Carol Screenwriter talks Cate Blanchett, Todd Haynes, and Isabelle Huppert’s Pact with The DeviliTunes ♦ Stitcher ♦ Google Play ♦Player FM ♦ TuneIn

Valentine's Day Special: An Interview with Phyllis Nagy [ 1:34:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On today’s show, Lady P is joined by the woman who penned one of the greatest movies of the decade: Carol (2015). The funny and brilliant Phyllis Nagy is here to talk about adapting Carol’s screenplay from Patricia Highsmith’s original source material and the lengthy, and at times frustrating, process of getting the film into production. They chat about Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara’s rendering of the two lead characters, as well as the standout performance from supporting players, Sarah Paulson and Kyle Chandler. Plus, Phyllis offers a scoop on what happened to a few scenes from the book that didn’t make the final cut of the film.

Longtime listeners are by this point well aware of Lady P’s total adoration of things Carol. Listen up to see if she manages to keep her composure throughout the entire interview.

In addition to filling us in on details from behind-the-scenes of Carol, Phyllis is also here to discuss a pair of standout performances by the incomparable French actress, Isabelle Huppert. This year Huppert was, at long last, nominated for her first Academy Award. However, Huppert has been giving Oscar-worthy performances well before she ever worked with Verhoeven. If you are unfamiliar with her work up to this point, you might not know where to begin, as her filmography is quite extensive. Fortunately, Phyllis is here to offer up two of her favorite Huppert films as suggestions for your watch list: Claude Chabrol’s 1988 film: Story of Women, and Diane Kurys 1983 film: Entre Nous. 

Both Story of Women and Entre Nous are period dramas which find Huppert playing malcontented married women, both of whom form deep attachments to their closest female friends. In Story of Women she plays Marie Latour, a woman who, despite her husband’s objections, traffics in abortions and other illegal various dealings in German occupied France. In Entre Nous, Huppert plays Lena Weber, a woman who falls into an expedient marriage in order to escape Nazi control, but after the war is over falls in the love with another woman.

Both of these movies were heralded by critics upon their initial release. However, only Story of Women, is readily available. You can purchase it on DVD and it’s also streamable on FilmStruck. However, Entre Nous (you know, the one directed by a woman) is currently unavailable in the US. If you’re lucky enough to have a region 2 DVD player, you can purchase it here.

Listeners, your mission is now to bug the right people, and get this wonderful film back in circulation.