Breaking point
JESSICA CHASTAIN ON THE PAIN AND GAIN OF SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE…
AA volcano!” cries Jessica Chastain, summing up the emotional torrent that pours forth in Scenes From A Marriage, a new fivepart remake of Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 series about a husband and wife rocked by infidelity. Written and directed by Hagai Levi (The Affair), it sees Chastain and co-star Oscar Isaac play Mira and Jonathan, a contemporary couple enduring the painful process of separation.
How familiar were you with Bergman’s series?
Super familiar. I worked with [original star] Liv Ullmann on Miss Julie [2014].
I read all of her books, talked to her a lot about Bergman and watched their movies. Once on the Tree Of Life set, in the middle of a take, Terry [Malick] goes [to DoP Emmanuel Lubezki], “Chivo, she looks like a young Liv Ullmann!” I told this to Liv on Miss Julie and we were like, “Yes, we’re like sisters!” So I’m very, very familiar with it.
Was it daunting to follow in her footsteps here?
Well, the good thing is I’m not playing Marianne. That would be impossible. What [Ullmann] does… it’s perfection, a masterpiece. That’s why it’s so important. So for me, it wasn’t daunting because this felt so modern and different.
You’ve known Oscar Isaac a while; did that help?
Oscar and I have a shorthand. We have the same training, we were at college together, and we have a very similar way of working. If I got frustrated, because I didn’t know how to do a scene, he would help me figure out how to do it and vice versa. So you just show up with your prep - whatever songs you want to listen to for the day. And once it started, it was like an out-of-body experience. Similar to acting with [Take Shelter co-star] Michael Shannon.
How emotional was it making this show?
Every time I talked about the character, while we were playing, I would burst into tears because it was such an open, raw experience. So I wanted to be left alone, oftentimes. But also the wonderful thing that Hagai created… it feels like you have to be in the house with these people. So for me it was a blessing and a curse, but ultimately more blessing. We were in this claustrophobic experience, which I think the two characters are as well.
What was it like working with Hagai?
An amazing thing about Hagai is he’s open to ideas about character. Very early on, I said I would love it if Mira wasn’t someone who really thought she would ever get married. And then, as she loves Jonathan so much, she does. And he really incorporated that.
In this version it’s the woman who leaves. Was that something you were pleased to see?
Yes. I also love that we see the woman as the breadwinner and the man as the caretaker. How wonderful for society to show a man being a good father. I feel like we’ve been denied that in media and there’s always trickle-down effects. I like to see that celebrated.
SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE IS OUT ON SKY ATLANTIC/NOW TV NOW.