Sistersare doingitfor themselves
trying to establish yourself, you take a lot of projects that maybe aren’t, you know, expressive of who you are as an artist or what you want to accomplish. But certainly as you get older, you think, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Not surprisingly then, Witherspoon’s resume has done a 180 since her breakthrough role playing blonde sorority girl Elle Woods in the 2001 classic Legally Blonde. While her latest outing, Home Again, might look like it affords the same rom-com tropes it is, in fact, very different. For starters, the movie boasts brilliant filmmaker Nancy Meyers, the legendary producer of The Holiday and It’s Complicated, and her daughter, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, who will make her directorial debut. Secondly, it’s a contemporary title that challenges the standard definitions of family, because in-between love, friendship and family, it offers a life lesson that starting over is not for beginners. That teaching comes in the form of Alice Kinney (Witherspoon), a 40-year-old who has recently separated from her husband (Michael Sheen).
She decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters.
She comes across three young filmmakers and, having agreed to a temporary living arrangement, finds her new-found life unfolding in unexpected ways.
For Witherspoon, it was refreshing to explore the truth of divorce, as opposed to a traditional love story.
Admitting that she was keen to consider the notion that decisions you make at 25 don’t necessarily suit your life further down the line, she said: “To have a woman separated at the very beginning of the film is a very modern concept.
“I loved the script. I think so many people can relate to the journey of getting divorced and not knowing what’s next.
“People are going through that more and more, so it’s nice to see reality reflected on film.”
Restating her support for “dynamic” women steering the ship, she added: “It’s great to have a female director and a female producer.
“They really see romance in a different kind of way and it’s definitely through their lens that you see a romance between an older woman and a younger man.”
But Witherspoon is quick to point out it goes far beyond mother-daughter bonding.
She said: “It’s been really fun to see Hallie and Nancy’s dynamic and how they speak the same language. They think the same ways about comedy and characters.
“It’s nice for me to be around so many female filmmakers.
“It’s important that we have female voices in film and I think Hallie is going to be a great new voice.”
But ultimately, she insisted, it’s about updating the rom com, adding: “Audiences are ready for something a little more modern.”
A mother to three children, Witherspoon – who has a son and daughter with her actor ex-husband Ryan Phillippe and a young son with her second husband, talent agent Tim Roth – is ever conscious of setting a fine example to her brood.
In particular her 18-year-old lookalike daughter Ava, who she took as her plus one to the Emmy Awards.
Witherspoon said: “I look forward to the day when she gets to be the boss. I will be like
Female directors and producers really see romance in a different kind of way. It’s great
REESE WITHERSPOON
happy; I’m like, ‘You take the responsibility.”’
Her southern twang is in full force for that final sentence.
A smiling Witherspoon concluded: “It’s shifted definitely to, ‘Wow, look at what my mother and these other women are accomplishing and I am so proud of them.’
“She is learning a lot from these incredible women that I get to spend time with – it’s the dream.” ● Home Again opens in UK cinemas tomorrow.