Coming Home in The Dark 26 years on

From Nine To Noon, 10:10 am on 6 August 2021

The famous Kiwi short story Coming Home in the Dark by Owen Marshall is appearing on screens next week as a feature film of the same name.

It's based on the titular story of New Zealand short story maestro Marshall’s 1995 collection and has haunted the dreams of thousands of Kiwis who've read it.

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Photo: Monster Pictures

Marshall told Nine to Noon he was moved to write the tale after reading about random acts of violence in the news.

“People going happily about their lives and then they're caught up in something they have no responsibility for. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“The terrorist attack, the break-in by a drug addict, being struck by a car fleeing from the police. Life is precarious and sometimes luck runs out and this is really the theme of the tale and it remains the theme of film.”

Marshall says he was a bit surprised by the intensity of the reaction to his story, and director James Ashcroft seemed keen on the darker stories written by him.

“These things occur even in the settled society we have here in New Zealand. And I thought, well, perhaps I'll go to the dark side in this and try to depict that sort of random violence.

“I think part of a writer’s task is to go to the dark side as well as to go to the bright side to show all aspects of character and all aspects of society and not hesitate to do that.”

He praised Ashcroft for his work in adapting the short story.

“I have seen the film at a cast and crew preview some months ago … No film is perfect, no story is perfect, but this film has had good reviews, and in particular James has received a lot of praise for his direction of the film.

“So I think it's a real tribute to James. This is his first feature film and I think he and his production crew have done very well indeed.”

Ashcroft along with Eli Kent co-wrote the script based on the story, which is about a family tormented by strangers in Central Otago.

The film slightly deviates from the original in some respects. But Marshall has no qualms about it.

“In my tale, the meeting between the family and Mandrake is entirely coincidental and they have no other connection. In the film, it gradually becomes apparent that despite the accidental meeting, there is something of a common history.

“All the changes are not just for the purpose of [adapting it to film], because films and books are different mediums and what works in one doesn't necessarily work in the other.”

Just as Ashcroft described in his interview with Kim Hill, Marshall says the landscape is central to the storytelling.

“I like the reader to know not just who my characters are, but where they are because they influence the landscape of the cityscape, and the cityscape and the landscape influenced the character. So it's sort of a mutual collaboration of effect and I think that's important in writing.”

The characters are also given greater depth in the film and the main character is also served with a bit of justice, he says.

“I think the film actually unfolds more of Mandrake’s personality and character than is able to be done in the short story.

“In the film, he gets his comeuppance. In the short story, that's not actually apparent. The short story finishes with Mandrake still apparently flourishing. So probably it's good that the film does give Mandrake what he deserves.”

Marshall says he is interested in portraying characters who have to face challenges or pursue a vision of life which may not be necessarily acceptable to the rest of society.

“Like most of my novels and stories, this tale is a character study with Mandrake, the perpetrator, as the main focus.

“He has a sense of entitlement. He wants to be noticed, to be someone, he's a psychopath I suppose. 

“He's a very nasty piece of work, the story is a nasty piece of work in some way and the film is grim, and of course they’re supposed to be that way.”

He says his aim is to deal with the complex nature of good and bad.

“In real life, I think there are very few pure villains and pure heroes. People are a mixture of good and bad. Even murderers, I imagine, have good traits and regrets and so on.

“In my writing, I try to show the complexity of character and what makes perhaps people make bad decisions as well as what makes people make the right decisions.”

Owen Marshall will be appearing later in the year at the Mackenzie Book and Art Festival to discuss his career of writing killer stories.