Ragged Heart is a raw journey through the heart of a grieving musician who loses his gifted daughter after an unexpected phone call. Filmmaker Evan McNary has crafted a haunting narrative, which drifts through the secret lives of the artists of Athens, Georgia. The captivating indie piece feels both fresh and reminiscent of low-budget Robert Altman.

McNary took time to speak to Final Draft after the premiere of Ragged Heart at Austin Film Festival 2021.

The setting of Athens is just as much of a character in the movie as its wayward musicians, and McNary started by speaking of his fondness for the place.

“I have been there quite a bit and had a number of siblings go to [the University of Georgia]. It’s such a rich place with all types of artists living there. My sister, Deborah [McNary] lives there and none of this would’ve been possible without her,” he said.

Athens was not McNary’s first choice, though. He originally set his film in Atlanta, but on the drive there he had a change of heart.

“I was sick of waiting for permission to make something, and it made sense to go back home. ... As I was driving cross-country, I realized Athens had so much to offer and has incredible music ... and Deborah was down for it. I changed course and went to Athens. With Deborah, we talked about who would be available and what locations were available and we re-tooled the whole thing.”

McNary says he also felt lucky to land Georgia actor Eddie Craddock to play Wyatt Galloway.

“He sent in a tape and it was just a mystery how he even found us. He sent it from the backwoods of Georgia and we were looking at him and realized if we had all the money in the world, we still might not be able to find a guy like that, and we re-tooled the script again and it became much more of a father-daughter story.” 

The depiction of an artist’s struggle is real in this film, which takes place in a world populated not just with struggling musicians, but with painters and poets and artisans who can’t imagine living life any other way. 

Wyatt (Craddock) visits a local metal worker who still struggles to pay rent, and asks him to define the dream he’s chasing. The artist can’t put his finger on the pulse of it but simply states that every day you gotta keep at it. Wyatt seems reinvigorated by his enthusiasm, even if the only thing he’s chasing at that moment is the answer to the question of what haunted his daughter in her last days of life. 

“There’s a lot of parallels regardless of medium,” McNary said.

“Whether it’s painting or music or film, the personalities and archetypes and power dynamics are often the same. So I wrote it from a creative perspective of musicians. Musicians are creative people, and I immersed myself in that world — talking with musicians, having drinks and things — and it organically took shape.”

McNary says he also made mini-docs on a number of the artists featured in the movie.

“To the point they were comfortable with the camera and crew and knew I wasn’t trying to exploit them,” he said.

“It helped us write in their voice and the script continued to evolve within the course of filming. For some of the less-practiced actors, I was able to refer to other situations in the scene and give direction to treat this person as if they were this other real person in the scene to inform the story. I was so grateful to the folks there. It was a community effort and they wouldn’t have opened up if Deborah was not such a respected part of the community. They knew they could trust us and what we were doing.”

The film is twinged with a haunting sense of grief because of the catalyst of Wyatt's loss of his daughter Miranda (Willow Avalon), which happened in an extremely impactful way. Her loss brings a waterfall of emotion for those around her and the question seems to be whether her absence will change them. It feels so raw and real that it feels personal, but McNary says it was not inspired by a specific loss in his own life, just regret.

“I think that feeling we all have of regretting things and making something better and getting something back — that we’ve lost something, whether it be a person or an opportunity in life — the movie naturally took that shape,” he said. 

There seems to be little regret in the actual making of the film, particularly because McNary says he experienced myriad kismet moments — including coming across Jim White, whose work on Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus was a huge inspiration for McNary.

“We unknowingly cast Jim White’s daughter in the film as Miranda. Through that, we realized Jim lived in Athens and he was kind enough to be in the film and sing a song. ... The song that Miranda writes, that song was written by another local artist. ... Once you start stirring the pot, it’s really interesting to see what comes together. Look out for what the world you create wants to give you.” 

The film premiered at Austin Film Festival as a programmer-recommended pick. McNary said the premiere was beyond rewarding, but reminds filmmakers that the job is not done once the film premieres.

“Part of the filmmaking process is continuing to promote the film and get all the peripheral content out there,” he said.

“It’s still a bit of a grind, but necessary, but we were so grateful to show it in Austin. They are so good at cultivating a community throughout the year. I recommend filmmakers who are going to take advantage of all the events; go to all the opportunities to speak on or see panels. Your talks on panels give people an opportunity to come up to you and start a conversation later.” 

The film is still looking for distribution and is worthy of consideration as it mines emotional territory without ever being too heavy-handed. McNary gives advice to others as he finds himself in the midst of a distribution journey: “We have a sales agent, but it’s on the filmmaker to continue to research the landscape and figure out what distribution opportunities are worthwhile and what isn’t. There are a few podcasts that are so helpful with this: Film Riot, Film Courage, Show Don’t Tell. They are all really good about analyzing distribution opportunities and talking about the landscape. ... Also film festivals really are the one way a small film can hope to increase its chances of getting distribution because that does help get that cachet and gives a sales agent a reason to purchase it.” 

As Ragged Heart continues its journey, it is worth seeking out. The raw emotion and ethereal documentary feeling make it greatly affecting and a watch one won't soon forget.