Film Reviews – Page 2 – MaryEWinstead.net

Part Two of Faults Interview

on March 3, 2015 by Jessica Comments Off

After Mary and Riley talked to The Bitter Script Reader in part one of yesterday’s interview and how Faults came to be, part two focuses on writing and performing characters with layers, and Mary’s thoughts on issues with the writing of many roles for women. Click the link to read the full interview. Highlights below:

BSR: Mary, how are you layering your performance? It would be easy to just play Claire’s deception as sincere up until the reveal, but in watching it, it feels like you were very aware of “real Claire” and “fake Claire” and letting us get a hint that she’s wearing a mask. How do you do that?

MEW: I wanted it to feel very sincere in the beginning. I kind of realized as I was doing it how much I was enjoying all of it. At first I was worried about it, like, “Should I be having this much fun doing these emotional scenes?” Then I realized that was a good thing because ultimately Claire is having fun with this whole situation. She’s just like getting a kick out of it. I was going with sincerity, but also enjoying it.

BSR: Do you often get offered roles like this, with this complexity?

MEW: No, I don’t think that kind of material comes around very often in general. Just look at the landscape of female roles out there. I just think it’s really hard to find material that’s exciting and roles that are gonna showcase everything that you can do. And I wasn’t even sure going into this if I’d be able to bring the complexity that would make this a great role for me. Not even until I saw the movie was I like, “Okay, I can take a deep breath.”

SR: Mary, I don’t feel like you’re typecast in the sort of roles you do, but do you feel like you’re typecast in the sorts of scripts you’re sent?

MEW: That’s interesting… I think it’s changing now. The past couple years it’s been different than it was before. It’s really interesting how one project can kind of shift the perception of how people see you, even in terms of looks and stuff. I used to get “the cute girl” and now I get “rough, haggard” because of Smashed.

RS: Or after The Thing where they thought of you as really tough.

MEW: You can always tell someone saw something else I did and thought “She’d be good for this.” I still get heroine roles or action roles, and then I get more indie, rough-and-tumble, kind of messy…

Also, The Dissolve has given the movie a great review as has Screen Relish who gave it 5/5 stars:

Thanks to a bunch of massively underrated, underexposed actors who are given the meaty screen time they deserve to shine, Stearns makes a flawless debut as writer-director, showcasing his ability to shock even where you may have guessed the twists. The Coen brothers-esq characterisation is so captivating that you almost feel you’re being indoctrinated into some sort of cult yourself. Thanks to fearless performances, the results are darkly humorous, disturbingly convincing, and above all, manipulative. When one character asks: ‘doesn’t it feel good just to listen instead of thinking?’, it is like being awoken from hypnosis, and you realise how easily Stearns has pulled us under.

Faults Film Reviews Got A Girl Music/News Interviews

New Faults Review and Interview with Mary

on July 26, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

First up, Mary spoke with the Belfast Telegraph where she says she was cautious about approaching a singing career. She explains she’d been approached about singing before, but nothing ever “struck me as a good idea, because it was just uninteresting pop that tried to cash in on whatever name value I might have as an actor. That’s not something I ever wanted to do,” she said.

Mary added: “Once I hooked up with Dan, I didn’t have any fears.

“I admired him so much musically, that working with him was great. And it was such a good opportunity for me personally, just as a fan of his, that I would never worry about what anyone else would think. You get people who are actors slash models slash singers slash whatever, just because it gets their name out there some more,” Winstead mused. “I’m not interested in that at all.”

Next, Way Too Indie gave Faults a 9/10 score:

Its premiere at SXSW earlier in the year started off the buzz (with our very own Dustin loving it to bits,) but Faults massively blinked on my radar when it was announced for Montreal’s genre festival Fantasia simply because I’ve become a bona fide Winstead fan, after her stunning performance in 2012’s Smashed. The streak continues here; she peels off Claire’s layers with agility and complete composure to reveal a fascinating and devilishly twisted character.

Complex meanwhile also loved the film:

Faults has the feel of a cinematic stage play, one in which Orser and Winstead get it on in an unpredictable battle of wits. First-time writer-director Riley Stearns tightly volleys around from laughs to creepiness, with a constant sense of mystery and subtle dread giving way to a well-earned surprise ending.

Be sure to click on any of the above links to read the reviews in full!

Faults Film Reviews Got A Girl Music/News

New Got A Girl and Faults Reviews

on July 21, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

As the title reads, new reviews for Mary’s debut album as well as her latest film Faults have come online. Click on each link to read the reviews in full.

Faults Review:

FAULTS is a two-hander, with Orser giving the performance of his career as the downtrodden deprogrammer.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Stearns’ partner) plays his unwilling subject, and as always she’s excellent. Winstead excels in indie roles, and the part was probably tailor-made for her and it shows. While Orser probably has the showier or the two roles, Winstead’s part is arguably trickier, with her having to walk a fine line between playing an unwitting victim and possibly something more sinister throughout her lengthy exchanges with Orser. With a good 70% of the movie being confined to a single motel room, it’s impressive how much mileage Stearns is able to get out of the film visually, opting to shoot in scope 2:35:1, which is unusual for such an intimate film. He’s managed to make a very dynamic film, with some interesting shots, and terrific sound design giving this a polished feel that makes it seem like it cost a lot more than it probably did.

NME reviewed the I Love You But I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now album:

Got A Girl are actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead and producer/Deltron 3030 member Dan ‘The Automator’ Nakamura. They met while making Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (she played Ramona Flowers, he wrote the score), and bonded over their shared love of French yé-yé singers such as Serge Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy. The result is not unlike Lana Del Rey, but with fun instead of fatalistic gloom. Nakamura’s lush arrangements are bolstered by gentle hip-hop beats and Winstead’s seductive voice is given grit by playfully sinister lyrics: “Maybe soon you’ll see the real me”, she sings on ‘Things Will Never Be The Same’. It sounds more like a threat than a promise.

Expect more reviews tomorrow when the album hits stores in the U.S.!

Alex of Venice Faults Film Reviews Interviews

New Alex of Venice Interviews

on April 25, 2014April 25, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

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.

Continue reading New Alex of Venice Interviews

Alex of Venice Faults Film Reviews Interviews Kill the Messenger

New Review and Interview for Alex of Venice, Kill the Messenger

on April 23, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

The Arts Guild has posted their review on Alex of Venice. As always, you can read the full review by clicking on the link:

While the direction had a level of refinement, this film offers interesting, sophisticated performances. Mary Elizabeth Winstead successfully captures the broken Alex that we expect to see, slowly piecing together both her character and her life as the film progresses. Winstead ensures there is a balance of emotion, while not hiding her characters fragmented state.

Messina has created a film that does successfully look at a characters growth out of chaos, creating a story that isn’t exaggerated and characters that aren’t just found in fiction. Everyone experiences life’s brutal complexities and this film highlights that in a sincere and artistic fashion.

Crave Online caught up with Mary as well where they talked about Alex of Venice, Kill the Messenger, Faults and her possibly coming back for Die Hard 6:

I also felt for Alex with her sister when she’s all, “Man, why do you have to take your kid to school everyday?” As if you’re the bad guy for wanting to fulfill your responsibility. Did you relate to her in that scene?

Yeah, and I know a lot of mothers in my life and mothers who have a lot on their plate and they’re really just trying to hold it together. So I could see a lot of those women that I know in Alex, and how you do snap on your family. There were times where we discussed that scene before doing it. We don’t want her to be too mean. We don’t want her to yell at her sister and people won’t like her.

I was like, “That’s so real. People in families yell at each other. They freak out on each other.” To me that scene felt very real, in that moment when you’re so stressed, you have so much on your plate and you’re just trying to get your family to help you out and they’re screwing it up. So I felt like she was very validated in screaming at her sister at that moment, even though in the long run she was maybe being taught a lesson that she needed to learn. Man, that was frustrating. I felt the frustration for sure in that scene.

The latest Die Hard 6 talk is that they might be trying to get Samuel L. Jackson back. Has there been any mention of Lucy yet?

Not to me, no. I haven’t heard anything about it but that would be cool. Samuel L. Jackson coming back would be awesome. I’d like to see that.
Maybe you can have a sizable role, something in between 4 and the cameo in 5.

Right, exactly. If it keeps getting smaller it’s just going to disappear. I’ll be on the phone in the next one maybe.
And what do you get to play in Kill the Messenger?

I get to play the editor to Jeremy Renner’s character. We sort of together come up with this story and decide to print it. It’s a true story and it’s quite a crazy, crazy one. Basically Jeremy Renner plays this journalist Gary Webb who sort of discovers this link between the government and the crack epidemic in Los Angeles and did this big expose on it, but it was for the San Jose Mercury News which was a small paper.

They realized quickly that they were in way over their head because it was a story that was way beyond them, so eventually everyone was kind of forced to recant the story or to say they got things wrong, even though the story was true and Gary Webb ultimately, well, bad things happened. I don’t want to give too much away for people who don’t know the story but it’s an incredible story and Jeremy Renner’s amazing in it. I’m really excited to be a part of it.
Is the role of the editor a big part?

It’s definitely Jeremy Renner’s movie. He’s the star and there’s a big supporting cast, so it’s a supporting role but it’s a great one. She’s his boss and he really had a young female editor boss that he had to run everything by. She did end up making some minor mistakes which is part of their downfall in the end. It’s kind of a sad story about the two of them having this huge story that could potentially make their careers and it ends up crushing them in a lot of ways.

Alex of Venice Film Reviews Interviews

The Playlist Review and Interview for Alex of Venice

on April 21, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

As the title reads, The Playlist recently caught up with Mary during her time in New York for the Tribeca Film Festival and interviewed her about Alex of Venice. She also talked briefly about Kill the Messenger and the TV pilot she filmed for ABC called Exposed.

The site also gave their review on the film:

Well-intentioned and intimate, “Alex Of Venice” has its heart in the right place; its pains and struggles might be small stakes and personal, but they’re very genuine, relatable and universal. There’s a lot to admire, which is why the movie’s uneven grasp of narrative fundamentals is so frustrating. Led by a terrifically vulnerable performance by an unadorned Mary Elizabeth Winstead, the cast, which includes Derek Luke, Katie Nehra and Reg E. Cathey (Freddy From “House Of Cards”) is uniformly quite good. Don Johnson is particularly great, playing all restrained and in the pocket as Alex’s father who might be suffering from something more than just acute absent-mindedness (this would be his second great performance of 2014 after playing a impulsive lawman in “Cold In July” which screened earlier this year at Sundance).

Final Grade: B-

You can read the full review by clicking on the link above.

Alex of Venice Film Reviews Got A Girl Music/News

Mary’s Album Confirmed for Summer Release; More Venice Reviews

on April 20, 2014April 20, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

Earlier this month it was announced that Mary’s album would be released in June. I had asked Mary on Twitter, who said that for now, that’s the plan, but The Wrap.com further confirmed the news.

Two years after first revealing that she was working on music with Deltron 3030’s Dan the Automator, Mary Elizabeth Winstead says that the full length debut album of their band Got a Girl has finally been printed.

“I feel like I’ve been crying wolf for so long, saying ‘It’s coming up, it’s coming up!’” the actress told TheWrap this weekend in New York, where she’s debuting her new film “Alex of Venice” at the Tribeca Film Festival. “Dan has so many other projects so it kind of got lost in the shuffle for a while, he’s on tour right now with Deltron. But we finally have product, we did manufacture vinyl. Now it’s official that we have stuff. It’s supposed to come out in June.”

After a pause, Winstead added with a laugh, “I don’t know if it’ll stick to June, but at least it’ll be out.”

You can read the rest of the interview by clicking the link. Also, Den of Geek gave their review on Alex of Venice. Below are highlights:

First time actors-turned-helmers carry the added burden of transcending their (hopefully) respected craft for another, usually in the face of daunting skepticism. Nevertheless, veteran character actor Chris Messina vaulted easily past both hurdles for something more than a great debut with Alex of Venice; he made a great movie, period.

One of the best films to bow at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Alex of Venice would initially suggest casual familiarity with its focus on a family in upheaval and transition. But just as the title reflects a place that is less old world canals and gondolas, and more new age boardwalks and Ferris wheels, the movie finds a uniquely quizzical perspective on these timeless themes, overcoming within minutes genre conventions in favor of something startling authentic and infinitely endearing.

Alex of Venice enjoys a performer’s showcase of work from the ensemble, including a mesmerizing Winstead, who explores a new maternal side of her onscreen persona. It is a fascinatingly conflicted female character who’s allowed depths and nuances rarely glimpsed in stories told on the big screen anymore, and Winstead savors every moment with some of her best work to date.

4/5 stars

Twitch Film also reviewed the film and praised Mary’s performance:

You could not have cast a better lead than Winstead in the role of Alex. She has matured from her early roles in horror films, to more impressive fare such as Smashed. She has grace, courage, knows how to move the audience and the camera loves her. While her resume up ’til now is a mix of blockbusters (Final Destination 3, Live Free or Die Hard) and indie favorites (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), this will change as she continues to grow into her profoundly blossoming career. This is an actress ready to do great things. As Alex, she always wears a look of determination, even when she’s exhausted and losing the new battles thrown at her: learning how to be alone, taking care of her family and keeping the job she’s worked her entire life for. Alex is a tender soul but does her damndest to keep it together. It’s an admirable trait not many can do, let alone be challenged with.

Alex of Venice is a sweet reminder that it’s OK to start over. Sometimes life needs to be shaken up a little bit. Alex of Venice is the first in a long time that feels so natural. Alex doesn’t completely fall to pieces – she does have a little fun but in the end, life goes on, she learns it’s OK to hurt and things will get better. All in all, Alex in Venice is one of the finest movies about starting over I’ve ever seen

Alex of Venice Film Reviews

Film School Rejects Reviews Alex of Venice

on April 20, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

Film School Rejects viewed Mary’s new film Alex of Venice at the Tribeca Film Festival and gave their review. You can read highlights of it below and click the link to read it in full:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead has the “one to watch” thing down pat. The former teen actress has now blossomed into one of independent film’s most reliable and relatable leading ladies and her steady rise up the cinematic ranks – from the drunken darkness of Smashed to the dark humor of Faults, with a little The Thing and A Good Day to Die Hard thrown in for a touch of blockbuster fun– has long been someone worth watching, and now. For his directorial debut, actor Chris Messina has quite wisely built a story around Winstead’s charms, setting her up as the eponymous Alex for his Alex of Venice, an amiable outing that serves as yet another reminder that Winstead is more than enough of a draw on her own.

The duo star in the domestic drama as a long-time couple fractured and felled by apparently normal grievances. Alex (Winstead) is a hardcore workaholic, and her career as an environmentally minded attorney both fills the time and doesn’t quite pay the bills. George (Messina) is stuck with home-bound duties, from getting their son Dakota (Skylar Gaertner) off to school, maintaining the house, and even caring for Alex’s dad (Don Johnson, potentially playing himself). Alex may be exacting when it comes to her job, but George appears to be the truly pragmatic one – or, at least, that seems to be the role he’s been shoved into by Alex and the demands of their home life – and when he starts exploding around Alex, their son, and his father-in-law, there’s little question that something is going to fall apart soon.

Winstead can telegraph more with a head tilt or a flicker of her eyes than most of her generation can do with a wild hand toss and a mess of expositional dialogue. She’s consistently and completely engaging as Alex, and the film suffers when we’re not around her and stuck elsewhere. Messina surely knows what he has on his hands here – after all, the best choice he possibly could have made for his first feature was to cast such a capable leading lady – but both he and the film should have held more fast to its own shooting star.

The Upside: Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s performance is the highlight of the film, but both Don Johnson and Katie Nehra also turn in lovely work; the film’s tone is consistent and bright; addresses big issues with an honest spirit.

Final Grade: B-

Alex of Venice Film Reviews Gallery Updates Interviews Movies

Alex of Venice Premiere Photos, HuffPo Interview, First Review

on April 19, 2014April 19, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

Yesterday was the world premiere for Mary’s new film Alex of Venice which was held at the Tribeca International Film Festival. Head to the gallery to check out over 60+ photos.

Also, if you missed Mary’s interview with Huffington Post, you can view it below:

Finally, The Wrap caught the premiere of Alex of Venice and had lots of praise for Mary’s work in the film. Click on the link to read it in full.

But this is Winstead’s movie – and while her performance is understated, it reinforces what “Smashed” suggested two years ago: She is a terrific, underappreciated actress adept at bringing life, heart and humor to stories of women trying to cope in difficult circumstances sometimes of their own making, sometimes not.

Messina claims he can’t take credit for Winstead’s performance – “that’s what she did, and we were smart enough to roll the cameras and capture it” – but he also said that he was determined to create the kind of acting enviroment that he finds most satisfying – one that’s not exactly what he’s asked to do on Mindy Kaling’s sitcom “The Mindy Project” and Aaron Sorkin’s drama “The Newsroom.”

Faults Film Reviews Gallery Updates Movies

We Live Film’s Review of Faults and New Pics

on March 13, 2014 by Jessica Comments Off

We Live Film was recently at SXSW 2014 where they got to check out Mary’s new film Faults. That said, below is there review, along with press pics they took when they were being interviewed. You can see them in the gallery.

Faults is a mysterious little gem from first-time feature film director Riley Stearns. Stearns also wrote the screenplay, and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, stars in the film and helped produce it. This was obviously a passion project for them, as Winstead gives one of her best performances yet and Stearns announces himself as a true talent. Claire claims to be involved with a group called “Faults,” which supposedly allows people to see past the ridiculousness of human life and move on into other stages. Roth takes the matters into his hands by taking her for five days and speaking to her in a hotel room. The majority of the film takes place in the room and deals with the process of deprogramming, but it has some twists and turns along the way.

Faults wouldn’t have worked as well if not for the two lead performances. Winstead brings a deepness and darkness to the table that we haven’t really seen from her before. The performance at once invites both creepiness and sympathy, which is a hard thing to pull off. I hope the actress continues to take risks like this.

Score: 3 ½ out of 4 stars (Grade Equivalent for Me: A-)