"This is a metaphor of what is happening in the left camp"

Next week, November 15, at the New British Cinema festival in Moscow, the premiere of the black comedy Sally Potter Party will be held (at the end of December the film should be released in Russian rental). Lyudmila Pogodina met with the participants of the “Party” immediately after her show on Berlinal (there the film received the prize of the guild of filmmakers) and talked with them about the news but not yet lost the news: about Trump, Brexit - well, about the differences between this film from the performance.

- Sally wrote the script during the American elections, and right during the filming of the film there was Brexit . How did you perceive this news and how often did you discuss politics (given the plot of the film)?

Patrishia Clarkson: We all went to bed with the thought: “Oh, yes, we will never leave the European Union, ha ha ha.” Ha ha ha (ironically) . As for Sally Potter, this is a politically active person, smart and well -informed. But, it seems to me, the basis of this film is a deep study of the characters. This is a film about the seven lives that fate brought together. And a political reading is already the choice of a viewer.

Christine Scott Thomas: In fact, it was stunning. When Brexit occurred, we felt confused: one of us suspected that it could still turn out well, while others-the pessimists like me-were sure that something terrible would happen. And here it happened! It was a real shock: to go to work, to see the Argentinean around him, who lives in France (I myself live in France), French sound operators, Russian operator operator, Americans-and everyone has one question in their eyes: how could this happen, how could we allow this? What kind of people voted for leaving the European Union? On the other hand, we see joyful, excited people: “Finally !!! Freedom from the horrors of Europe! " It was so strange to meet face to face with the reality of an alternative view of the world. And our characters in the film are found with alternative opinions. With the beast living inside. With its uncontrolled instinctive anger, jealousy and feeling of disgust and hatred - all this is displayed with the help of different characters.

- How did you survive the experience of high -speed filming - both the working process itself and the rapid development of events inside the film?

Clarkson: Louder, faster, funnier!

Killian Murphy (mumbles approvingly) : We had to always be ready.

Clarkson: Yes, indeed, ready!

- Did you even have time for improvisation?

Clarkson: This sometimes happened with Killian because he was in this state ...

Murphy: Pretty strange. Imagine - to be a high for two weeks.

Clarkson: In cocaine fog! (Laugh.)

Murphy: There was a little impromptu, but in general, actions, script and dialogs were ready in advance.

- Did you have the feeling that you were not acting in the cinema, but playing a long play?

Clarkson: It was more like a reality than the theater.

Murphy: Indeed, there was nothing theatrical in this. The theater is a completely different dynamics, another kind of tension. It feels like it was a fucking film (laughs) .

Scott Thomas: At first, a panic was overcome, the fear that we would go to the stage unprepared. I was horrified, tried to pull everyone out of the make -up artist to rehearse, but everyone resisted. I could not understand what was wrong with them. I dreamed of typically acting nightmares - as I have completely confused in front of the viewer. And then we took off the first scene, then the second ... And everything was in order. In the early days, I was filming mainly. And it was easy, because we shot in series - I prepared dinner, then one person appeared, then one more. Thus, the plot gradually developed.

Timothy Supol: And it was very easy for me to imagine myself inside the theater play, because everything was shot in one place and in real time and time was limited. But Sally has an exclusively cinematic approach and visual language. Many classic Hollywood paintings from the 40s were based on plays-in Casablanca there are only three types of scenery. "Party" looks a little like a film of the 40s or French cinema of the 50s.

“Has any of you ever thought about doing politics?”

Scott Thomas: God forbid!

-But one of your relatives, it seems, was a “black wand” ...

Supreme: "Black wand!" Imagine how he shouts: "Black-E-E-E-E-END!" - And knocks on the door of the parliament.

Scott Thomas: This is such a civil servant. It seems to be elected. Because the queen is not allowed to appear in the House of Lords. Or not, wait, the House of Commons ... I understand this badly. My uncle, however, held this ceremonial position.

Supreme: Christine, I'm impressed!

“And, as far as I know, Miss Clarkson's mother was a politician.” Patrishia, did this somehow affect your life?

Clarkson: The political career of my mother began when we-in our family five children-were already more or less adults. Now she is 81 years old, and she tied up with politics only in 2015. Of course, this affected my life. She worked in New Orleans, but most often local bodies are the most difficult job. I remember how my mother was in the city council during the hurricane "Katrina" and suffered days and nights in an attempt to return the city to life. I saw in politics good, bad and evil. But it is precisely because of my mother that I still have hope. I know for sure that among politicians there are honest and good people, those who sincerely love their city and their country.

“Your turn, Mr. Murphy!”

Murphy: I am originating from the dynasty of teachers. My grandfather was a director, my uncle with aunt is a teacher, so I clearly understood that I did not want to be a teacher (smiles ) . But at the same time, I feel great respect for teachers: we all know that if we come across at least one good teacher in life, he can change everything. Let's hope that everyone in life had at least one such teacher.

-And as you think, does the intellect help to achieve influence? Do brains open the way to power?

Scott Thomas: Sometimes. In the event that I now think, most likely, there is no (meaning Trump’s victory in the elections. - Ed. ). But I'm not an expert, I am just an actress. I only pronounce the words that Sally Potter wrote for me, I have no answers to these deep and terrifying questions.

Supreme: In my opinion, this is a good question, because it is straight. But if you are interested in the overall picture, and not the specifics of the plot, we can say that the heroes of the “party” are a group of intellectuals, whose mind elevates them in their own eyes. They use intelligence to help more people in the best way. This group represents a certain type of intellectual movement. But what happens inside this intellectual world? He begins to fall apart rapidly. And this breakdown releases animal instincts, provokes cannibalism. So if you need loud conclusions, then we can say that this film is a metaphor for what is happening in the left political camp. Here they do not really know what to do, how to withstand the new legal populism - completely anti -intellectual.

-That is, it is worth happening something bad, how does our wild nature prevail?

Scott Thomas: In my opinion, this is what is happening in the film. And all participants in this story are shocked by their own behavior. In addition, this is a characteristic English trait - denial in the spirit of "I do not do that!"

Supreme: There is an opinion that there is a kind of restraint in the British. But here it all depends on the origin. Returning to the question - it seems that Nietzsche said: resentification, indignation inside a person is a creature that craves retaliation, and it is always at the surface. That is why we need to be careful when unrest begins around the world. Upstairs, it takes out false philosophers, false prophets, which begin to offer simple solutions for difficult problems. This has already happened 100 years ago. And 100 years before. I am not an intellectual, but I am interested in observing this: I did not hope to see such changes in my lifetime, I did not think that there would be a demand for extreme policy. Although our film does not seek to literally discuss current events, but is directly related to them.

- It turns out that this is a tragedy in the form of a comedy?

Supreme: This is a tragicomedy, yes. Like our whole life. My favorite films, especially when it comes to comedies, are those where there are contradictions of human nature. The best comedy causes a mixture of indignation and awkwardness in the viewer.

Murphy: My favorite type of comedy is a black comedy. When you laugh instead of thinking: "I should not laugh at it." It's funny. But the only way to achieve this, in my opinion, is truthfulness and sincerity. You can’t play a joke, you need to play the situation itself .

- And what helps you cope with the animal inside?

Upol: work just helps. You cannot be too reckless when you work in a team. But if everyone told the truth, if everyone admitted what he was thinking about, civilization would end. In fact, this is a philosophical question: what am I thinking? How do you know what you think about? People often talk about what they did, how they planned all and how their career developed in connection with this. Come on! Most of us are hostages of good luck. We do not plan things - we are talking about this in a retrospect. What I just said is already in the past. And what I said about the past is already in the past. Where is the future? But here it was just, everything was gone. The same difficult question is that we have an animal and what is not. I can't answer him.

- Have you had to face roles when you begin to think that it is better not to delve into such bowels of human nature?

Scott Thomas: Many times.

“And you are still returning to them?”

Scott Thomas: Not to them, but to other roles that have something in common with the previous ones. And every time you think: "This time everything will be fine!" When I starred in the film of Nicholas Winding Refine “Only God will forgive”, it was something. It began to stir up from my own role, due to the exhausting amount of negativity. I was very happy when the shooting was over. Timothy played a huge number of villains!

Supreme: Yes, but I always think that in my work there is a reliable fuse: all the knowledge acquired for the role is placed in a character that is not you. He is a repository where you can put your own monsters. If something is awakened in you, you just project it on the character. The task is not to play a role complimentary in relation to your human qualities. It's wrong! This is not acting.

“Christine, did your heroines help you feel better about your own life?”

Scott Thomas: It seems to me that the life of any person or the relationship of any people is better than what we played here. So yes.

- Have you got into such situations?

Clarkson: When did the parties turn into a nightmare? Of course, I entered into political disputes with people.

Murphy: I asked Sally several times: why will my hero just won't leave? And then I thought: no, such stories are delayed. You know, when someone swears at a party, a wedding or during a Christmas dinner, everyone remains! They are drawn into conflict.

Clarkson: In addition, it echoed reality. Day after day, we all found ourselves in the same room - actors, film crew and Sally.

- Agree that the “party” is a little Bunuel.

Supreme: Oh yes, "modest charm of the bourgeoisie."

-Or "fighter angel."

Supreme: Ah yes. Closed room, the appearance of sheep. There is something absurd in any dinner or a party-you are going to have fun there, but its receipt is strictly regulated by unwritten rules.