Main Page
Interviews Menu
Alphabetical Menu
Chronological Menu
Vertical releases My Mother's Wedding nationwide on August 8th, 2025. NYC MOVIE GURU: Which of the emotions ranging from sadness to anger to joy were most challenging for you to capture on screen? Kristin Scott Thomas: The actresses were so generous that it wasn't my difficulty; the difficulty came afterwards in the editing. They captured it so easily. They went in there and produced this alchemy between them which made this extraordinary. There's one moment when Sienna Miller's character, Victoria, is talking about the number of times that her mother has been married and she says, "3rd for me." You see her face drop and then something else happens and then it sparks back into life within the blink of an eye. These actresses are so talented that I didn't have any difficulties in achieving what you described. The biggest learning curve for me was in editing because I've never done that before. Getting actors to perform and directing them was just heaven. Where it became more difficult for me, technically, was understanding how things get sewn together and how to make something flow. NYC MOVIE GURU: Between Katherine, Victoria and Georgina, which of the three sisters do you think is the most introspective? KST: Probably Victoria, the actress, because that's her job, but I'm not sure that she digs very deep. I think that the character of the younger sister, Georgina, is to just get on with life and to put one foot in front of the other, so I don't think that she has enough time for introspection. So I think that we'd have to say that Katherine, the eldest sister played by Scarlett Johansson, has this incredibly important job and yet is haunted by these memories that she guards jealousy, polishes, keeps in tune and makes sure that they're still there because that is what she's hanging onto. So, she's probably the most introspective. NYC MOVIE GURU: How do you think the sisters would react to hearing Pablo Neruda's poem, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming."? KST: I think that they'd be reassured by that. They're seeing that happening with their mother who's been through all sorts of terrible things, and actually found a life partner who is kind, generous, sweet, lovely and who cares about her. They learn that from her, so I think that they are given hope at the end when we have this big scene where she tells them what's what and tells them to grow up. If they were to listen to that poem then at that point, they'd say, "Ok, I'll see what I can do." NYC MOVIE GURU: How would you define the term "grown up"? What does it really mean to "grow up"? KST: Of course, everybody has elements of a five-year-old child within them. It would be a pity if we didn't. I think that being able to face reality is a sign of maturity, and being able to not project and not panic is a sign of maturity. I'm striving towards that. NYC MOVIE GURU: What was the process like to decide when and how to incorporate comic relief? Do you think that comedy is often rooted in tragedy? KST: Definitely. We had lots of fun finding the moments that were unexpected and a little bit out of place. It's like when you're having a really dramatic, serious conversation and then you can hear someone laughing in the background or they're washing up and you can hear the plates clinking or whatever. If the general ambience is distracting from the drama---your personal drama--then I think that that's a really great situation. There's a big scene in the movie where there's a fight between the sisters and yet in the most beautiful place and the bees are buzzing and the flowers are being pretty and everything's perfect. Yet blood is being drawn--not literally, thank goodness. There's a moment when Victoria is on the phone with her therapist and her heart's breaking, and then what's going on outside is actually very funny just a yard away from where she's complaining to her therapist. I love watching that and the juxtaposition of the two things. NYC MOVIE GURU: How would you define the term "cinematic"? KST: I like it when we're sitting in the dark watching a face and we're sort of creeping in behind the eyes, we're feeling with the character, we're empathetic and we're experiencing the fear or the worry or the surprise---or whatever it is, we understand it as an audience, and we can live these very strong emotions in the safety of the cinema, and then it's over and we go home. But you have this little slice of experience that is very compelling and enthralling. That, for me, is why I love going to the cinema. Main Page Interviews Menu Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu ______________________________________________________ |
The NYC Movie Guru
themovieguru101@yahoo.com
Privacy Policy