No.1 for Interviews - Sam Mendes
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This movie couldn’t have been made without Kate Winslet
His new film, romantic comedy Away We Go, opened this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival. Here the director discusses his own romance with Oscar-winner Kate Winslet
Every year, the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) causes a stir and brings stars from around the world to our fair capital. This year was no different and saw Away We Go premiere on the festival’s opening night. Starring John Krasinksi – famed for his role in the award-winning US version of The Office – and US comedienne Maya Rudolph, the stars were perhaps outshone by the director of this arty romcom: Sam Mendes. Receiving critical acclaim for his directorial debut, American Beauty – for which he won an Oscar – Sam Mendes’ credits include Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road, which starred his wife of six years, Kate Winslet, and reunited her with Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. She went on to win a Golden Globe for the role, proving that Sam and Kate really are a Hollywood force to be reckoned with.
This film is about a young couple trying to find the best place to raise a family. You have ties on both sides of the Atlantic. Was this theme particularly relevant to you?
Obviously there is always something that you connect with personally in every film that you make, but I don’t have any direct relationship with the central couple. All my movies feature a central character who is lost and trying to find their way through life and Away We Go is no different. In terms of direct relevance to myself, I think it is something that everyone goes through – trying to find out where you belong and what constitutes home. A husband and wife team wrote the film and they were expecting their first baby at the time so it’s suffused with some of that spirit and excitement of becoming a parent and I definitely recognise that.
The film is quite serious and yet you cast comedians in the central roles. Why was this?
I don’t think of John [Krasinski] as a comedian. When I first met him, he was playing a small part in my movie Jarhead and it wasn’t a particularly comic role. Then when he told me, by the way, that he’d been offered the US remake of The Office, I said I thought it was a disaster and a travesty because I am such a huge fan of the original UK series. It turns out I was completely wrong, of course!
You take on average three years between movies. Why is this?
The reason is I have two careers – I also direct plays, which is something I don’t want to stop doing. The biggest gap has been between Road to Perdition and Jarhead and in that time I started a family and got married and had other things to concentrate on, having worked flat out for almost 20 years. Since then it has been quite consistent: movie, play, movie, play.
Did Kate have any input in this movie?
She supports me in everything I do. The movie couldn’t have been made without her because someone has to look after the family while the other one goes to work.
You have spent so much time in America. Do you still feel like an outsider?
Yes I do: I feel British and not American. Even though sometimes my kids start using American terms and things like that. My favourite film directors are Europeans who went to America from Hitchcock to Billy Wilder. To me, their films are pieces of Americana and give a vision that is not homegrown. There is something fascinating to see in those films: they give a slightly clinical and slightly detached view of that amazing country. For me with this movie, it was important that the places the characters visited were not patronised by the film. So even in apparently ugly places like dog tracks and car parks, we tried to find something romantic. We used old lenses for a soft look, for example, and the colours were muted and controlled.
Why did you decide to bring this film to the Edinburgh International Film Festival?
I particularly didn’t want to take this movie to Cannes. I find the scale of that festival overpowering and it can swamp or dwarf smaller films. I love Edinburgh and it seemed like a good match.
You had such huge success with American Beauty. Did you, and do you still, feel pressure when making a new film?
Sometimes it is a pressure and sometimes it’s a pain in the arse because you just want to get on and make something without it being cross-referenced with your other films, plays and life but it’s a form of compliment as well that people are that interested in me because of my first film. Had it [American Beauty] come out at another time, it might not have been that successful: it’s a movie of its time and I’m very proud of it. Most of the time however, I feel like it’s a nice problem to have.
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