The Cinema Lounge

Adam’s Rib Looks Back at a Character Driven Year in Film

Greta: Q&A with Neil Jordan, Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz and Maika Monroe

By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member

Note: contains Spoilers!

The film Greta (Ireland/US) was screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2018. A brief Q&A session was held after the screening with the director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Byzantium, Mona Lisa, Michael Collins), and the three main actresses.

An Irish director, a French actress and a set in a small house in an alley in Brooklyn come together to present the thriller Greta which was co-written by Jordan and Ray Wright.

Frances, a young girl fairly new to New York (Moritz) lives with her roommate Erica (Monroe) in Brooklyn and finds a designer purse left on the subway. She investigates, returns the purse and is befriended by the lonely widow Greta who is also a piano teacher. Greta slowly ingratiates herself more and more into Frances' life and things become uncomfortable. There seems to be almost a fairy tale homage to Hansel and Gretel mixed with films like Mommy Dearest or Fatal Attraction as the story becomes a slow burning thriller. Some critics have found it cheesy but most audiences enjoy the mixture of fun and horror and it and the cast and director received a standing ovation in Toronto. Audiences were just as enthusiastic at a recent Film Society screening.



Toronto Moderator: I am used to your vampire films and wondered if this story could have gone that way also?
Neil Jordan: There was some thought about it but no, there are many kinds of monsters.
Isabelle Huppert: Yes, I would say Greta is a finally a monster.

Toronto Moderator: How did you as a writer and director see the genesis of the story and casting of Isabelle?
Neil Jordan: Well. I saw an Eastern European or French actress playing this and providing a strange interaction to the cultures with the American culture. Greta’s character could have easily come from the Nordic countries and with a strange Hansel and Gretel reference also. You know even in New York City, Manhattan and Brooklyn, you still see lots of European types mixed in also. Also the loneliness Greta must have felt being alone in a city of 10 million people.

Toronto Moderator: Isabelle, when you read the script did you think I can do this or what were your feelings?
Isabelle Huppert: Well, I am not that character but had no problems playing an evil or maybe lonely psychopath. I have played other roles that had some monstrous characteristics, not this evil of course, but I see it as a person with insanity. She is lonely and fatally attracted to the past and is displaced in the large city. She is a mixture of Hungarian and French and somewhat lost. Of course, she doesn’t see herself as a monstrous character, but you read these stories often about how someone crosses the border or line of reality and does awful things. But she is also sympathetic and real.
Neil Jordan: I keep thinking if Frances hadn’t found out about the purses, that their friendship could have continued on a somewhat normal basis maybe for years. Once she is rejected though, we only have one way to go. But maybe we all have this potential in us to cross the borderline to doing strange or insane things. I realized how much I loved making films. I hadn’t make one in several years and have been working on stories, novels and television projects so it was a joy to get back to directing a film. Filmmaking has changed but when we built some small sets in Ireland and then worked in New York, it reminded me that you can still make smaller films.
Isabelle Huppert: Yes, Neil takes his time, not in an old fashion way, but getting the pulse of the story and actors together. We shot on stages in Dublin, and we all created our own movements with him but not rigidly staged before we started the day.

Toronto Moderator: I wanted to ask the young actresses what it was like to work with Isabelle?
Maika Monroe: It was a dream come true to work with Isabelle, such an accomplished actress and someone who continues to work and choose such varied roles and films.
Chloe Grace Moretz: Yes I have had such great respect for her and her acting it was wonderful.

Audience Question: The use of the cell phone was so clever in the film.
Neil Jordan: Yes we tried to use it in multiple scenes and especially the double ring sequence.

Audience Question: I have heard you direct differently and more slowly with the pace of a film?
Neil Jordan: I don’t overprepare staging etc., when we begin filming. We had small sets so could explore movements. Isabelle comes on set in character so I am curious to see what will happen today. I loved this film. You know when something is working well and also when it’s not working well.
Isabelle Huppert: Yes. I come prepared to act as the character but after the movie let it go. Of course there is always part of the character with you still.

Audience Question: Isabelle, is this your first horror genre film?
Isabelle Huppert: I guess yes, as a true horror film; I loved it. I have done other suspenseful films like The Piano Teacher.

Audience Question: I loved the scene you have with Stephen Rea and the dancing. How did that sequence come about?
Neil Jordan: Yes, it was not in the original scripts. I wouldn’t call the film really a horror film, more a psychological thriller. We thought the dance sequence would make it even more grotesque in the situation and making it funny. Dancing to Chopin and the music louder to hide the other sounds. They made it a special and funny scene.

Audience Question: Would you recommend people return things found on the subway directly to the owner?
Chloe Grace Moretz: No !! (audience laughter)
Maika Monroe:The indoor set in Dublin was so much the focus of the film and the closeness you felt.
Neil Jordan: Yes there was something European that had to be present as the house and contents. So it had to be like in the middle of the woods but in New York and a bit like a carriage house. It is similar to dropping bread crumbs around New York and Chloe is following them. This is one thing that attracted me to the story of essentially a European monster tracking the American innocent.

Audience Question: Do you have any special stalker movies or villains that may have influenced you?
Neil Jordan: Not really, Greta did have her loneliness and not always monstrous, maybe if Frances hadn’t made her discovery they could have remained friends. Greta didn’t want to reach that level.
Isabelle Huppert: Yes, again as mentioned, how we can easily cross from normality to abnormality.

Audience Question: How did you feel being put in a box or small spaces?
Chloe Grace Moritz: I was not crazy about getting in the box. Isabelle was so supportive when I had to do it and would keep her fingers under the lid for me. As long as I knew she had her fingers there, I felt safe. (laughter)

Audience Question: I felt bad about the dog.
Neil Jordan: I agree. I wanted to get that dog. But it’s odd that you are all more concerned about the dog than you are about Frances (Chloe)? (laughter) Yes, I was sorry about the dog, but if we didn’t show what happened you would all be wondering what happened to him. Also psychopaths sadly seem to have a history of harming animals.

Greta opened March 1 in the Washington DC area.

The Wedding Guest: Q&A with Director Michael Winterbottom and Actress Radhika Apte

By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member

The Wedding Guest (United Kingdom) screened in September 2018 at the Toronto International and director Michael Winterbottom (The Trip to Spain, The Trip to Italy, Welcome to Sarajevo, Trishna). The movie revolves around British Muslim Jay (Dev Patel) who is traveling to Lahore, Pakistan. We are not sure what his plans are but he secretly has four different British passports and does not speak Urdu. He also travels in India without speaking Hindi or Punjabi. It turns out he is there to attend a wedding and meets the intended Indian bride Samira (Radhika Apte) whom he kidnaps in Pakistan and takes back to India. It is unclear if she is terrified or relieved to be missing the wedding. Lots of beautiful cinematography, little dialog and appealing actors and romantic chemistry carry a mysteriously underwritten road story with some surprising plot twists.



Toronto Moderator: Can you tell us a little about the genesis of the story and your film?
Michael Winterbottom: I really accompanied two British friends to a wedding in Pakistan and enjoyed the place and time had so thought it might be a good place to set a new film. I had no real connections to Pakistan or India before the film.

Toronto Moderator: Anything else to add about the film?
Michael Winterbottom: Not a lot really. It’s really a short story and very short script. At the beginning you wonder what Dev’s character is up to and by the end you have switched to her motivations and actions. She’s the independent, powerful character by the end.

Toronto Moderator: Can you talk about the casting process and choosing these actors for the roles?
Michael Winterbottom: You need two people you want to watch for the whole movie and there is little development so he refuses to share his back story at first. Dev is a great actor with that kind of quiet mature powerful presence. I sent him the film and he was so into it that he became a producer also and three weeks later had raised the money to make the film. Radhika was suggested by an Indian agent I knew and trusted. He said she would be great and he was right. (applause)

Toronto Moderator: Radhika, can you speak about getting involved in the film?
Radhika Apte: It was a no-brainer. I wanted to work with Michael for a long time. I was really interested in another film at the time but read the script and loved it. It was short but precise. You have the contrasts of identity issues. A man with multiple identities but she also doesn’t know what she wants or where she is going. I liked not knowing a great deal about them, but just getting involved in their growing relationship and journey.

Audience Question: Are there alternative endings to the movie?
Michael Winterbottom: No. We wanted to start with his journey and transition to hers. We at one time wanted to have more of her continued journey at the end but decided not to do that. She wants to take control of her life and her identity different from Dev’s character. Also many people know who she is so that’s different also. We also feel for Dev’s character that maybe if he could have shared more of his story their relationship and lives could have been altered, but he is who he is and is not changing.

Audience Question: Were the street crowds extras or real crowds?
Michael Winterbottom: Real crowds. We would pop Dev and Radhika in and out when needed but would never have been able to maintain that many extras for street scenes needed. We were very aware of the noise and crowds and used that to our advantage for these two people lost in the vast population.

Audience Question: Radhika, what is it like working in the Indian environment versus a Western film or environment?
Radhika Apte: I think just working on Michael’s film is completely different anyway. He is so focused. We made those journeys on buses and trains. We literally were part of those frames. We didn’t have people doing make up constantly or other issues. It was in the moment filming. You think more about the characters and working with Michael. I didn’t know Dev before the movie but we together and with Michael worked on our characters. I didn’t realize how strong Michael wanted my character Samira to be at first and especially at the end of the film. It was about experiencing everything.

Audience Question: Did you shoot it in order?
Radhikha Apte: Yes. We started up North and ended South in Goa, and continued pretty much in chronological order.
Michael Winterbottom: Yes, it is helpful sometimes to do it. It is difficult sometimes convincing production staff to do it that way. When you are on the road it is easier.

Audience Question: What kind of impact do you think this film would have on Indian and Pakistani audiences?
Radkhika Apte: I was asked this question before but I think this is an individual story and at the end I don’t think it matters where they are from. It is more a universal story of individuals anywhere trapped by their situations and trying to survive and make decisions they have to make. I like that Samira is never a victim in the film. She learns to take control.

The Wedding Guest is scheduled to open in mid-March in the Washington DC area.

Woman at War: Q&A with Director Benedikt Erlingsson

By Ron Gordner, DC Film Society Member

Woman at War (Iceland/France/Ukraine, 2018) was screened on September 7, 2018 at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival with director Benedikt Erlingsson in attendance. This is Iceland's submission for best foreign language film. The film and actress, Halldora Geirhardosdottir, have won several awards at various film festivals during the year. A middle aged woman, Halla, who leads her church choir becomes an ecoterrorist declaring war on the regional industries such as the aluminum companies who are, she says, destroying the environment and ecosystems of her beloved Icelandic rural highlands. At the same time does she have time to deal with fostering or adopting a small orphan from Ukraine? Will the police or media find out who the masked ecoterrorist is and what effect does she have on the environmental movement? The film has garnered several awards at Cannes and other film festivals this year.



Toronto Moderator: I really loved the sense of location or place wedded to the film, can you discuss that issue?
Benedikt Erlingsson: Halla feels she wants this great landscape for her children or generations to come. We realize climate change and what our governments must do to preserve what we can and discuss what may be lost also. We really have to change our lifestyles to try and preserve what we can. This is our big challenge in the future.

Toronto Moderator: Again, it is a film about challenges and rooted in the landscape. Did you always plan for it to be so organic in nature?
Benedikt Erlingsson: These are highlands actually close to Reykjavik that most tourists don't go to. They go more into the interior rural highlands but we have these highlands close to urban areas also. This is filmed near the famous glacier and our island has only 360,000 people so we should know it.

Toronto Moderator: Also can you talk about the wonderful color palette and cinematography you use in the film?
Benedikt Erlingsson: I love that you want to know about our use of color. It was somewhat like what I remember Americanized Kodak golden moments with yellows in it but we used earth tone colors and shot on Alexa R and Scorpion lenses, not use of blues.

Toronto Moderator: I cannot not talk about the wonderful Icelandic and Ukrainian music. You worked with Icelandic composer Davio Por Jonsson and who was also present in the film.
Benedikt Erlingsson: He composed the music for Horses and Men which I loved. I like to work with musicians before the film. We met almost two years before shooting the film. We played with lots of things. This is just the tip of the iceberg in the film. I like Mickey Mousing with music to fit the film. I don’t like to add lots of violence in films and use strings for it. The musicians are playing the score of her life a Greek chorus or angels. When Plato was asked about Socrates he said he has an angel or spirit as a muse. So we have these singers supporting her and her actions. The Greek goddesses were strong and did many things.

Toronto Moderator: Can we talk about Halla and casting her role?
Benedikt Erlingsson: Well, she is like the mythological Mountain Goddess and protecting Nature. It is somewhat embarrassing but I have known Halldora since we were probably about 11 in theatre school and professionally since then also and as friends. I had hired her as musician behind me like an angel or demon and she was so good she took over the show I had started. I didn’t write the script with her in mind but later, yes, she was the character.

Toronto Moderator: You referenced also being an actor and having theatrical training. Does that make it easier to direct and work with the actors or not?
Benedikt Erlingsson: It helps with the language of acting and a degree of trust you have with the actors. So we can make shortcuts as needed to make the film. The film was completely scripted but some small changes were made. It is a somewhat Biblical themed picture also.

Audience Question: What was the background for the Ukrainian involvement in the film?
Benedikt Erlingsson: Ukraine is a far away country for us and also in the middle of Europe and a country in change with a war and industrial issues. They also have this beautiful musical heritage.

Audience Question: You mentioned the industrial complex is active in Iceland and its importance. Did you have obstacles or challenges in making the movie because of the companies?
Benedikt Erlingsson: There are four aluminum companies or factories and they are important for products, but Iceland is trying not to waste its expensive metal by conserving its use. It is an interesting conflict. One of the factories owned property on both side of the highway and part of the road we wanted to shoot. They quoted something I said about them sometime ago in the media so they didn’t want to allow us to film in some areas. So we had to talk to them and they changed their mind and if we didn’t cause problems it was okay to shoot there.

Audience Question: What can we people do ourselves to work with or convince the multicorporate world about the environment?
Benedikt Erlingsson: We have to act responsibly and work with our governments and ourselves to conserve these materials and use. Consumers seem weak now but do have power to make economical pressures rather than just media responses. If it means strikes, boycotts or other means that may be a very legal way in our society to act. If I fly to Iceland it takes 500 kilos of fuel or energy. I need to plant at least three new trees each accounting for about 200 kilos to make up for that. This needs to be our principle to use or replace or simply if we use something go out and fill up the holes we created.

Woman at War opens in the metro DC area in early March 2019 with distributor Magnolia Pictures.

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