UInterview talked with Mary, Katie Nehra and Derek Luke about Alex of Venice.
The actors each gave Uinterview some insight into their characters, and revealed what they believed was at the core of the film.
Winstead plays the lead, Alex, an environmental lawyer and mother of one, whose husband, played by Messina, leaves her at the beginning of the film. Winstead revealed that her character is forced to redefine herself as “a mother, and a lawyer, and a sister, and a daughter and a new woman.”
“It’s just sort of her, I guess, sort of dealing with all of these relationships, and some new relationships, and some old relationships, and trying to figure out her new life,” Winstead added.
Anthem Magazine also talked with Mary about Venice, Faults and how she sees her career going. Click the link to read the full interview. Be sure to head to the gallery to see a new photo shoot Mary shot for them as well:
How did you get involved with Alex of Venice?
It’s a script I got through my agent like anything else. It wasn’t an offer… I immediately loved it. It was one of those things where I cried like 5 times when I first read it. I just felt really connected to the role and thought it was so beautifully written. I just had to play this part. I just felt like it was very specifically right for me. I knew I was a little bit young, so I auditioned a couple times. I tried to prove to them that I could be a mom and age up a little bit. [Laughs] We haven’t been married this long, but I’ve been with my husband for 11 years, so just imagining him leaving me was so devastating to me. Instantly, I could go there in my head.
This is Faults, directed by your husband Riley Stearns. Did you develop the film together?
He created this himself. I was definitely involved from the beginning, starting from the first 10 pages, so I was excited immediately from the beginning. I was like, “This is the movie. This is the movie that you’re going to find your filmmaking voice with.” I was so excited for him. I never imagined that we’d make it so quickly, so we got lucky. His producers read it and they wanted to make 6 months later—it was insane. I couldn’t be prouder. It was so much fun to work with him and super rewarding.
What’s left to explore? You have such a colorful filmography.
I just want to play complex, relatable characters. I want to find really good material. When I look at female characters from the ’70s from Ellen Burstyn or something like that, that would be the perfect world I would want.
Variety also raved about Mary’s performance in Alex of Venice.
Actor Chris Messina’s directing debut, is amply supplied with both, thanks to Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s extraordinary performance: Registering profound shocks with slight ripples rather than big emotions, she quietly commands attention.
But the film belongs to Winstead, whose minor-key thesping proves as compelling as her heavy lifting in “Smashed.” Alex’s gradual metamorphosis into a richer, more fully realized young woman is accomplished in hundreds of tiny emotional brushstrokes, flitting across her girl-next-door wholesomeness in ever-shifting patterns.