Never work with animals or children,” was the advice W.C. Fields famously offered actors. Had he been asked for some wisdom to share with thespians stepping behind the camera, he might have added, “Steer clear of road movies.”
It was certainly a warning that Jason Priestley heard repeatedly once he’d identified the script for his first feature film as a director. Penned by Jessie Gabe, Cas & Dylan was a classic “odd couple” comedy with a notable twist: a terminally ill doctor and renegade young woman journey from Winnipeg to Tofino so that she can escape her troubled life and he can end his on his own terms.
“The script doesn’t shy away from the ending it needs to have,” says Priestley. “It takes a lot of bravery from everyone involved. But it shows that everyone — especially the writer — respects the characters and respects the audience enough to take them where the movie needs to go.”
The longtime actor was aware of just how essential the central relationship was. “I knew the film was going to live and die on the two of them,” he says.
After some inspired casting landed Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss as Dr. Cas Pepper and Orphan Black’s phenomenal Tatiana Maslany as Dylan Morgan, Priestley ensured they — and his film — had every opportunity to succeed.
And while the comic banter and affecting bonding came courtesy of Gabe’s screenplay, Priestley commends his leads for bringing qualities to their character that weren’t necessarily on the page. “Richard brought a whole backstory.... Every choice he made throughout the film was generated by that foundation,” he explains. “Dylan, on the page, was just this sort of flighty girl. Tatiana made her much more grounded.”
Rightfully heralded as “incandescent” by Dreyfuss, Maslany’s performance certifies her newfound status as one of Canada’s finest acting talents.
Having made a similar trek across the prairies and over the Rockies in his youth, Priestley not only revelled in retracing his path but also depicting it onscreen.
And, of course, there’s also an emotional journey as Cas & Dylan winds its way to that aforementioned “ending it needs to have.” Priestley attests that he was intrigued by the film’s potential to open the door to further conversation about euthanasia. Accepting this invitation, WE Vancouver asks Priestley if, in the wake of a 2002 racing accident that left him in critical condition, he ever found himself asking, “What if?” Had he thought about what he’d have wanted his family to do if his injuries had been even more extensive?
Priestley sits silently for a moment before bursting into awkward laughter. “No, oddly enough. I never did,” he admits. Giving it more thought, he cringes and nods. “Yeah... But I probably should now.”
There will be a Q&A with Jason Priestley after the early evening screening at 7pm on April 5 at Fifth Avenue Cinemas.
