Danner finds ‘I’ll See You’ role an easy fit
Blythe Danner, as urbane and pretty as you’d expect, pauses to enjoy a pastry (offering one to the interviewer, of course) and search her memory for her last stop in San Francisco. It was for one of the causes dear to her heart: oral cancer awareness, Planned Parenthood — she can’t recall. She apologizes for being “fuzzy” at the end of a long day of interviews, saying, “I’ve never done so much press before. You would have thought I would have, at my ripe old age, but it’s because I have so much to do in this film. It’s the biggest role I’ve ever had on film.”
She arranges herself on the couch in this suite at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and says, plainly, “I’ve never been offered such a great role. I’m not an A-list actress — I don’t bite at those apples. I was surprised (director and co-writer Brett Haley) had thought of me for it originally. I was perplexed by it.”
That’s a little surprising to hear from a 72-year-old Emmy and Tony winner, especially one whose nearly 50-year film and TV career includes “The Great Santini,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Meet the Parents” and “Husbands and Wives.” But like Carol, her lead role in “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” Danner feels little need to hold back these days.
“I got to respect and like Carol. I liked the fact that she really spoke her mind. I think that was the attraction for (Sam Elliott’s) character, that they were very cut of the same cloth — kind of snarky. It’s very liberating to play somebody like that. As I get older, I’m getting more like that as a person,” she says with a laugh.
In “I’ll See You,” Danner’s Carol is settled into her routine a decade after her beloved husband’s death. Her bridge-playing friends (Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, June Squibb) want her to join them in a community for the elderly, but she’s perfectly happy living a series of similar days one after the other, with her dog in the house that she, her husband and now-grown daughter shared. Change forces its way into her life, however, in the form of a charming stranger (Elliott) and an unlikely younger friend (“Silicon Valley’s” Martin Starr).
Septuagenarian drama
Haley’s previous feature was the little-seen “The New Year” (2010). That a filmmaker still in his 30s would choose the subject matter of “I’ll See You” at all was unusual — dramas about septuagenarians aren’t usually box-office gold, although Danner isn’t convinced that the project isn’t a good investment.
“Knowing there’s a huge group of Baby Boomers now, the timing is perfect,” she points out archly.
The actress was impressed with the understanding the young director showed, both in writing and directing the feature.
“Both were insightful and surprising because he is such a young man,” she said. “He knew the depth and hurt of loss, and the path of going back and embracing life again. His perception as a director and his sensitivity, never forcing, being a guide — I’ve had that experience with older directors. You feel protected. He’s incredibly energetic, but he knew when to pull back and be silent. He was very thoughtful.”
Danner has nothing but glowing remembrances of the 18-day, super-low-budget shoot. (The project sprang from a Kickstarter seed-money campaign.)
“That spirit started with Martin, who’s a Buddhist,” she says of Starr, who plays a semi-slacker pool cleaner. “Watching him, being in a scene with him and receiving this wonderful warmth from him and serenity, I think it influences the piece.”
Despite having never tackled a film role this size, and despite her age, Danner had no worries.
Three-dimensional women
“I’ve done a number of things onstage that were good, sizable, three-dimensional women,” says the Broadway star of “Butterflies Are Free,” “Betrayal,” “Blithe Spirit” and “A Streetcar Named Desire,” among many others. “This is very special to me and never expected. One of the good things about getting older is you don’t have expectations.”
Still, when she received the script, she assumed, “I must be one of the ‘bridge women’ — oh, I’m Carol. And at the time, I was doing a play with Sarah Jessica Parker. It required a lot of stamina. I thought, ‘I think it’ll hold me in good stead, my theater body.’ ”
Another aspect she embraced was facing the parallels to her own life. Danner’s husband, director Bruce Paltrow, died of oral cancer in 2002 after more than 30 years of marriage (their daughter is actress Gwyneth Paltrow; their son, director Jake Paltrow). She didn’t have to research what it was like to lose a loved one that long ago.
“It made it easier to play,” she says without hesitation. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, your life is a book. You go through page by page, and you see all that you’ve learned and all the mistakes you’ve made and all the good things you’ve chosen, and it’s all there for you to reference. And that’s what I did.
“I feel a little guilty to say
this is one of the easiest jobs I’ve had. I thought I’d have to be in a corner tearing my hair out or clenching my hands before a difficult scene, but it was kind of mysterious that it was just there.”
Although the film concerns a very specific, personal journey, Danner sees a worthwhile message in it for younger generations.
“The fact this woman, who has gone through so much loss, is sort of forced to open, does open and knows her heart a bit more … and it isn’t as fearful as young people think, the journey into old age. I think it shows it doesn’t have to be.”