Rebecca Miller’s films as a writer-director have mostly tackled serious subjects and left audiences in a meditative state. The independent gems Personal Velocity and The Ballad of Jack and Rose are just a few examples of her cinematic reach but her latest project is a deliberate step in the opposite direction. The film is Maggie’s Plan, a screwball romantic comedy about miscommunication and second chances.
Miller should know a thing or two about switching gears and surprising an audience. Daughter of noted playwright Arthur Miller and married to chameleon actor Daniel Day Lewis, she spent a year with her lead actress Greta Gerwig molding her character and prepping the film before a single frame was shot. Supporting actors Ethan Hawke and Julianne Moore (pictured above) also trained with Miller prior to production and the result is an interesting hybrid of one-liners and existential hijinks.
Recently the film and its prolific writer-director traveled to San Francisco to hit the festival circuit and get audiences buzzing. While in town Miller and I spoke about her experiences getting the film made and this is a transcription of that conversation.
Q: Family life plays a large part in this film, how much of your own experiences did you inject into the screenplay?
Rebecca Miller: I loved creating those scenes of havoc and responsibility. I think this movie works best for people looking for a pleasurable and cerebral experience.
Q: That sounds like a specific headspace for your actors to be in. How did you get them there as a director?
Miller: I like to get a sense from them of how they like to work. Each actor has slightly different needs and of course you know them better once you’ve worked with them. Greta and I had an opportunity to work together for an entire year before we shot the movie to develop her character. She was very important in making Maggie work. If your actors feel comfortable going out on a limb then they will trust you and want to work with you. I embrace collaboration and am also very much into preparation.
Q: Collaborating for an entire year before production is a great thing to have. Did you have the same luxury with your other actors?
Miller: With Julianne as well, Ethan slightly less because he came on later. But with Greta we had many discussions and spent a lot of time together. I try to mold the part to an actor, that’s the final draft. To make them feel that what they’re saying is authentic because there’s nothing worse than having an actor say something that doesn’t quite work for them. Everyone was quite resourceful on set and there to make the movie work. Ethan was very important in terms of finding his character and having opinions. He’s a very thoughtful and extremely intelligent person and he knows movies so well.
Q: What kinds of things were you doing with your actors when you worked one-on-one?
Miller: With Greta we would meet in her apartment which was very much like Maggie’s apartment in the movie. We would talk and get coffee, we went shopping for the character once. I think buying a dress for the character was one of the first things we did. That kind of thing takes time and doesn’t happen overnight unless you have a very long relationship.
Q: With so much character material to work with I’m guessing editing the movie to balance everything out must have been a long process, right?
Miller: Editing is huge because this movie has its own special pace and it’s a very quick and frothy pace much like screwball romantic comedies from the ‘40’s. We didn’t cut any actual scenes, we just pared things down.
Q: Switching gears for a second, Personal Velocity is one of your best films and helped shape digital filmmaking upon its release. How do you feel about that film’s impact now?
Miller: Personal Velocity is also one of my favorites and it’s one of my movies that is most taught in film schools because we made that movie with equipment that anyone can get. We made a movie that turned out to be a nicely crafted thing but with equipment that would be available to a lot of students. I feel very lucky to have been at the forefront of that digital movement.
Maggie’s Plan is now playing in limited release.
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