interesting. Playing a villain is super fun, but not maybe
the most interesting way of exploring things – I’m much
more interested in the women who are just sort of stepping
out of the boundaries of what is deemed to be acceptable.
I think audiences and critics have a much harder time with
that than they do with someone who’s like a murderer, or
an out-and-out terrible person. A woman who’s having a
tricky time, or maybe just not putting her best foot forward
for a minute, trying her hardest but making mistakes, that
seems to be more problematic. But I hope it’s moving in
the right direction. Cassie is definitely making a bunch of
mistakes in this film.
Oh, definitely. There’s never a sense she’s doing the
right thing. No! It’s not a good plan, don’t try this at home.
The film really tackles the idea of the “nice guy”
who claims to be different in some way but still
hurts women. Do you think the “nice guy” is a myth?
Like Bo said at Sundance, if we just lock up the rapists and
terrible men, we haven’t tackled the wider issue. Of course
these men deserve to go through the criminal system and
be dealt with appropriately, but it’s so much wider than
that. I read about the Weinstein trial and I can barely get
through an article, because it’s just so horrendous. I think
it’s astonishing that these survivors are speaking out in the
same room as him. It’s mind-blowingly courageous. But
there is so much more to it than just these terrible people.
Part of what Emerald and I discussed in our first meeting
was that this film is much more about the part we’ve all
had to play in this. Alison Brie’s character has made jokes
about it, and gossiped about it. I think we’ve all diminished
someone’s experience like that at some point. I like that this
isn’t a condemnation of men, it’s an invitation to look at all
of our behaviour.
And, of course, plenty of the things we see in
the film we’ve seen before, in rom-coms and bro
comedies, from the male perspective. Exactly. And
these women are always the butt of the joke. I think that’s
why we can undercut some of the controversy about the
subject matter here. There’s been a wasted woman that’s
been taken advantage of in so many films, and no one’s
batted an eye.At points it almost feels like the women Cassie
confronts face a harsher punishment than the men.
Well, Emerald talks sometimes about Cassie being a sort of
avenging angel – she will grant forgiveness, or vengeance,
depending on the way the person she’s confronting reacts.
She’s looking for some acknowledgement that what
happened was wrong. There are female characters within
the film who are supportive of her, but Cassie’s built up
such a wall – she won’t let them in. She’s become very good
at putting on a different face.Do you ever get frustrated by the fact we’re
still having these conversations about trusting
women’s experience and allowing them to tell their
own stories? Yeah. I’ve only become more aware of
it, particularly since having kids. I have a daughter, and,
y’know, obviously she won’t see it until she’s 30, but I do feel
like this is a film I want both her and my son to see. Women
have been having these conversations for millennia, but we
haven’t seen this on-screen until recently. Films, particularly
in our teens and late teens, are so formative and teach us so
much about the world. We haven’t had these films to learn
from, so we’ve just seen the world through a completely
different lens.How do you think we can do better as a society
when it comes to tackling the issues in this film?
Being in the role that I’m in as an actor, I’ve always been
interested in telling female stories, and I’ve always sought
out female directors, and I do feel like the choices you make
in your work are representative of how you feel. Choosing
this project, it feels very, very personal now. And I’m thrilled
it divides people and it causes conversation. I’d much rather
that than never thinking about it again. But I don’t know if I
have a statement about it. It certainly affected me, reading
stories of women who survived sexual assault, and it’s
stayed with me, and I hope to continue supporting female
voices. But beyond that, I want it to be a conversation
starter. Or a fight starter, maybe“THIS FILM ISN’T A CONDEMNATION
OF MEN. IT’S AN INVITATION TO LOOK
AT ALL OF OUR BEHAVIOUR.”
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