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“It Felt As If She Were Actually Speaking to Me About This Film”: Rachel Mason on Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna
Last Take Rachel Mason’s Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna makes its point crystal clear from the title: Halyna Hutchins, the talented DP who landed on American Cinematographer’s list of “10 up-and-coming directors of photography who are making their mark” in 2019, will not be upstaged by the celebrity who in 2021 accidentally shot and killed her (and injured director Joel Souza) during the filming of the western Rust. Which makes sense since Mason was a close friend of Hutchins, and was asked by her devastated widower to take on the project.
And while the film is rightly a celebration of the Ukrainian cinematographer and her diverse body of work (over 30 features, shorts and miniseries), it’s also a search for hard answers. Through public records as well as interviews with the Rust cast and crew, Mason attempts to retrace the sometimes contested missteps that allowed for a real bullet to make its way onto a movie set in Santa Fe, taking the life of a beloved wife and mother. Or I should say bullets, as perhaps the most shocking revelation to emerge was that investigators found a total of six mixed in with the dummies. (Then again, as someone who used to live in Santa Fe, I admittedly have a hard time trusting the pronouncements of any New Mexico authorities, not always the brightest bulbs in the witness box. This assessment is evidenced by the prosecution’s Dr. Seuss-like opening statement that probably helped the shooter get off scot-free from the start.)
So to learn all about filming a highly personal doc she hadn’t set out to make, Filmmaker reached out to Mason (Circus of Books, the HBO docuseries An Update on Our Family) the week of the doc’s Hulu premiere (March 11).
Filmmaker: Could you talk a bit about how this project originated? Who else was involved from the start? Story Syndicate and Anonymous Content? Hulu?
Mason: Halyna’s widower Matt Hutchins actually asked me to make the film the day after Halyna died. As soon as it seemed this was a real effort that would come to fruition, I told him that I could not possibly do the film without Julee Metz. Not only was Julee friends with Halyna, but she has a career in documentary filmmaking.
It felt necessary to work with someone who was as close to Halyna as I was, and understood the sensitivities of everyone involved. Eventually we decided on Story Syndicate as our production company, and the film was made in partnership with Anonymous and Concordia. While we were working on the project, a deal was then secured for the film to be distributed by Hulu.
Filmmaker: I think you completed the HBO docuseries An Update on Our Family around the same time you started working on this film. Interestingly, it felt to me that Last Take could likewise have worked as a series – a two-parter with one episode dedicated to Halyna’s life, the other to the investigation of her death. So was this always going to be a feature-length doc combining both aspects?
Mason: I love that idea, but alas, that was never the format for the project (nor was that something that was ever brought up as a possibility). This was always a standalone feature documentary. But it’s a nice idea to contemplate.
Filmmaker: I’m also hoping you could discuss how you balanced celebrating Halyna’s life and work with perhaps outside pressure to focus on her death, not to mention juggling the often tense internal dynamics of the Rust cast and crew. It all seems a bit daunting.
Mason: Every project has its own challenges and you learn as you go on each one — at least that’s been my experience. What I’ve found to be the most important thing is just to have really good communication with your collaborators. If the team feels secure then the challenges of all the various elements are manageable. If that’s not there, well, that’s when it really is a challenge.
I think the core of good production leadership is to create an environment where communication flows easily between all the creative team members. Halyna herself speaks to the necessity of having good creative dialogue. One of my favorite things about the doc is that we allow her to speak so that the world can understand how she herself worked with everyone, not just on Rust, but in the endeavor of all her films. Often during production I would listen to her own interview; and it felt as if she were actually speaking to me about this film.
Filmmaker: As someone who used to live in Santa Fe, including at the time of the shooting, I’m curious to hear what it was like gaining access to records and dealing with the local authorities in general. (There’s a reason New Mexico is better known for its beauty than its competence.) What challenges did you face when it came to investigating what exactly happened?
Mason: My producer Julee was the one who handled that communication so I’ll let her answer the question.
Metz: I was actually pleasantly surprised by the speed, accuracy and overall professionalism I encountered when requesting public records and dealing with the local authorities in Santa Fe. I anticipated that being such a small jurisdiction they might be overwhelmed with the amount of media attention they were receiving, and that could result in delays (or worse).
However, every department I contacted really got it right and made a strong effort to deliver whatever I was asking for in the shortest amount of time possible. Perhaps this was because I began every outreach with an explanation of who we were and why we were making this film — that seemed to go a long way. And everyone made it clear they really cared about Halyna as well as this project.
The staff at the First Judicial District also went out of their way for us, waiving fees and holding Zoom meetings with me to make sure they were able to get us exactly what we needed. The Santa Fe Sheriff’s PIO even went so far as to post her own personal letter in the mail to a retired law enforcement officer we were hoping would participate. (He had taken his contact information offline. We got him!) In addition, we established a good relationship with the team of special prosecutors who were seeking justice for Halyna. So overall it was a very positive experience.
Filmmaker: Usually I ask how all the participants feel about the final cut, but in this case I think Halyna’s family is the audience that matters most. So how does her husband — and her mother if she’s seen it — feel about the film? Did you share rough cuts along the way?
Mason: We shared the film with her mother, sister, and of course Matt, who’s been very positive about it. Yes, they are the audience that matters the most to me. (And also her son, who will likely see the film one day.)
We didn’t share any early cuts with them, and honestly, it’s a lot to expect of them even to sit through the final film. It’s intense and hard to watch, even if it is well received.
