Burstyn also explains how a note from Vanessa Kirby made all the difference in one of her biggest scenes in the film.
[Editor’s note: This interview contains minor spoilers for Pieces of a Woman.]
Ellen Burstyn got the best of both worlds by doing Pieces of woman. She had the opportunity to start a new working relationship with the star of the film, Vanessa Kirby, and meet with a former employee, your Alice doesn’t live here anymore director, Martin Scorsese.
Kirby stars in the film as Martha, a future mother who is committed to having a home birth. Complications arise during the process and the results are devastating. Burstyn introduces herself as Martha’s mother, who insists she knows the best way for Martha to suffer and then move on.
There is a special prominent scene in the film in which they confront each other and Burstyn makes an unforgettable monologue, the kind of speech we will see during the Oscar if (when?) Burstyn gets the nomination for Best Supporting Actress. With Pieces of woman now available to watch on Netflix, I had a chance to chat with Burstyn and asked about the value of having Kirby as a scene partner at that time. Here’s what she said:
“I didn’t realize until afterwards that she was having trouble understanding why she finally goes to court because she is resisting going to court and she didn’t know how she was going to move from that scene to the court scene, and actually appear in court. Then, before I went on, she said to me, ‘Make me go to court’. [That was] just before giving the speech. And I made the speech and the speech had its own reality and energy and a kind of force field from where it left me. I finished and, in that split second, I remembered what she said and I didn’t think it made her go to court. And so I went on and said, ‘You must speak your truth. You tell people what it’s like for you, how you’re feeling. If you don’t, if I don’t get it out of you, ‘whatever I said. Because I don’t know what I said. [Laughs] It just came out. He had his own reality. We were at the crime scene and later asked if I had helped her to go to court. She said yes. So it was a partnership where she told me what she needed, I did my best to provide it, it worked for her and we both benefited from the relationship that we built over the shoot. ”
And then, of course, Pieces of woman it also marks the meeting of Burstyn and Scorsese. Scorsese directed Burstyn in Alice doesn’t live here anymore, the film that won him the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Although Scorsese was not involved in the production of Pieces of woman, he joined as an executive producer after his completion to support his release. See how Burstyn put it:
“He did it because he saw the movie and liked it a lot, and he wanted to make sure [because] Kornel was an unknown director, whom the right people managed to see. And we did an interview where he interviewed the cast and it was so wonderful to hear him talk about the film because he has such an eye that he took things that I never heard anyone else notice. And he enjoys the art of making films so much that you feel seen. It seems that his work is seen when he talks about it. ”
If you want to know more about Burstyn, you can find our full conversation at the beginning of this article. And if you’re looking for more Pieces of woman, we also have an interview with Vanessa Kirby.
Ellen Burstyn:
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Burstyn getting ready to shoot Pieces of woman; throwing a slumber party with Vanessa Kirby.
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How Kirby made a big difference for Burstyn by filming an important monologue.
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Comparing Martin Scorsese’s willingness to learn about women while doing Alice doesn’t live here anymore to Kornél Mundruczó’s approach to making Pieces of woman.
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Burstyn in Scorsese signing as executive producer of Pieces of woman.
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