“All I had written down as a story idea was “Ireland””, he told Zavvi. “I just loved the idea of playing someone from New York coming to a picturesque little town in Ireland, and it took a while to come up with a story that would justify this being a movie.
“A normal person would come up with the story first, I work the other way round!”
Reiser co-writes and stars in The Problem With People as Barry, the estranged cousin of Ciáran (Colm Meaney), who doesn’t even know his Irish family exists because of a feud that’s lasted generations. Like a reverse Banshees Of Inisherin, the dying wish of Ciáran’s father is for the beef to be squashed, and so his American cousin is invited over to stay.
Meaney has long been outspoken about stereotypical depictions of Ireland in film and TV, and as he explained to Zavvi, this was one of his main attractions to starring in this buddy comedy.
He said: “I was thrilled when I read the script, because I always approach projects like this with a certain trepidation. Non-Irish people tend to have an image of the country that’s not accurate, and usually severely out of date, and here was a story with terrific, funny characters who feel like real people, that made me laugh out loud multiple times whilst reading.
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“It’s an accurate representation of Ireland today, this beautiful diverse and increasingly multicultural place. I assumed whilst reading that Paul had spent a good deal of time here recently, but he hadn’t been here since he came on holiday 30 years ago, which just shows this is a remarkable achievement in writing!”
Reiser is quick to point out that the movie wasn’t intended to be a “documentary study of Ireland”, so much as it is a more grounded take on a familiar culture clash comedy formula.
“It was a real boost to our confidence when Colm responded that way to the script, it felt like we’d passed the first sniff test. Our director, Chris Cottam, was very clear that his mission from the beginning was to make sure that this film works for an Irish audience, as that’s the only way we’d succeed – I did have an Irish friend read the script and make a few changes early on.
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“When we got to filming, there were little things in terms of the language structures that needed to be changed, which rarely made sense to me. There was a scene where a character had to say “why wouldn’t I?”, and it was pointed out that he needed to say “why wouldn’t I not?” - I couldn’t understand why the two negatives made sense, but his way was correct!”
The actor has joked that his movie could be the cure for world peace, as it shows two men from different backgrounds reconciling a generations-long feud and accepting each other into their lives.
“This is ultimately a movie about human nature, and how no matter how far people may be separated geographically, they are still fundamentally human.
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“These cousins have so much in common, but they can’t quite get over their suspicions and bias. That’s a fun story to tell, because we’re really not all that different, but we tend to get separated by so much – that's the titular problem with people!”
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that, despite their natural onscreen chemistry, the two actors had never met prior to making the movie.
“I'm glad we got along, as it worked for the movie”, Reiser added. “But if we didn’t get along, that would have also worked for this movie too!”
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“We’d never met until a few days before we started filming” Meaney continued. “We’d Zoomed and texted each other over a period of three years while it was being set up, so I felt I knew him a bit before – and also, from knowing his work over the years.
“But it’s funny, meeting someone famous makes you feel a bit nervous, and I never felt that way about meeting Paul. We met in a bar for a pint and didn’t even talk about the script; we talked about books and politics and everything else but the film.”
And that’s because Meaney already knew nothing needed changing with the screenplay.
“There was no need for improv because it was very hard to improve what Paul had written. I’ve felt that way since I first read it – the dialogue was accurate in a way that completely impressed me.”
The Problem With People is released in UK cinemas on Friday, 8th November.
