Unit 234 is just under 90 minutes long, and a reminder of a time when films would be 90 minutes or two hours at most. I would imagine you might have more footage that didn’t make it into the final cut for whatever reason. Are there any scenes or additional material that you think audiences might have liked to see, or could add something more to the scene?
Actually, no. Because the amount of money and the amount of time we had was incredibly limited. So, I shot what we needed because that was about all the time I had. Fortunately, I knew what I needed. I’ve done this long enough to not waste any time on superfluous beauty shots or trying to be fancy with the camera. This was just about getting down and dirty and shooting what I needed, because once I got to the editing room, it was pretty simple because that’s all we had. There aren’t any other scenes. There wasn’t a subplot. That was gone. It’s just a really good B-movie. That’s what it is. It’s the genre that I loved growing up, and it’s just a good, fast-paced, fun thriller.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Read our full review of Unit 234.
