Paul Auster describes his second feature length film as "a story about a man who writes a story about a man who writes a story." It is most definitely a very self-conscious film, akin to much of the author’s previous works which are mostly novels set in and around New York

While in Australia a few weeks ago, Paul Auster attended a screening of the film in Sydney and answered some questions about the production of The Inner Life of Martin Frost from its inception as a short film to its eventual release as a feature.

Anybody who is at all familiar with the novels of Paul Auster would not go into a screening of The Inner Life of Martin Frost expecting a conventional cinematic experience. Nor should they be surprised when things like genre are not immediately identifiable. In fact, many Auster fans would have already been introduced to the story as it appears towards the end of the novel The Book of Illusions. As an "Austerian" philosophical exploration into the metaphysical, The Inner Life of Martin Frost is an obvious addition to the north American novelists powerful creative canon, but is certainly not going to be enjoyed by everybody. The basic plot of the film is as follows:

The protagonist, Martin Frost (played by David Thewlis) is a novelist who has just finished writing a particularly  gruelling book. He is looking after a country house (located in Portugal but set in North California) which is owned by some friends of Martin who have taken a vacation. Whilst enjoying the tranquility and solitude of his respite, Martin thinks of a new story that he must begin writing immediately. Thus Martin changes his previous plan of a relaxing holiday and decides to stay in the house working until he has finished the novel. Things change dramatically when he awakens one day to find a strange, beautiful young woman sharing his bed.

Her name is Claire (played by Irène Jacob) and she claims to be the niece of Martin’s friends who own the house. Claire seduces Martin within one afternoon and claims to be an avid fan of his previous work. They fall in love and everything seems to be going perfectly until questions about Claire’s true identity begin to arise. It is not until she is passing out of existence that Martin realises that Claire is a kind of muse and that she has been sent to him in order to get his creative juices flowing. Recklessly, Frost decides to abandon his new novel in preference for the woman he now loves, even if she isn’t real.

The film then changes tone completely and new characters are introduced. The unsettled character of Jim Fortunato (Michael Imperioli) and his own troubled muse (Sophie Auster) take the plot around some unexpected turns, and by the end of the film it does not come as a surprising fact that this strange if interesting piece of low budget cinema has received mixed reviews.

From a fairly conventional perspective some of the negative press could well be considered justified. Yet the fact remains that Auster’s trademark style, stemming from his ability to present recurrent themes of identity, subjectivity and coincidence in an intriguing and highly amusing way, produces a film that is most definitely original, successful and entertaining. 

In explanation of the somewhat obscure if interesting end product, Auster claims that "I'm just following my nose, I’m not trying to rebel, I’m just trying to do something that I can believe in. You don’t want to go down the old tried and true path, try to make it new, I think everyone is trying to do that."

On the elaboration of the original story into a feature film, Auster explained that The Inner Life of Martin Frost suffered its own identity crisis.

"The idea for the film started back in 1999. I was approached by a German production company to do a half hour film for a series of twelve on the subject of men and women. I wrote the short film... but then the contractual conditions were very difficult and I decided to pull out...," Auster says.

"When I wrote The Book of Illusions and came to the spot when my protagonist Zimmer gets to see one of Hector Mann’s later films, I saw that the Martin Frost story actually fit and I adapted it for the circumstances of the novel... I thought that was the end of it, that I wasn’t going to revisit Martin anymore, but a few years went by and I was thinking about it all the time, I realised I wanted to make the film. Finally in late 2004 I decided to do it so I sat down and wrote the full script."

The film is quite obviously influenced by The Death of Eurydice and Auster admits that "it was consciously in my head”, however claiming that his film is “a comical version of it... Claire is of course much more clever than Eurydice”.

The Inner life of Martin Frost is at the very least brave in its disregard for continuity of style, which while unnerving some, is certainly a high point of interest and excitement for others. This sudden departure from a "Poeian" exploration of reality into an out-and-out comedy offers no explanation for its metamorphosis, but serves well in advancing the increasing feeling of confusion and otherworldliness that is developing as the character of Claire reveals the true nature of her existence.

As Auster explains, "It’s a comedy, I want to work in different modes. At times I want something light, effortless and unpredictable", and the segway into comedy halfway through the picture indeed provides a refreshing perspective from which to continue exploring the themes developed in the beginning of the film.

It is in the second part of the film that we meet the character of Jim Fortunato, played by Actor Michael Imperioli, and it is he who provides most of the films comedic element. Auster explains that Imperioli was tired of the homogeneity of his previous roles; "everything is cops and robbers... [He didn’t] want to do it anymore, so he jumped at the chance" to accept the role of Fortunato, who memorably challenges Martin Frost in a high-stakes game of "screwdriver darts" in one of the films more amusing sequences.

Auster had plenty of positive things to say about the rest of the acting talent, stating that "David [Thewlis] is one of the best actors in the English language... he has everything it takes to be a leading man and I think his performance proves that."

The choice of Swiss actress Irène Jacob for the role of Claire came after she had given him a lift home one night from a reading she gave of Auster’s work translated into French. Auster noticed her physique and manner to be appropriate. "There was a kind of tenderness and humour in her," he remembered. "Also she has a little girl’s body and I thought that was apt for Claire, if she had been some voluptuous earth mother the story would have been different, I needed a sprite and she’s a sprite."

On the inclusion of his daughter Sophie who plays the young muse Anna, Auster did not elaborate. The very beautiful Sophie Auster does however contribute a great performance as both an actor and a singer.

When asked whether Paul Auster himself has ever had a muse like his character Claire, he said smiling, "I live with one, I’ve been living with one for a long time", referring to wife and writer Siri Hustvedt.

The Inner Life of Martin Frost will screen at ACMI Cinemas in Melbourne from April 4 - 6, and at Chauvel Cinema in Sydney from April 11 - 13.