“Once inside, it’s like being on a roller coaster.”
There are several unforgettable moments in the new Netflix release, Pieces of woman, but the opening birth scene is etched into my brain for a number of reasons. Movie stars Vanessa Kirby like Martha, a future mother about to give birth. She decided to deliver at home and director Kornél Mundruczó captures the whole thing from the moment Martha’s purse breaks through to the devastating conclusion to the sequence in a single shot.
It is one of the most challenging scenes I have ever seen, but it is also a marvel of performance and camera work. With the movie now available for streaming on Netflix, I had the opportunity to chat with Kirby and much of our conversation focused on how they completed that specific sequence. There is not a single moment that seems easy or any kind of breath for Kirby, but she insisted that it was the beginning of the shot that was most difficult:
“Probably the hardest part was at the beginning, because you hear ‘action’, you know you have about 30 minutes without cuts and you don’t want to drop the ball because, if you do, you have to start again and you disappoint everyone. But once you’re in, it’s like being on a roller coaster, because you’re in free fall, you know? You don’t know what’s going to happen. Most of the lines are improvised. You know you have to be in that part and then go here and then go to the shower and then go to the bedroom. So it’s probably the beginning, because you’re just relaxing from the normal reality for the game, I think … so you really can’t think about it anymore. Your nerves just go because you have to be there or something can go wrong. ”
While Mundruczó leads the attack behind the lens, there are many individuals involved in making such a complex photo. Here’s who Kirby named abandoned when asked about an unknown hero in the sequel:
“The prosthetic team that was hiding in the bedroom closet. I think the camera leaves the room and then as the camera is out of the room while Sean was on the phone, the prosthetics team would run out and they basically had to put the baby’s head out. So they had to get him there quickly so that when the camera came back, they would find him. ”
She also added an individual who appears in front of the lens:
“And the other unsung hero is the royal baby who was waiting on the corner with his parents in the other room. He would be brought in and suddenly be on the scene and then he was super quiet and we couldn’t have done it without them. ”
If you want to know more about Kirby’s experience shooting this scene and if she thinks the complicated ones are more challenging than the static shots, you can check out our full conversation at the beginning of this article!
Vanessa Kirby:
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Why the beginning of the oner was the most challenging part.
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How did Kirby recharge between that oner’s outlets?
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Who is the unknown hero for this part of the shoot?
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What does Kirby find most challenging, making an emotional hit on a heavy movement charge or one captured in a static shot?
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