Former British Royal Marine Commandos bring a gritty, realistic, action-packed thriller with an emotional undercurrent to the silver screen based upon their own drive, initiative, and take-no-prisoners attitude. We Are The Mighty interviewed these Royal Marines over three years ago about this project and they have achieved victory in getting it released to theaters and streaming platforms worldwide. Sunray: Fallen Soldier is drawn from their experiences abroad and when returning home.
Veterans worked on the project both in front of and behind the camera. Pretty impressive work for some rough-neck Marines who fought in multiple wars and conflicts throughout their careers to come home to try their hand at filmmaking. The movie is directed by James Clarke and Daniel Shepherd and is written by Clarke, Shepherd and Sam Seeley. The movie stars Tip Cullen, Tom Leigh, Saskia Rose, Daniel Davids, Luke Solomon, Steven Blades, Gemma Knight Jones, Kevin Golding, and many more talented performers.
Logline: In “SUNRAY: Fallen Soldier” a war veteran calls on friends from his past to hunt down those responsible for the death of his daughter. Along the way, he learns more about himself than he anticipated as a violent crime syndicate unravels in his wake.
The film begins with Andy Coleman (Tip Cullen), a veteran who has returned home to a mundane job at a hardware store. He answers people’s simple questions and exudes much boredom from his former adrenaline-filled, mission-focused life. His eyes betray his lost soul. Cullen portrays Coleman with realism, heart, and when necessary, hostile malice toward those who deserve it. His character suffers from intense PTSD and flashbacks that affect his life in the civilian world. Coleman recalls the horrors of war, which follow him wherever he goes.
His life further changes with the death of his daughter Rachel, played by Rose, who overdoses on heroin supplied by her boyfriend, Cash. This leads Andy on a vengeful tour de force to the nightclub where Rose’s boyfriend, Cash portrayed by Daniel Davids, works. Coleman initially wields a high-powered nail gun and slays baddies in a no-nonsense manner. It has likable elements of John Wick written all over it. The action scenes are directed with a brutality that stays with you and further ingrains the film’s tone. Coleman is saved at the last moment by an unlikely source. He is a cat of nine lives in the film which echoes a Marines indomitable spirit. To quote a famous Marine, “You’re making the wrong assumption that a Marine by himself is outnumbered.”
The film pushes through further grief for Coleman and his friends, who take on the city’s underworld with more great gunfights, camaraderie, and suspense. The cinematography reminds me of great films like Heat, Collateral and Drive, which have similar elements of revenge and justice we find in Sunray, which echoes neo-noir throughout its time on screen. We find soft moments of Coleman with his therapist who does not fully understand his woes and what he is dealing with. Many of the struggles veterans come home with and attempt to process are found throughout the film, which is done insightfully and with heart.
The final act of the film is a rush of how much can be accomplished in action and special effects driven by the characters. The surprise ending is a twist that is completely unexpected, yet worthy at the same time. Sometimes, we don’t know what life will throw at us, which can leave us asking, “Why?” Coleman and his cronies seem to be asking the same question of “why” without an exact answer. It is the same old story for many veterans, even those from generations past. Be sure to watch past the credits for a final, impactful scene. The horrors we bring home with us many times stay as an unwanted partner, at times unseen, other times ever-present, who impacts our decisions and abilities to integrate with society. Sunray is a powerful film that must be viewed from the perspective of the veterans who created it. They must be understood because without such warriors our society will crumble as many others have in the past. Watch the film boldly and with the insight of asking yourself what can be done to bring the veterans home both in body and mind. This is a three out of four Red Star Clusters and a likely eye-opening watch for most audience members unfamiliar with military veterans
Interview with Daniel Shepherd and Tip Cullen. A full video interview is listed below the transcribed version.
What can you tell us about how this process has gone from start to finish as a veteran?
Dan: It’s been a long road…this is the first time we’ve ever done something like this. We operated on a shoestring budget. We packed in a lot of action and a lot of story in a reasonable run time. There was a lot to do, a lot of editing…we learned what went right and what went wrong.
Tip: The saga and the storytelling were part of the fun as well.
Dan: Exactly that. It was all part of it…We would ask, ‘Are you available?’ We learned a lot about film distribution. That’s a hidden part we didn’t know about…This was new ground for us and how that works. We were unknowns trying to get a film sold. Thankfully, we met some incredible people who got behind the film. They saw what we had done. They put their interest in us and we came to some really amazing deals. We ended up with an international release. It’s being released in the UK and the US…We’re incredibly happy with that and it has taken some time to go through that process. We’ve got a lot of excitement for seeing it finally come together.
Tip, can you talk about leading this film?
Tip: We talk about the endurance test and what we’ve done with it. We, as a team, have endured a lot. We did it after I first had graduated from acting training. Then we landed in COVID and the world went backwards in a way. It cut off a lifeline for creatives. The guys [Marines] asked about me being an actor. They said they were going to do something about the Marines. That was my hook. That was straight it. Let’s do something about our people. The action sequences from our time in the Corps were second nature. It was a gift in a way. We’ve practiced, it was second nature. It was the human story at this stage in my career that was most important. That was not only the hook but the challenge as well. I got back down and dirty doing what I enjoy. Mainly our families will be the ones who get it. It was very emotional and I was very proud of what we got the families that supported us [in our service], they get it. I’m happy. There are bits of it for everybody; there are certain bits of it for our people. My community [Royal Marines] and your community [US Marines}. The ones behind this project who have lifted the ball are Dan and James. They carried it onwards…..the large amount was done by two people.
Dan: We have had an awesome cast and crew with us the whole time. We were a small crew on set and we wore many hats. Our assistant directors were incredible. They kept things moving along for us. When it came to post-production it became a lonely endeavor. Thankfully James and I co-edited it…we did the color grading ourselves. We spent a lot of time understanding color science and making sure we got it correct. It’s a whole other thing to think about. Post-production took so long because of that. We didn’t have a massive team to call on so we just did it ourselves. Being able to push our creative limits to the extreme was a really cool experience. Now, having gone through that process with all the parts of the chain moving forward, that will only strengthen us for the future.
Check out more of the interview here:
