I leapt at the chance to send a few questions, via e-mail, to Chantal Akerman on the film itself and on working with Delphine Seyrig. Boyega gives exquisite expression to how Leroy’s modulates his rage before its unleashed upon the individual bad apples in ways that make unassailably clear that the whole bunch is rotten. The filmmaker’s risky mixture of comedy and violence clearly owes a debt to David Lynch as well—a debt that’s acknowledged by Robert Forster’s presence here in his final role before his death. The thing that I’ve learned from television and film is you just have to get to the point with it. A lonely widowed housewife does her daily chores, takes care of her apartment where she lives with her teenage son, and turns the occasional trick to make ends meet. Do you know what happens to Jeanne with her second client on the second day? I was like, “I’m not trying to sit and watch your reading.” But now I think that we’ve adapted to this technology, and we can make it a bit more exciting and innovative. Maar dat wil niet zeggen dat dat idee ook werkt. I’m just trying to do the job. I realized as I was going through your work that I actually saw you in the London production of the Kander and Ebb musical The Scottsboro Boys. Mads Mikkelsen, one of the most original and unique actors in contemporary movies, somehow operates on both poles simultaneously, while Elisabeth Moss hit cunning, despairingly operatic notes in not one but two films this year. Obviously, it helps to have great words to say, but there’s something in your recent roles that goes beyond just speaking wisdom, as it’s something you seem to radiate. I thought it was tremendous. And in testament to this seemingly perpetual cycle of violence, Lee fills the space after the song ends with photographs of others killed since this performance was filmed, including Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, alongside a wall of text printing a full screen of names that point to an urgent message at the bottom of the frame that screams “AND TOO MANY MORE.” Jake Cole, In Another Round, Mads Mikkelsen’s Martin and his buddies seek refuge from their crisis of masculinity through alcohol, by never being sober enough to feel a thing. Yeah. In its inventive climax, the film abruptly shift into a visceral nightmare that tears apart notions of body and space and then sews them back together in a new, ghastly form. I think we’re in the pocket now. There would be no me if it wasn’t for August Wilson, if I didn’t see interpretation of a black life. It helps that the album is equipped with punchy, top-shelf beats, insistent snares, and crystalline edges. For much of the film, his anguish is evident but unspoken of, as he’s perfected a façade of toasted resignation. He’s giving you the real truth, and it’s always peppered with, “I believe you can do it, because if I did it, you can.”. As hip-hop’s capacity for expression from all corners widens, its popularity and proliferation only intensifies. That’s the role of Colman. But they’re unrepresentative of a tape that’s entirely a pose. He’s like, we’re going to really edit this so it’s intimate. The first thing to acknowledge is that it is not an easy watch. Like any great character actor, Colman Domingo’s name might not be as well known as those given above-title billing in the projects he chooses, but his performances pack a disproportionate punch in comparison to his screen time. Which is why the scene in which Ellen Burstyn’s Elizabeth invokes her painful childhood, in order to convince her daughter to go to court, is so profoundly disarming. My job is to be the conduit, to push it out of him like I know he would push hit out of me. Chris Barsanti. What’s the experience been like of doing virtual theater and Zoom readings? Bowen. In 2020, few genres were more representative of a plethora of perspectives: from Bad Bunny’s thrilling reggaeton tributes to Burna Boy’s Nigerian dispatches to Lil Uzi Vert’s S.O.S. John Boyega’s visceral, simmering, tightly constrained acting was no less remarkable, and his performance in Red, White and Blue reflected the teeth-gritting rage and anxiety many of us felt over the course of this unusual year. When you go into the film and television space, I think it’s important to open it up because you also have a little bit more time. And I think that’s when I feel like I’ve achieved something that is useful. It’s really lovely because I think the intent is clear: to remedy our souls, to become better people, to reach out to each other. 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