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It’s wild to discover that as he was channeling the bombast of “Born In the U.S.A.,” he was also spinning out “The Klansman,” a brooding character study of American evil that promises, “When the war between the races leaves us in a fiery dream / It’ll be a Klansman who will wipe this country clean / This, son, is my dream.”

“If we’re going to make this film the character study of an older woman that sees older adults as valuable and talented and capacious, let’s engage their capaciousness and their creativity on all sides of production.”

We both were in agreement that this should be a character study of this man.

Following a warmly received premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice award, the Neon film hits theaters Friday as an unexpected — and somewhat risky — piece of summer counterprogramming: a hushed, reflective character study that begins with the end of the world and moves backward into a life-affirming meditation on memory, mortality and legacy.

Don’t mistake this stylish feature debut for a misery wallow, however, or some poetic character study.