To put it mildly, Sienna Miller is doing the work. Despite roles in major studio flicks such as “American Sniper” or “21 Bridges,” the British actress continues to make time for more challenging indie fare such as her lauded performance in the “American Woman” last year. Now, she’s back with another impressive turn in 2020 Sundance Film Festival selection “Wander Darkly,” which is finally available for public consumption this week.
Inspired by a traumatic event in writer and director Tara Miele’s own life, the Lionsgate release centers on Adrienne (Miller) a woman struggling to deal with the pressures of a newborn baby, a new home and a husband, Matteo (Diego Luna), that is frustratingly distant. After a car accident she finds herself in an undefined purgatory, jumping through memories of her life with Matteo and trying to come to terms with their relationship. For better or worse, Miele shoots the film with a ton of hand held camera that makes the performances pop, but often makes the fantastical elements of the picture more jarring than originally intended.
Miller, who is currently in production on a new David E. Kelly mini-series for Netflix in the U.K., jumped on zoom last month to discuss the challenges and rewards of shooting Miele’s low budget epic.
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The Playlist: Did I get this right, you guys shoot the movie in the fall of 2018?
Sienna Miller: Yes. It was actually the summer. I think it was like, yeah, August, July, August, or August, September of 2018 months, which feels like eons ago, especially given the length of this year.
Yeah, exactly. This year feels like 10 years. When the script came your way do you remember what made you want to commit to it?
I found it really moving as a piece, and I loved, specifically, the idea of going back and examining a relationship, and seeing the moments that were significant, where you pivoted and went wrong. I don’t know. Just that kind of concept is interesting to me and was interesting to me. But aside from anything, I was really stunned by the twist in it. I was really filled with grief reading it. It made me cry. And I think when you have an emotional reaction to something, it’s probably a sign that it’s something you should go after.
I rarely read production notes, but in in her director’s statement, Tara she talked about the long road to edit the movie because of what she was ultimately trying to do with it. How different is the final movie from what you remember shooting or the script that you read?
I think visually, it’s surpassed what I’d imagined. I think they did an amazing job with it, visually. I was really pleasantly surprised because the making of it felt so awkward in moments, and clunky, and tricky. The being in a scene and having to break and comment on the past from the present versions of ourselves, which felt…there was just no way that that feels natural or good. And so, I think I was worried that it wouldn’t work, and happy when I saw it at Sundance, and watched it with an audience, and saw their reaction to it, that it had worked, and looked pretty beautiful.
And then, you think, “We made this in 23 days, and you’re remembering moments where you were lying on some street in some block in LA. And we only had it blocked off for 60 seconds because we didn’t have the budget to hold traffic.” And so, you’re hopping up in the middle of high octane intensity and then going back down into it once traffic’s pass. There’s so much work that goes into making an independent film. And so, anytime it’s possible, it’s a miracle, let alone something people respond really positively to.
Tara also said, interestingly, that, “The work became about getting comfortable with the discomfort.” Did you ever get comfortable with it?
The discomfort is really hard, and it’s true that that would be the goal, to get comfortable within that. I think the film required me to be uncomfortable and confused, and that is generally my memory of making this, was like a real state of confusion. So, there wasn’t a beat where I could be like, “Oh, what have we got today? O.K. we’re doing that scene.” It just required quite a lot of depth, and that’s hard. That stuff is hard. Sometimes, when you have a really emotional moment and you’re worried that you’re not going to connect to it at that moment, and then, you do, and something happens that you hadn’t thought about or planned. Those are the moments that I love, where you’re surprised by how something touches you in a moment. And that happened on this, so that’s about as close to enjoyment or satisfaction that I got.
Both you and Diego have such great chemistry in the film. And as a viewer, you believe that Adrienne and Matteo, at least, had a core relationship, that they cared for each other. You said that you shot only over 23 days. Was there any time for rehearsal or was that spark just luck of the draw and it worked out on set?
No, we did. We rehearsed, which is extraordinary. That never happens, especially when you have limited time. But it was important to Tara that we do that, and I think invaluable to us reflecting on this, because it was such a technical film, in many ways. A lot of the angles and the swipes that she would do felt strange in the moment. We had to really plan whether we’re in the present or the past at any given moment. And that required just planning and really mapping as we were going along. I also knew Diego from when I was 21. We’d become friends. And so, I felt like I wasn’t going to work with some stranger, and suddenly having to be that vulnerable in front of someone that I didn’t know and trust. Also, he has no ego or arrogance. He’s just a very soulful, very kind person. So, that was a real gift because I think in the hands of somebody else, this could have been an even more taxing journey.
You’ve made movies with filmmakers before on subject matter that is very personal to them. This seems very personal to Tara, as a filmmaker. Did you sense that, and as an actor, do you want to divorce yourself from that?
Yeah. I think definitely. This was her experience, and she’s elaborated on it. But yes, I felt like this was something that she’d had a fleeting experience with, and it was, in many ways, based on her own life. And so, I felt the responsibility, which is galvanizing. I then had to let go of that once we started shooting because, otherwise, it’s just too complicated. But it adds a layer of effort that you want to achieve in telling this person’s story in the way that they have written it and want it to be told.
What about Adrienne, as a character, did you enjoy or just connect with?
There were moments where I didn’t get on with her. I loved how real she was. I know that girl. I know her. And I felt like she’s someone that you wouldn’t necessarily sit with or spend time with as a character in the film, except that she’s just an everyday person, essentially. There’s nothing. She’s not asking for attention, particularly. She’s not going to be the most focused on in any room. But I like looking at those women and going through experiences with them, the people that you don’t necessarily see in society as much.
We’ve been in such a strange stay-at-home lockdown, maybe some less lockdown than others, period. Have you started any new projects during the past year?
I actually just started something at the beginning of November in London, which is a six-hour limited Netflix series that is the creative team behind “Big Little Lies” and “The Undoing.” David E. Kelley and Melissa James Gibson wrote it, “Anatomy of a Scandal.” And it’s a really interesting story based on a book. And it’s two intertwining plots, me, Michelle Dockery and Rupert Friend. And I’m English, for once, in something, which is a revelation. So, I feel very fortunate that I actually am managing to go to work because there’s not an awful lot of that for many actors right now.
The most recent lockdown is almost over in the UK. Has it been weird to be shooting during that period?
It has, but you know what? They kept schools open. So, I was lucky and I could drop my kid at school. And so, life didn’t feel that different to how it would’ve felt if stuff was open because there wasn’t much time to go out and have fun as it was anyway. But I think energetically, it does feel weird to be on a set with people in goggles and masks. And we have COVID tests every three days. And I think it’s going to be nice to just walk past a restaurant and see people enjoying it. Just some form of normality. It’s just been such a crazy time for everyone.
“Wander Darkley” opens in select theaters and PVOD on Friday.
