The new sci-fi movie happiness so open to interpretation and discussion, star Salma Hayek changed her whole approach to him three days after filming. Inside Mike Cahill’s Hayek plays Isabel, a mysterious woman who claims to have created the reality in which she and a stranger named Greg (Owen Wilson) live. This alternative reality is very similar to ours and, slowly, Greg begins to believe it. Finally, it shows him a new reality, peaceful and happy … or so we think.
“The film, for me, works best if there is a bistability of interpretations,” writer and director Mike Cahill (Another land, i origins) told io9 by video this week. “Which means you can assume that the ugly world is real or you can assume that the world of happiness is real and both have plausible evidence. You can find enough evidence in the film to make an argument about one or the other. “
Cahill had the idea of happiness because, as a science fiction geek, he was always fascinated by simulation theory. “I feel that simulation theory is a way for nerds to talk about the theological proposition,” he said. And although he recognizes that “The Matrix dominates and governs simulation films from now on forever – it’s a perfect film ”, he also believes that the idea is so big that there is much more space to explore. Even beyond what he touches on his latest project.
“For me, all ideas start from an emotional place and happiness it was no different, ”he said. “For happiness, I really wanted to tell a story about the fragility of the human mind and treat the fragility of the human mind with empathy and kindness and care. You, me, everyone we know, everyone has someone in your life who sees the world differently from you. This could be for a number of reasons; it may be mental health and addiction, it may be Alzheimer’s, it may be political, it may be education. This can be a number of things. But when it comes to mental health, if they are seeing a world so different from yours, it is very difficult to reach. “
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Inside happiness, the viewer continuously receives information to support different perspectives. Perhaps Isabel did create a simulation. Maybe Greg is a drug addict out of touch with reality. Perhaps the two are dreaming of a rehabilitation center. Each scene adds to the mystery. And while this is a story that could, and has been told, in pure drama, Cahill saw the opportunity to actually create a film with two worlds. From a perspective, these characters may appear to be drugged or sick. On the other hand, maybe it’s just how they look at others, and that’s where Hayek’s change of approach mentioned above comes back.
“I was forced to make a presentation that worked 100% organically anyway,” Hayek told io9. “But at the same time, I wanted to make a decision about what I thought.” So, before filming, she decided to believe that Isabel and Greg are addicted to drugs. “Three days after the movie started, I said, ‘Oh, no, this is real’,” referring to the simulated world. “The character dominated me. It had a life of its own. And then I was sure it was real. And it was very interesting because concepts that I was not sure I understood [before], I immediately started to understand everything. “
Best known for films like Frida and Desperate, Hayek is not an actor who normally plays science fiction (although she is at Marvel’s Eternals out later this year) She even admits that she doesn’t love all things sci-fi, but she felt happiness It was different. “This is a very original film, even for science fiction,” she said. “And it is very intimate. It is an intimate science fiction film. We are not there to save the world or to save ourselves from the world. The science fiction experienced in the film are, in fact, things that are happening now. “
Both Cahill and Hayek have nothing but brilliant things to say about each other. In fact, Hayek said he had a meeting with Cahill before reading the script because she was a huge fan.
“He picked me up on hello,” said Hayek. “He said, ‘I have this thing. I’ve been thinking about you for the role forever ‘and I said,’ What do I play? ‘And he said,’ You play a lot of things. One is a drug. ‘And then I read the script and we kept talking. It was an incredible collaboration. I think we will work again for sure. “
Cahill also credits Hayek for making his film work in ways he could never have imagined. “Salma is almost unique in the world,” he said. “She is one of the best actresses we have. It has this magnetism and this power. She is able to convey a lot in one look. ”He explained to us a very spoiler scene in which, when questioned, Hayek’s character does something that he feels that only she could do.
“She doesn’t look at Greg. She doesn’t look at the screen. It looks at your memory, ”he said. “It’s such a subtle thing, but when she looks in her memory, suddenly, she opens up her whole story … And Salma is the only one capable of doing this kind of deep work with the instrument that is her acting ability.”
This ability goes beyond what’s on the screen as well. Although not in happiness specifically, Hayek is a talented producer and actor. When looking at the film from this perspective, she feels that while happiness it works as it is, it would have worked better as it was originally designed: for theaters.
“[For example] at the beginning, it’s slow for 10 minutes because you have to experience what that character is experiencing, ”said Hayek. “If I were a producer and I was going to cut straight to streaming, [the viewers] do not stay. People are not going to compromise. I might have edited it a few minutes before it started. It is a different language. It’s a different language because in the streamer you’re also competing with series. So you have to think of a movie for streaming differently than a movie for the theater. “
Cahill agrees. He believes that the way a person is forced to watch a movie in theaters, without distraction, changes his fundamental point of view about a film, instead of watching it more passively at home. He would love it if everyone could have seen happiness in theaters but to be fair, these days, he is also aware that he is lucky to be leaving. “I’m very grateful that the film is going to reach an audience,” said Cahill. “If people were to watch like a flipbook, I would probably say ‘Put on some headphones and watch like a flipbook.'”
Fortunately, you don’t have to watch it that way. But you may be alternating between what you think it all means. happiness your Amazon on February 5th.
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