Sunshine Cleaning - Christine Jeffs interview
Interview by Rob Carnevale
NEW Zealand born director Christine Jeffs talks about her new film, Sunshine Cleaning, working with Emily Blunt and Amy Adams and recreating crime scenes as authentically as possible…
Q. How was directing Sunshine Cleaning?
Christine Jeffs: It was good. It was my first American film and I loved working with the actors I got the chance to work with.
Q. You’re working with two of the best actresses of the moment in Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. What attracted you to Amy in particular?
Christine Jeffs: Amy has a kind of hopefulness about her. Both of these women are working class characters but I didn’t want them to be down and out. Amy has a lot of determination. She’s able to deal with the emotional upheavals the film throws at her but is still able to look on the bright side without being superficial. She has a lovely layered way of integrating that into her character.
Q. And Emily Blunt?
Christine Jeffs: Nora is more of a random character but the great thing about her is that she is the truth bearer of the family. Everyone is slugging their way through life but even though she appears to be the least together member, she’s the most able to say: “You guys are talking shit!” She says that about Rose’s relationship with Mac [Steve Zahn] and she helps out her sister. She’s the most honest character. She’s more emotional about stuff but is able to play it more like she doesn’t care. Emily was really able to track all those aspects of her character and she was funny as well. She has a great physicality.
Q. Is it true that Amy has a filthy sense of humour [according to Emily]?
Christine Jeffs: [Laughs] She said that? What did she say exactly? No, Amy’s not filthy, but she’s really cheeky.
Q. How was working with Alan Arkin?
Christine Jeffs: Alan is just wonderful and really in the moment. He has a major history, of course, and a great sense of improvisation. We had a few days rehearsing and it was wonderful playing the improv game with him and allowing the cast to bond as a family. I remember that during rehearsal he had a couple of great games, one of which involved him playing a complaints officer. We had to take it in turns to complain about something we bought at a store and he had to sit there and be this staunch kind of guy. That was fun and interesting to hear what came out of those improvised sessions.
Q. How much attention to detail did you pay to recreating the crime scenes the sisters have to clean up?
Christine Jeffs: Quite a bit actually. We had a crime scene investigator called Enrique [Castenada] as a consultant on the film and he had a whole portfolio that we were allowed to use as a resource. We consulted him regularly in terms of the reality of the scenarios. And it was really interesting… the first crime scene, for instance, is in the gun store and we used real people from the store as the people you see as background actors. They told us that the scene in question really happens… in fact, a lot of what’s depicted in the crime scenes really does happen out there. I was quite shocked to hear that.
Q. Did you ever try and surprise Amy and Emily by keeping them away from the crime scenes until you were ready to shoot the scene?
Christine Jeffs: Well, we were on such a tight schedule that we didn’t have much time to present them with any background. The first time that Amy and Steve Zahn met, for instance, was their first scene together in the hotel, so there wasn’t much preparation time for anything. One of the funny things we did, however, was stick the end of a finger somewhere as a joke… but it ended up staying in the film!
Q. There was quite a gap between your last film, Sylvia, and Sunshine Cleaning. Why did it take so long to make your next film?
Christine Jeffs: Well, I always try to look for things that are personal to me. I also like writing and have spent a lot of time doing that. I wrote an original screenplay and have also recently completed an adaptation of Jane Smiley’s novel Horse Heaven, which is a passion project for me. I’m currently trying to find financing for that. So, I’ve been doing a lot of writing.
Q. Your first two films [Rain and Sylvia] were also quite serious in tone. Was it a conscious decision to move towards something lighter?
Christine Jeffs: Yes, I wanted to do something a little bit lighter. I did a short film in 1995 [called Stroke], which went to Cannes, and that was lighter. But then I adapted Kirsty Gunn’s novel Rain, which was really moody, and Sylvia was a biopic. But I’ve always been attracted to humour, so I felt it was about time to look for something suitable.
Q. On Sylvia you got to work with the current James Bond before he became 007. Did you see the 007 in Daniel Craig when you had him?
Christine Jeffs: I thought he was amazing in terms of his acting ability. And there was definitely something brooding and sexy about him, yes.
Q. Is Wonderful Tonight your next film and what’s it about?
Christine Jeffs: Yes, I’ve just started working on the screenplay and it’s a romantic comedy about a businessman who finds out after a one-night stand that he’s got the girl pregnant. He’s never been able to commit to anyone before but it works out that he’d like to be a father. So, it’s about two people falling in love… but having their baby before that happens. It’s going to be shot in America but it has yet to be cast.
Q. Have you developed a taste for working in America now? Or will you be returning to work in New Zealand at some point?
Christine Jeffs: Well, it’s hard to work in New Zealand. I have stuff I’d like to do here. Maybe one day.
Read our review of Sunshine Cleaning