Minneapolis Star Tribune , MN
July 8 2005
She couldn’t say no to ‘Yes’
Colin Covert, Star Tribune
July 10, 2005 ALLEN0710
On Sept. 12, 2001, English filmmaker Sally Potter began writing
“Yes,” a film about the clash of Middle East and West, man and woman,
rich and poor, passion and politics, science and religion. The movie,
opening Friday in the Twin Cities area, came to her in iambic
pentameter, Shakespeare’s favorite meter. It was a heady concoction
of current and age-old themes, modern and classical artistic forms,
unlike any other screenplay in circulation.
When Joan Allen read it, the willowy three-time Oscar nominee knew
she wanted to play the lead. She has portrayed prim 1950s wives in
“Nixon” and “Pleasantville,” a 17th-century Puritan in “The Crucible”
and a high-ranking CIA official in “The Bourne Supremacy.” Playing a
lusty Irish-American scientist involved in a passionate affair with a
Muslim immigrant promised a challenging midcareer stretch. During her
May visit to Minneapolis to introduce the film at Walker Art Center,
she discussed her wide-ranging résumé, playing nude scenes at 48 and
the challenges of speaking verse onscreen.
You started your career on the stage in Chicago’s Steppenwolf
Theater. Did you have any experience with verse drama?
I’ve never done Shakespeare. When I got the script, I was a little
scared. But as soon as I met Sally, it all dissipated because she
said she wanted it to be very conversational. It shouldn’t be drawing
attention to itself and grand. Think of rap artists, Def Poetry Jam,
not Shakespeare. It was frustrating at times, but exhilarating.
You have a long and accomplished film career. How did it feel to
co-star with Simon Abkarian, who’s a virtual unknown?
It was the first English-language-speaking film he had ever done.
He’s done theater in French. He’s Armenian, lived in Beirut as a
child, then came to America and lives in Paris now. He brought a lot
to the role in terms of personal history. He’s very charming, funny
and passionate. But it was exhausting for him to think and act in
such a verbal piece as this. By the end of the night, I think his
concentration would get a little … [she rolls her eyes, miming
light-headedness].
Your characters have a strained romance that comes to a hopeful but
uncertain ending. Do you think it ends optimistically?
I think it’s hopeful but not completely a walk-off-into-the-sunset
sort of thing. The possibility exists that they could explore it. I
think what’s interesting is that not until the very end of the movie
do the characters actually kiss. There’s nuzzling, they’re in bed
together, there are sex scenes, but they don’t actually kiss until
the finale.
You haven’t done theater in a long time. Why not?
I like having the director right there and consulting. I like the
technology of being able to cut together a section of Take 2 and Take
6, to create the best possible scene.
What’s really acting for you? Is it being silent and projecting your
feelings to the camera or being able to declaim a fine line of
dialogue?
More the nonverbal, getting that message across without the words.
In your past three roles, you spend a lot of time undressed in bed.
Is Hollywood waking up a little bit to roles where people of a
certain age are allowed to enjoy their sexuality?
They’re getting more savvy about showing that. You also see it in
modeling, too, with Susan Sarandon representing Revlon. There’s a
whole big segment out there of women, and I see that more in print
ads, that certain clothing designers will feature a beautiful woman
who’s 55. We don’t all just shrivel up and blow away. In “Upside of
Anger” and “Off the Map” and “Yes,” they’re age-appropriate
relationships, too. Kevin Costner and I are peers. It’s not like he’s
doing it with … some beautiful young ingénue. It makes them closer
to real life. I hope.
What kinds of roles are you looking for now?
Comedies. I’d love to do something with Will Ferrell. When I hosted
“Saturday Night Live” after “Pleasantville,” I got to do three or
four skits with him. It was nerve-wracking to work live, but I
thought he was so good and the nicest guy. I can’t wait to see
“Kicking and Screaming.”
When you make a politically topical film such as this about
Arab-Western tensions and it sits on the distributor’s shelf for a
couple of years awaiting release, do you worry that world events will
pass it by and make it irrelevant?
I wish. Unfortunately, I think it’s all the more topical.
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