Two of Andre Dubus' stories provide the material on which the provocative drama “We Don't Live Here Anymore” is based. In the film, Naomi Watts, Peter Krause, Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern star as two married couples who face issues of infidelity, love, loyalty, and friendship.
Mark Ruffalo joined the cast first, with Naomi Watts not far behind. Director John Curran was looking for an actress who had the right combination of vulnerability and strength, and wanted Watts from the start. “I always saw Naomi as Edith – an enigmatic, ethereal character – and I liked that Naomi had a hard time respecting her or understanding her at first. Naomi is really the opposite of Edith. She attacks problems head on and doesn't suffer fools gladly. I was interested in collaborating with her on an emotionally reductive character,” recalls Curran.
INTERVIEW WITH NAOMI WATTS ('Edith'):
What struck you about this script and its issues?
Just that they were difficult themes, and these people were so self-destructive and so hurtful towards one another. I had a lot of trouble, in the beginning, even considering doing the project. But I knew I was invested from the moment I read it because even though I was kind of against a lot of what they were doing to each other, I saw it as being a truth and I know it to be human. And John [Curran] and I would have this ongoing dialogue and debate it. I just was always saying, “No, no, that's not true.” I realize that was my own viewpoint, but I was still very invested in these conversations. I couldn't say no. So I realized that that meant I had to do it, even if it did scare me.
Wasn't her journey to realize that her husband was just empty?
Subconsciously, but she didn't know that. It wasn't calculated. It was never like, “I'm going to use this to get out of my relationship.” I think she went into that affair with the hope that she could save her marriage, as abstract as that may sound. She wanted to know what he was doing and how he could [do it]. You sometimes create a crisis to solve a major problem, I think. It can be cleansing. I think that's what she thought she was doing. She's so deadened and so passive, and when she's around Mark's character, you can see her behavior shift and how she becomes playful again, and a bit more spontaneous and confident. That gives her the courage to face what she needs to face.
How would you handle that kind of betrayal in a relationship?
I don't know. I certainly would confront it right away. “What are you doing? What am I not giving you? What can we do to…” You always think that if you were cheated on, your instant need is to run. That's it. It's over. But I think [in] the relationship, depending on what you've gone through thus far, you will know if that's enough to bind you and to keep you there, to get you through it. I've never been married and I've never even had a relationship that long. Or having a child, obviously is another reason that you have to try and stay in it. And that's obviously why she did in the beginning, but then she comes to the realization that to save not only myself but my child from this, there is no love anymore. It's done, the betrayal is just too big. I don't know. I would think the first thing I'd want to do is get into some hardcore therapy.
How did the script come your way?
John Curran is my friend and has been since, I don't know, God, for at least 12 years. So he called me and asked me to do it.
When did you decide to co-produce the film?
…First of all, when John approached me I was shooting “21 Grams” and I couldn't imagine doing anything that soon after. But because it was my friend, I agreed to. And then when I read it, I was like, “Hmm, I just don't know.” It's too soon afterwards and I had trouble with these people.
I knew I couldn't do the character of Terry because she's so external in her emotional journey, and so I thought, “Well, Edith is something I really haven't done before.” She's so internal and I always think of myself as being completely boring unless I'm doing something. So I had all that dialogue with John, and then Mark [Ruffalo] got on the phone with me. I was still on the fence and then I got asked to be a producer. And I thought, “Well, that's interesting. That's something I really have always wanted to do.” It's something I want to really pursue and although it wasn't involvement from the ground up, it was very much having a creative voice. I was there supporting my director and the artistic integrity of the film.
How does it feel to have that much power?
I don't see it as power. I just see it as being connected to some good people. I mean, I remember back in the day that I organized an acting class because we were all actors and we couldn't afford to go and take these big fancy courses. So I knew this guy who had taught before and, “Let's just get together and oil the machine, so to speak. Let's not get rusty.” It's so awful to have to wait to be invited to act. So, to be a producer is not something that I look at as a position of power. I just think that I have these great connections, let's use them. “I believe in it. You believe in it. Let's do it. Let's just pick it up and do something about it.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2: Naomi Watts on Producing, David Lynch, and Her "We Don't Live Here Anymore" Co-Stars
"WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE" RESOURCES:
Interview with Mark Ruffalo
Laura Dern Interview
"We Don't Live Here Anymore" Photo Gallery
"We Don't Live Here Anymore" Credits, Trailer and Websites
