Trego Filmmaker’s New Comedy, ‘Out to Pasture,’ Imagines a Mafia Hitman in Northwest Montana
'Out to Pasture' tells the story of Le Shark, a Mafia hitman on the cusp of retirement whose last job goes south, leaving him on the lam in a small town Montana
By Mike Kordenbrock
Describing the origins of his latest film, “Out to Pasture,” the Trego filmmaker and cinematographer Kier Atherton says he originally set out to write a ’90s throwback Mafia comedy set in Montana. But the hitman character he envisioned in a supporting role eventually became the character who he truly wanted the movie to explore.
The hitman he had in mind all along was the French actor Theo Trifard, who Atherton had come to see as a kind of artistic muse after working with him previously on his first film “Love Like Gold.”
The process of completing that 2015 movie, a collaboration with Eureka’s Skye Grace Bennett, was a struggle. Writing the script for “Love Like Gold” in February in Montana, Atherton said it was hard not to lose the faith and hope he had in the idea. But Trifard seemed to always be there, writing regularly with encouragement and support. Then, when the cast and crew finally assembled, Atherton said the French actor’s professionalism had a way of elevating everyone around him.
“I knew I trusted him to carry a film, which really allowed me to enjoy filling in all the other characters around him,” Atherton said.
On Sunday, Sept. 15, people will have a chance to see Atherton and Trifard’s latest collaboration, when “Out to Pasture” has its Montana premiere at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center. Trifard plays Le Shark, a Mafia hitman on the cusp of retirement whose last job goes south, leaving him on the lam in a small town Montana.
The comedy mixes what Atherton described as French and American humor, and he said he was influenced by the comedies of Jacques Tati, a French actor and filmmaker who acted, directed and wrote movies from the 1930s through the 1970s.
“It’s a little more physical comedy. The character is kind of in the environment, and it’s not dialogue heavy, like American comedy,” Atherton said. The drawback to Tati’s work is that it tends to be slower, and doesn’t always hold the audiences attention, according to Atherton, who said with “Out to Pasture,” the goal was to incorporate a story with a character arc.
“I wanted to make something, a comedy, with a local flair, and hopefully a heart within,” Atherton said.
Opposite Trifard will be the musician Rob Quist in his film debut playing the sheriff of the fictional town of Grave River. Rounding out the primary cast are Annemarie Jones, a New York City-based actress and comedian who was born and raised in Montana, Mikey Winn, a longtime Whitefish-based actor who is a regular in Whitefish Theatre Company productions, and the Whitefish-based actor and tenor singer Mike Eldred.
Beyond the casting, Atherton pulled in other local collaborators. The score for the movie was composed by Jesse Phillips, originally from Eureka, who is a founding member and bassist for the Alabama-based band St. Paul and the Broken Bones. The visual effects in the film were done by Jamie Ferguson in Kalispell. Filming took place in Flathead and Lincoln counties in October of 2021.
“It’s a fish out of water story,” Atherton said. “One person obviously does not belong here, and then you can populate the world with some more local kind of characters. So it was a good setup to work with some local theater actors and some local non-actors who fit the roles really well.”
Atherton was raised in Trego, and joked that he now lives on the other side of the same swamp where he grew up. An interest in writing drew him to the University of Montana, where he eventually started taking classes in the college’s nascent media arts program, and piqued a deeper interest in documentaries. After graduating, Atherton took jobs with the U.S. Forest Service on trail crews and also worked in music. He was the tour manager for St. Paul and the Broken Bones when the eight-piece soul band felt like it was starting to break out, but he chose to come back to Montana and finish the script for “Love Like Gold.”
In the years since, Atherton has worked as a cinematographer on various projects, including “Bring Them Home,” the documentary narrated by Lily Gladstone, which tells the story of how the Blackfoot Nation worked to preserve buffalo and ensure a future for the animals. He’s also done camera work for other Flathead locals like Adam Pittman and Morgan Delaney, and has worked with local nonprofits and performing groups. Over the course of his career he’s done camera work on movies including “Buster’s Mal Heart,” starring Rami Malek, and “The Ballad of Lefty Brown” starring Bill Pullman.
“Out to Pasture,” had its premiere in Paris last month. The Montana premiere this weekend will include a red carpet drink special at Spotted Bear Spirits in Whitefish beforehand, and Atherton said they’re encouraging people who are in the mood to dress up for the red carpet. The screening starts at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a cast and crew question and answer session after the movie. Tickets are $20. For more information, including to purchase tickets in advance, go to http://motionnoise.com/.