Abuse issue one actress seeks to fight in film, life
Rosario Dawson is so charming and grounded that all of her stories sound lovely.
“Sure, I had a knife in my hand, blood running down my face, a big swollen eye and Katherine trying to kill me with a fireplace poker,” the 37-year-old New Yorker said, a big smile spreading slowly across her face.
“Yet, if you look at it another way, it was beautiful to see women in a moment of rage who have to save themselves.”
The “Fatal Attraction”style battle between two desperate women marks a pivotal scene in the new
thriller “Unforgettable,” opening Friday in theaters nationwide.
The film features Dawson as Julia Banks, a writer who is newly engaged to David Connover (Geoff Stults), a craft-beer brewer who is the divorced father of 8-year-old Lily (Isabella Kai Rice).
The problem comes with his nightmare of an ex-wife, Tessa (Katherine Heigl). As Julia bonds with Lily, Tessa becomes obsessed with getting Julia to leave.
Dawson said she relished the chance to be involved in the film, overseen by power producer Denise Di Novi in her directorial debut.
“What I loved about this was the opportunity to work with remarkable women and tell a multifaceted story about first and second wives,” the actress said.
In the film, Julia has an “ex” issue of her own: an abusive loser whose restraining order has expired. Tessa steals Julia’s phone, downloads sexy pictures and poses as Julia in chatting with him on the internet.
“Domestic abuse is not glossed over in the film,” Dawson said. “We show you what abuse looks like because it’s on my face.”
The actress serves on the board of a group working to end violence against women and has recorded a voice message for the website giverespect.org.
“These women feel so alone,” she said. “When you get into an abusive relationship, the abuser cuts you off from the herd. You end up desperately needing that abuser because that might be the only person in your life.”
“Unforgettable” is a very physical film — which, for Dawson, also meant some steamy love scenes with Stults.
“Every moment of intimacy was done for a specific reason,” she said.
Dawson, who was discovered at age 16 outside the New York apartment building where her family lived, has worked with many notable directors on films ranging from Edward Burns’ “Sidewalks of New York” ( 2001) to Danny Boyle’s “Trance” ( 2013).
Currently, she spends much of her time on television, portraying Dr. Claire Temple in Netflix’s iteration of the Marvel Comics universe in “Daredevil,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist” and the upcoming “The Defenders.”