Mickey Keating, Angela Trimbur, and Melora Walters Discuss Film Noir, Survival, and Secrets in CROOKS

Image courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival

By Shannon McGrew

In CROOKS, the latest film from writer/director Mickey Keating (Carnage Park, Darling), this crime/film noir introduces us to Faye (Angela Trimbur) and Johnny, who stick up a local gangster’s poker room. Afterward, Faye double-crosses Johnny and takes off with the loot, but is soon pursued by a legendary hitman. Bad turns worse when her car breaks down, and she ends up at a decrepit diner where she meets Blanche (Melora Walters), a charming waitress with secrets of her own.

For the World Premiere of CROOKS, Creepy Kingdom’s Shannon McGrew spoke with writer/director Mickey Keating and actors Angela Trimbur (The Final Girls) and Melora Walters (The Butterfly Effect). During their chat, they discussed crafting deeply flawed yet relatable characters, navigating a world of double-crosses and secrets, and what they hope audiences take away from the film.

It’s such a pleasure to speak with you all today! Mickey, what inspired CROOKS? Angela and Melora, what stood out to each of you when you read the script? 

Mickey Keating: I’m a huge fan of crime movies, especially from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, and I love films that are heist movies, and I really wanted to try to do that as my next film. I’ve made a lot of horror movies, and it didn’t seem like that far of a jump, so it was an effort to try my hand at something [different]. When I first knew I wanted to make movies, it was from watching crime films, so this felt like a natural next step.

Angela Trimbur: It’s such a rare opportunity to get to live in that world. It’s not every day you get offered to be a femme fatale in a film noir type of crime movie made by Mickey, whose brain is something to admire. I just knew right away, reading the script, that Faye would be the most fun to play, and it was. It’ll probably never happen again, so I had to snag this opportunity to play a role like this. 

Melora Walters: I also loved how fast it goes, how it unfolds, how it goes in one direction and then to the next. The element of the film noir, it’s interesting how it plays now, but it has a feeling of a period piece. 

Mickey, a lot of your characters live in morally grey areas. What do you enjoy about following characters who don’t always make the right choices?

Mickey Keating: It creates great drama when people have secrets or pasts that they’re running from, and not every character is putting their best foot forward. I think that creates interesting dynamics and makes it interesting to see where the story goes. In this movie, everyone’s double-crossed somebody, or there is something they’re trying to cover up. It’s really fun to put them in that powder keg and wait for it to blow up. 

Angela and Melora, how much freedom did Mickey give you to fully inhabit and develop your characters? What did you come to love or hate about your character?

Anglea Trimbur: Mickey has a lot of trust. He also has a really specific vision that you can trust. With Faye, I love and can relate to someone who’s messy, has dreams that got squashed, and is just trying to make sense of them and find what works. What I hate about Faye is nothing, because you have to love the characters that you play. I don’t love some of the choices that she made, but she made them out of pure survival. She doesn’t trust anybody. You have to take somebody who doesn’t trust anyone really close to heart because that comes from pain and a longing to be able to trust somebody. That’s what’s so fun about her relationship with Johnny. He’s somebody who actually sees her, knows her, and feels like family, but there’s still zero trust at the same time. 

Melora Walters: Mickey sets this beautiful landscape for me to fly, and then he reins me in, and then he lets things happen. Genre, film noir, gangsters, it’s stylized, and yet humans are flawed. We are all terribly flawed, and it’s very real, and I love that. I loved becoming Blanche; there’s nothing to hate about her because she’s perfect. She’s living moment to moment; it’s incredible. 

Both Faye and Blanche have quite a violent encounter at one point in the film. How was it filming that scene between you two?

Melora Walters: We had a stunt coordinator, but it was very real. You’re in character, and you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, but in your other part of your brain, it’s like, ‘God, I hope nobody gets hurt here.’ It was a brutal tango.

Mickey Keating: It was just as shocking to watch behind the monitor. I was like, ‘Do I say cut, or do we see how this unfolds?’ [Laughs]

Anglea Trimbur: It was a brutal tango, indeed. Pretty sure I did experience a potential concussion, but that’s how you know you’re doing it right [Laughs]. 

This film focuses on flawed people who remain deeply human, regardless of the situations they find themselves in. What do you hope people discuss about the film and the journey Faye and Blanche embark on?

Mickey Keating: I hope people dig the fact that they just keep going. Until they hit a wall, they are going to figure out a way to keep on going. That’s why it was fun to write. It’s just like, all right, how are you going to get out of this one? That’s what I want people to take away. Maybe they’re a Faye, or maybe they’re a Blanche. 

Melora Walters: It’s a film about survival. That’s what I would want people to take away from this. Humans find a way to survive until they kick the bucket [Laughs]. 

Anglea Trimbur: I’m excited for the audience to be on the edge of their seats with how fast the movie goes and how unpredictable each character is. I hope they gasp in the moments that they should gasp, and I hope their hearts are racing after the credits as well. 

CROOKS had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, June 7th.