When you say he likes to rehearse do you mean weeks of rehearsal before shooting or almost like a play?
I wouldn’t say that it’s like a play, but I mean, I think that he likes to spend time looking at the script, reading it, having us read it. Also, the time that we spent in Madrid going over, there was sometimes in costume fittings, trying things on, thinking about the character, thinking about where we’re going to go with the character, meeting everybody at El Deso, his production company, and all of that. It was just a long, slow warmup to actually shooting because once he shoots, he likes to go really quickly.
Were you surprised how fast he liked to shoot or had you been warned?
I was a little bit surprised, but I’m also not entirely surprised. I’ve worked with other people who work quickly, too, and I think you don’t know when you work with a director what their speed’s going to be. You sort of take the temperature, and you go like, “O.K., what’s this going to be like? What’s the working situation going to be like?” But Pedro likes to move.
Did you feel like you needed to read the novel to get more background on your character?
I read all of Sigrid Nunez’s novels because I wanted to kind of get an insight into who she was. And the character, I think, was based on this character that she had written. It was nameless in the book but feels like she might be kind of Sigrid herself, but you don’t know because you don’t know what the writer’s intention is. So. I read all of them because I wanted to have that feeling, and I met with Sigrid as well and spoke to her. But Pedro also, y’know, it’s only one little section from the book that he’s taken, and he’s kind of elaborated on. He’s also made it very specifically his own story as well.
Did he communicate with you what he wanted to tell in the story, or did he sort of leave it to you to interpret from the script?
Well, I don’t know. Pedro is very specific about how he sees things and how he wants the scene to play and whether he thinks the scene plays slowly or quickly, or he gave a really wonderful note that I spoke about earlier that I really loved. It was when the snow is falling in the scene with Martha and Ingrid in the hospital scene. Because of course, the snow is not falling when we’re shooting it because that’s a special effect. So he said, “I wonder if the snow will fall.” So it’s possible that Martha could say, “Look, the snow is falling,” and Ingrid could look, and there’s no snow. And so you’re just listening to your friend, and you’re realizing that she’s in a crisis, and not only is she in a health crisis and pretty despairing, but she’s also seeing snow, imaginary snow. So, he ended up choosing that the snow was actually falling. But I remember I really loved that note because it’s so complicated, and honestly, it doesn’t play differently either way. If you see the snow falling, it’s magical, and it’s beautiful, and it’s emotional. If you turn and the snow is not falling, it’s magical and beautiful and emotional that your friend sees that. So, in a sense, Ingrid’s reaction is complicated either way.
One of the things I love about the film is so many people have friendships that drift apart over so many years, and Ingrid has not heard from Martha in decades Yet, she’s still open to bringing her into her life. What did that tell you about Ingrid as a character?
Oh, I loved Ingrid for that because it’s like she’s someone who, when she hears that someone is in the hospital, and when people are in the hospital, they’re generally in need. They’re sick, there’s something, and they’re incapacitated, and they can’t come to you, so you go to them. So, Ingrid’s first instinct is immediately to go to her and then come back the next day and then come back the next day and to bring some books and to bring some flowers and to keep her company because she ultimately is someone who is like Pedro was always saying that in Ingrid is a really good girl. She’s just like a good person, and I love that in the face of something that she’s really afraid of, which is death, illness, and the unknown, even though she admits all of these things are terrifying to her, humanity allows her to supersede her fears. I think when people are in crisis, often you don’t know who’s going to show up. Sometimes, people who really show up for you are surprising, I think she’s one of those people who shows up.
Pedro made two English language shorts before this to sort of get himself into the frame of mind that he was confident enough to direct an English language film. Do you think that he will make another one?
Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think he definitely will.
Are you hoping that you get a phone call? He does bring many of the same actors…
I know. I hope so. Yeah, he does seem to have a pool of actors, so I hope, I hope that I’m a member of that company now.
The movie says so much about death and the choices that we can make in our own lives. I don’t know how many screenings you’ve been to and how many people you’ve talked to afterward, but what is the reaction you get from audiences so far?
I think people are quite moved by it, and even though it deals with a very important issue, it doesn’t feel to me like an issue film. It feels like a movie about friendship and about mortality and about what we can offer each other in terms of living our best lives of living. Just living. So, much of the movie really is about how are they spending their time? Are they going to walk over for a walk? Are they going to watch a movie? Are they going to eat something? Are they going to go to a bookstore? Are they going to go for a drive? It’s really about how do you live and how do you live in the company of another person. I think it’s about love and about reflection. I think people feel that.
“The Room Next Door” is now in limited release
