Director's Statement"I was especially attracted to the core concept of The Bag Man as a result of its structural similarities to the Ancient Greek theater including the Unity of Place and the Unity of Time. The Bag Man has three lead characters. The chorus, or supporting actors are limited to essentially two roles. As a result, we have the luxury of time to delve into the background of all five roles. Too frequently, in my opinion, insufficient time is allocated in really delineating why we should be rooting for or against a specific character. Here, as in a Greek tragedy, our central character has imperfections and flaws. The other two main characters are written very much against type. We do not expect a crime boss to talk in the manner that Dragna does, nor do we expect a femme fatale to behave in the manner that Rivka behaves. The entire story of The Bag Man unfolds in one day. I love the way that by concentrating the drama into such a short time span it heightens the tension, the pacing and indeed all the key elements. Interestingly and unusually in today's story telling, virtually everything takes place in one location. It's rather like a cockroach motel; They want to leave but they keep having to come back. I was further attracted to making a movie that on the one hand is a serious and intricate thriller but on the other hand has deeply woven comedic elements. Having comedy in the middle of some ultra-serious or violent scenes is a fascinating juxtaposition, as it helps to provide greater depth to the tension. Tension has to be released in order to be reset; the combination of rational and irrational or the human struggle. This idea was entrenched in the Greek tragedies and is so much the core of The Bag Man."
-David Grovic, Director