In the last year, Brit Marling has emerged on our screens with films that are not only brilliant in their own right, but they are ushering in a new wave of American independent cinema. The actress and writer first blew us away with the hauntingly beautiful science-fiction drama Another Earth, which she starred in and co-wrote with Mike Cahill, winning the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. In her latest feature, Sound of My Voice (co-written with director Zal Batmanglij), she plays Maggie, a frighteningly seductive cult leader who claims to be from the future. The film follows a young couple who attempt to infiltrate the cult in order to expose Maggie, but they soon find themselves caught in the depths of her manipulation.
“Everything’s starting to come together in this way and the distinctions are starting to blur—you don’t have to box yourself in as just an actor or a writer,” Marling says, as she has taken on the multi-hyphenate title with grace. In a screening of the film held last week, Marling and Batmanglij spoke about the transformative nature of the film and the way in which its entire genre can alter depending on your faith in Maggie. Stripped down to its most basic emotional elements, Sound of My Voice can be seen as your everyday love triangle—except in this case one of the people involved may or may not be a time traveler. It’s not only Marling’s riveting onscreen performances that have been engaging audiences, but the sincere intelligence of her films and the way she puts forth dynamic characters for women that feel refreshing in today’s Hollywood landscape. We sat down with Marling to dive deeper into the inception of the film, the magic in the mundane, and dealing with the apocalyptic future.
Brit Marling on Co-Writing and Starring in Sound of My Voice
(via heythatsmytoast)
(Source: chrisevansed, via besteros)
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What kind of research did you do for the film? Just living life. I feel lost a lot of the time but I am a big believer in meaning, I don’t want to live in meaninglessness, and I think that’s what Sound of My Voice is about. And the cult is so tempting; if I met Maggie I’d give my sense of meaning to her—I’d make that my sense of meaning.
And that’s the thing: you go back and forth from wondering if she’s a fraud or not because she’s so captivating and she has a sensuality and strength that’s really frightening. But you just want her to love you. I agree. I think most people feel that way, I think most people are having a dialogue with themselves as they watch it which is kind of amazing. I love that.
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What kind of research did you do for the film?
Just living life. I feel lost a lot of the time but I am a big believer in meaning, I don’t want to live in meaninglessness, and I think that’s what Sound of My Voice is about. And the cult is so tempting; if I met Maggie I’d give my sense of meaning to her—I’d make that my sense of meaning.And that’s the thing: you go back and forth from wondering if she’s a fraud or not because she’s so captivating and she has a sensuality and strength that’s really frightening. But you just want her to love you.
I agree. I think most people feel that way, I think most people are having a dialogue with themselves as they watch it which is kind of amazing. I love that.
(Source: gentlemenyoureup, via fuckyeahbritmarling)
