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At simply 23 years outdated, Eliza Scanlen has already amassed one of the formidable filmographies of her Zoomer friends. “The Starling Girl” is simply the newest addition to a sterling résumé full of industrial success and indie darlings alike. If there’s something that appears to unite her roles, it’s how one finds themselves inside the context of a household unit. In initiatives like “Little Women” and “Babyteeth,” familial bonds is usually a principally constructive and protecting drive — even when they’ll kind a closed ecosystem from the world round them. But in others, starting from TV’s “Sharp Objects” to Broadway’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” these connections can result in a extra harmful insularity.
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“The Starling Girl” falls into the latter camp. As the titular character, 17-year-old Jem Starling is outlined by the patriarchal heritage that precedes her. She’s wading by way of the murkiness of her burgeoning points of interest, trying to kind out what she needs for herself and what her fundamentalist Christian group calls for of her. In an surroundings that favors submission to authority over self-knowledge, Jem begins to bristle in opposition to her confines.
She spots a kindred individualist spirit in late-twenties youth minister Owen (Lewis Pullman), who’s returned from mission work with new concepts about how you can enliven worship practices. Their quiet rebellions in opposition to orthodoxy result in the 2 kindling different emotions for each other that transcend their assigned roles. Ultimately, it escalates right into a furtive launch of respective sexual repression.
Laurel Parmet’s path by no means loses sight of what determines their relationship: abuse. But “The Starling Girl” additionally resists straightforward categorizations or ethical judgments about characters or occasions. There’s gray space by which Scanlen should stroll a fragile tightrope. Her masterful efficiency holds each the paradox of Jem’s specific predicament and the accessibility of widely-shared tensions round self-expression, want, and consent.
The Playlist spoke with Scanlen shortly earlier than “The Starling Girl” opened in theaters. The dialog coated how she developed the character of Jem, what she did to know the world of the movie, and the place she falls on the unresolved questions posed by the story.
Shamelessly as an enormous Greta Gerwig fan, I do need to ask about your time on the “Little Women” set practically 5 years in the past. I believe she has such a singular, inspiring approach of working a set and provoking all her collaborators — is there something you realized on that movie you’ve carried with you, both in being directed or being the director?
There are simply so many issues I carried from that movie into the following job. Greta is so collaborative, such as you stated, and having that rehearsal time earlier than we began capturing was very memorable. Greta comes from a theater background, and an appearing background as effectively. I believe she simply knew implicitly what was wanted. We wanted to be sisters, so she bought us collectively and threw us within the deep finish collectively. I additionally hadn’t had a lot expertise at that time, truthfully. I had finished “Sharp Objects” a 12 months earlier than, and once we had wrapped that, Amy [Adams] instructed me that I have to go begin working with younger folks. And so I did that! And was very fortunate to do it with the likes of Florence [Pugh], Emma [Watson], Saoirse [Ronan], and Greta [Gerwig].
What retains bringing you again to those household tales, if that’s acutely aware, and what challenges does that current as an actor to make these connections really feel genuine?
I don’t know if it’s a acutely aware choice to be part of these initiatives that discover household dynamics. I believe that perhaps, subconsciously, I discover them fascinating as a result of they’re usually particularly dysfunctional. My mother says each household’s dysfunctional in their very own approach, and I’ve to agree! I believe that was the fantastic thing about “Babyteeth.” Everyone liked one another, however everybody was self-medicating in their very own methods with completely different coping mechanisms. I additionally love working in an ensemble. It’s plenty of enjoyable for an actor to have varied actors to work with. It’s a chance so that you can present one other facet of your character as effectively. That’s why I liked enjoying these household scenes in “The Starling Girl” since you had been capable of see the various completely different ways in which Jem was feeling strain from this group, whether or not it was by way of her mother or by way of the pastor.
This additionally isn’t the primary time you’ve labored on initiatives set in spiritual communities within the American Midwest and South. Were you capable of construct on that current information for “The Starling Girl?”
Yeah, considerably. I believe that the time makes them fairly completely different, although, as a result of “The Devil All the Time” was set within the ’60s, and “The Starling Girl” is about in present occasions. One of the largest challenges for the communities like that, in present occasions, is the affect of know-how as society is changing into extra secular. It’s tougher to flee exterior affect, and it makes younger folks in these communities extra simply inclined to being influenced by that, doubting their religion, and doubtlessly even leaving the church. I do assume that information of the Bible was one thing that I had in my again pocket from “The Devil All the Time” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Getting a bit of extra particular to Jem, how did you develop the character’s physicality? It’s immediately noticeable how she contorts herself in consciousness of the way in which she’ll be interpreted by the gaze of others, particularly males.
Jem’s physicality was an necessary factor for me in constructing the character. She’s clearly an expressive individual, and I believe she struggles to suppress her expressive nature greater than different younger women within the church. I understood the character quite a bit by way of her dancing, however past the dancing, she’s holding herself with the information that she has to uphold males’s dignity so her actions are restricted. As the movie progresses, we see her attain a breaking level. Along the way in which, she provides into her sexual needs and turns into extra expressive.
Was it any completely different than discovering the physicality of some other character? The distinction right here is simply that Jem is a lot extra conscious of how others understand that physicality than most.
Yeah, I believe so. I believe. With Jem, although, I needed to seize that fiery spirit, and I believe dancing was my alternative to do this. When you’re appearing, you don’t need to be considering an excessive amount of about the way you’re holding your self. You need to be extra targeted on the character’s intention and the emotional nature of the scene moderately than whether or not they’re placing your hand in your hip or not.
You talked about constructing an Instagram profile to your character on “Babyteeth” — had been there any equally out-of-the-box methods to search out your approach into the character of Jem?
Oh, gosh, nothing too out-of-the-box as a result of I don’t assume Jem will be. Laurel gave us plenty of analysis materials. We had two consultants engaged on the movie. Honestly, it was such a loaded shoot. We had been capturing for six weeks, and I used to be on set day-after-day. I believe I needed to simply take one step at a time and take a look at to not fear an excessive amount of. I simply adopted Laurel’s lead, and I believe we did a superb job.
How did you develop the connection with Lewis Pullman’s Owen, particularly because it pertains to the physique language they share? So a lot of the preliminary forays of their relationship come from these loaded non-verbal moments.
Yeah, there are various seems exchanged between Jem and Owen which can be loaded. I believe that may be attributed to Laurel’s path. But I believe Jem can be fairly an fascinating contradiction as a result of she is feeling sexual needs, but on the similar time, can’t articulate them or feels uncomfortable articulating them. She’s drawn to Owen however isn’t able to have intercourse. She doesn’t need to take off her prime; she’s not snug doing that. She’s experiencing sexual want, however her surroundings stunts her in a really vital approach. That contradiction was enjoyable to play and made these scenes with Owen a bit extra difficult. It wasn’t unbridled want. The want was restricted and forbidden. It made the scenes a problem to play. They’re fairly difficult, not simply black and white.
The first intercourse scene with Jem and Owen is such a wealthy textual content. The digicam actually lingers on Jem’s face as she’s feeling ache whereas he’s expressing what can solely be described as animal intuition. And then, the script flips each time she begins to exhibit company and take initiative by leaning into her want. That’s sort of the primary second that he actually begins to pump the brakes on all of it.
Yeah, completely. I discovered that fairly fascinating. I believe the frequent assumption in inappropriate relationships like this the place the person is way older than the girl the girl by no means wields energy. But we see the facility shifts from Owen to Jem many occasions, and that appears like extra of an genuine portrayal of these relationships.
How do you deal with the problem of the script’s ambiguity? Are you, as an actress, making the decision of whether or not Jem loves Owen or simply the thought of him even when the character may not know?
Hmm, that’s fascinating. I believe that Jem is lonely. When we first meet Jem, she is alone in her emotions, and she or he’s frightened by the sexual emotions that she’s having. And when she will get to know Owen, I believe she sees herself in him. Owen offers a way of chance, and I believe they each see themselves as outsiders. It’s what attracts them to one another. Jem is drawn to Owen due to what he provides her and the concept that he represents. He provides her a brand new approach of understanding God, a brand new conception of God that speaks to her. It’s the concept that God takes pleasure in something that you just love, and God will love you for being you. That’s not what she was taught rising up, and that units her free and unlocks this sexual awakening. I do assume that she falls in love with the thought of Owen extra so than Owen himself.
Given that the movie is fully from Jem’s perspective, had been you additionally limiting your publicity as an actor to what different castmates had been enjoying with for his or her characters? Or is it useful to have that full image and compartmentalize it once you shoot?
I believe as a result of the precedence for Lewis and I used to be to really feel snug and related with one another, it was useful for us to be aware about conversations about our characters with Laurel. We had every week of rehearsals to speak about our characters, and it’s useful for me to conceptualize the characters and perceive what we’re making an attempt to attain even the scene. Why [did] Laurel write a sure scene? What is it displaying? Why is that this vital for the story? That’s actually useful for me to know. I believe I’m capable of straddle that conceptual world whereas, on the similar time, getting within the subjective headspace of the character. After doing that work earlier than capturing, I used to be capable of throw it away. Once I used to be on set, [I was able to] simply deal with my character. When Laurel gave Lewis completely different variations to discover in scenes, I wasn’t aware about these conversations, so I used to be capable of be stunned while we had been within the scene.
Were you stunned on the model of Owen that emerged from the edit once you noticed the completed movie?
Yeah, I used to be. I felt sorry for him. When I used to be doing the movie, I used to be appearing, clearly, from Jem’s perspective, who’s infatuated with Owen. And once I watched the movie, I used to be fairly repulsed by these intimate scenes. That’s precisely what Laurel needed. Laurel needed the viewers to, in a single second, root for them after which the following second surprise why they’re rooting for such an inappropriate relationship.
Plenty of folks on-line have famous that you just are inclined to gravitate towards darkish materials the place you’re usually sick or die, and I went to have a look at your IMDb to see what’s developing … a kidnapped baby story in “Caddo” and resisting the Nazis in “All That I Am.” Do you might have any want to do one thing a bit on the lighter facet of the spectrum?
[laughs] Honestly, I really feel like I’m so deep down this darkish path that hopefully there’ll be a fork within the highway the place I can have some gentle comedies, perhaps. I like comedies, I like darkish comedies, and hopefully, I’ll be capable of do one thing a bit lighter someday the place I don’t get into bother a lot … or die.
“The Starling Girl” is now enjoying in choose theaters.
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