Interviews
Jennifer Kent Says the Revenge in ‘The Nightingale’ is Not Supposed to Be Satisfying [Interview]
After The Babadook, everyone wanted to know what Jennifer Kent would do next. Her second film, The Nightingale (read our review), brought Kent back to Sundance, after premiering at the Venice Film Festival. A tale of violence in historic Tazmania (then called Van Diemen’s Land), The Nightingale is a revenge film that offers little satisfaction, and that’s the point.
Clare (Aisling Franciosi) is abused by British soldiers, yet when she finally pursues them, it’s not about avenging herself. Kent explores the factors that make Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin) such a terror and how women can survive a world of Hawkinses long term. So yeah, it’s a bit more complicated than simple revenge.
“I think in modern cinema, especially in more mainstream fare, the idea of revenge and violence is very much a stress release for the person watching,” Kent explained to us.
“It’s just a way to get rid of stress and feel actually better, but this film has the opposite effect.”
“To me, violence does not have any release in it ultimately. It maybe has some momentary release but I made this film because that’s what I feel violence does.”
While The Babadook explored horrors connected to motherhood, The Nightingale explores very real-world horrors of misogynistic oppression. Yet it’s more than a message movie.
“Going beyond that and going through that to something else, it’s not just about this horrific world,” Kent said.
The Nightingale was actually one of two follow-up films Kent developed. It just happened to get made first.
“I’d written another film before that which I’m now making this year,” Kent said. “I was working on two scripts in tandem.”
Alice + Frema Forever will go before cameras next, but Kent says she’s happy to have The Nightingale be her follow-up to The Babadook.
“I wanted to make another film in Australia and I wanted it to be this one,” she said.
When you see The Nightingale it will look different from modern movies. Kent filmed in the Academy Ratio of 1.33:1, while most modern films are wider screen, either 1.85:1 or cinemascope 2.35:1. This old school screen size allowed Kent to capture the vast nature of Tazmania while staying intimate with Clare and Hawkins.
“It’s a very human ratio,” Kent told us.
“I was going to be in nature and I wanted to not lose sight of the humans in nature. This, to me, was the most perfect frame to do that because if you pull out, say for example in Cinemascope, to see those huge trees I have in Tazmania, you have to pull right back because it’s so long and thin. Then the people become like ants. So with Academy, you can still get the sense of height and depth of nature, but you don’t lose your actors. You don’t lose your characters. I’m really happy with the result.”
IFC will release The Nightingale this summer.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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