The Middle Man is out now in UK cinemas. Directed by Bent Hamer, this dark-comedy centers around an unemployed man who decides to get a job as the deliverer of bad news. When the unfortunate accidents plaguing the town of Karmack, USA dry up, Frank (Pål Hagen) and his buddy Steve (Rossif Sutherland) head to a local bar. But tragedy strikes yet again and Steve must deal with the repercussions of the tragedy. Bent Hamer is also known for his films Kitchen Stories and Factotum. FILMHOUNDS speaks with this talented director about his latest release.

What films, if any, inspired you with directing The Middle Man?

Well, it's always hard to say. It's a lot of inspiration all the time. Not only films, but my wife read the book (Sluk by Lars Saabye Christensen ) which the story is based on. He is a well-known Scandinavian writer who I also know. So I read the book and was inspired by the story and saw the potential that I could do something connected to my view of the world to be a little bit pretentious.

The main character, Frank, is unemployed and living with his mother at the start of the film. What commentary were you trying to convey in terms of his unemployment?

Hopefully it represents not just all the struggles the inhabitants of the American people, especially in the Rust Belt, but also throughout Europe. Especially the young people unemployed with education who have no jobs to go to. No free future prospects. They have to stay with their family or with their mother. For me it represents more than what the specific story tells.

The town Karmack is a highly economically depressed town. Do you believe that in some of these towns, being a middle man is potentially a realistic job given the environment? Do you think that we could actually see this job occur?

I also asked that question. The title ‘Middle man', we have it in a way in Norway. It's not what I say, protective title. It's someone you use for something. Could be anything actually. I don't think so, to answer the short answer. Well, maybe, but there are people in that business. A friend of mine, a priest in Oslo, she told me it's always these discussions when someone dies and who should inform the family. Sometimes it's the police and sometimes it's the priest. Sometimes it's friends and you really don't have a predictable system to take care of it. So maybe it could be [laughs], a title or a job for someone professional. Yeah. I don't know.

What was the reasoning behind casting primarily Scandinavian actors in the film?

To be honest, I started to see if it was possible to do it with a modern American cast. But it's so complicated and it's hard to do and it's hard to control it. So I, in a way, I tried it a little bit, but I really gave it up and together with the thought that we have so many good actors in Scandinavia speaking English quite fluently. I started thinking about what about the mixture between Scandinavian and American or Canadian actors. We were also looking for locations in the US to shoot it. But it's also tricky. But Canada has all these funds, regional and national. So yeah, a lot of practical things leading up. Of course, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't believe that it could tell the story in an authentic way, but yeah, it was hard to shoot a film like this in the US. Everybody's asking for top cast. Canada came up and with the two wonderful girls who produced it with me in Toronto. So then it was quite obvious that it was the best way to do it.

As an overall message, what do you hope that viewers take away from the film?

Well I don't think I have messages like that. I try to describe something. It's more, I'm asking more questions. I think than giving some answers.

What is the next project on your slate?

Right now I'm sitting in Paris. I'm trying to write my next script. So it's kind of putting myself in the position that I have to deliver something when I'm back. I am going to stay for a couple of months.