Splice isn't your typical studio film and it's also not your typical thriller. The R-rated film stars Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody as genetic engineers Elsa and Clive who are superstars in the field of bioengineering. Their research leads to major advancements in medicine as their work splicing DNA from different animals creates new organisms capable of being used to help fight diseases.
But after successfully creating a breakthrough hybrid, Elsa convinces Clive they shouldn't stop there. Against the orders of the pharmaceutical company that finances their research, Elsa and Clive incorporate human DNA with animal, creating an amazing creature Elsa names Dren. Elsa and Dren, who's intelligent and growing at an alarming rate, form a strange mother/daughter bond, with Clive wavering between supporting their creation and disgust at what they've done. And as Dren grows and develops, the relationships between Elsa and Dren, Clive and Dren, and Clive and Elsa become increasingly unstable.
In LA for the press day to promote Splice, Polley reveaed she definitely didn't agree with Elsa's scientific decisions. "I don’t disagree with scientists in general charting new territory to find things that may result in the betterment of humanity or cure diseases," explained Polley. "I think I’m a huge supporter of those kinds of scientific developments, but they need to be handled really responsibly and they need to be regulated and they can’t be done by two rock star scientists in a back room somewhere."
On her character:
Sarah Polley: "She’s incredibly driven. She’s really ambitious. I think she wants to squeeze the life out of every single moment. I think she wants to live fully. I think she wants to accomplish a lot. I think she’s got a huge sense of fun, but she’s also a very, very damaged person. And I think like a lot of very ambitious, cut-throat people we meet in our lives, there is a pain that she’s running away from. I think that’s what creates ultimately some monstrosities in herself and in terms of what she creates."
On Elsa's journey from not wanting kids to being maternal toward Dren:
Sarah Polley: "I think it took her by surprise. I mean, she’s a control freak to the nth degree. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a control freak like her in my life. Although in the film industry...I don’t know what I’m saying, I meet people like her all the time. [laughing] But for a control freak, I think having children is a difficult concept because there’s a certain letting go and a certain sense of not being able to control everything. I think when Dren is first born, she’s completely within Elsa’s control. It’s that amazing stage of a baby where they give you their unconditional love and they think you’re perfect and they need you, and then as kids get older, they start staking out their own ground. They start being slightly defiant. They don’t say yes all the time, and I think that’s hard for every parent to have a toddler and a teenager. I mean, those can be difficult stages. For Elsa, who doesn’t have the time, first of all, to adjust to being a parent but also is a complete control freak and needs love so desperately, I think it completely undoes her."
On Elsa's manipulative nature:
Sarah Polley: "I think she needs to get what she wants all the time – in her relationship, in her work, in terms of this experiment. She absolutely will not be given restraint or boundary. That’s what I loved about the idea of playing someone like her was I’d never read a character so intensely set on having exactly each moment being exactly as she needed it to be."
And Polley doesn't believe Elsa ever really learns from her mistakes or ever learns to adjust her attitude over the course of the film. "I think she can probably sense it’s not working, but I don’t think she has any capacity to stop," said Polley. "I don’t think she has any capacity to correct that behavior. Again, I think we all know people like that, especially in the film industry, there are characters who being intense and intransigent and kind of rigid and angry doesn’t necessarily produce the results you wanted to, but there’s something deep within you that can’t stop you from behaving that way."
On the film's subject matter and the real scientific advancements:
Sara Polley: "I read a lot about the science behind it and leading up to this, but obviously a few months reading as an actor, you don’t understand enough about the science to have an educated opinion on it. But, you know, yesterday they announced Craig Venter just came up with the world’s first synthetic life form. It’s unbelievable. So, do I think it’s possible one day? I’m sure it would be. But the question is would it be possible in terms of someone actually taking it to that? Would we as a society support that? I think having these kinds of things in the hands of private companies really concerns me. I think all of this kind of research should be public so that it’s regulated and that there’s not a profit motive. That’s my personal opinion on it."
That said, Polley added, "Any of the scientists that I’ve actually met in the research for this, they’re so responsible. They’re so horrified by the idea of something like this happening unregulated that it makes me feel like hopefully as human beings we won’t let it happen, even if we have the skills to make it happen."
On Elsa's dysfunctional childhood and how it affected her as an adult:
Sarah Polley: "My sense is that there was incredible neglect and possibly abuse in the relationship with the mother, and a real sense of deprivation and isolation. I think probably anyone who has had a really rough childhood, there is at some point in her life a real impetus to escape that and to make your life brighter than it was as a child, and it can put you on a path. I think for people who don’t deal with how difficult their childhoods were, it can be dangerous. I think that’s why it’s really important to go back and assess what’s happened to you as a child if it’s been difficult, because otherwise you can be on this rapid fire path to escape it and do anything to escape it. And I think with Elsa there’s just this sense of needing more, like a crazy amount of ambition, a crazy amount of manipulation, desperate for love but not knowing how to handle that or ask for it. I think it leads her to behave in an inhumane way."
On working with Adrien Brody:
Sarah Polley: "He was hilarious. So what was great about working with him was just we were able to laugh our way through most of the film, which is always a great thing when you’re working with somebody every day."
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Splice hits theaters on June 4, 2010 and is rated R for disturbing elements including strong sexuality, nudity, sci-fi violence and language.
