EXCLUSIVE | 'Women Talking' star Michelle McLeod took inspiration from her experiences of 'fear and terror' while shooting
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: "I had to do it justice," says Michelle McLeod while talking about her character Mejal in the movie 'Women Talking' which talks about an important issue regarding how women are treated in our society. Directed by Sarah Polley, the movie focuses on the lives of women who are being drugged and sexually abused during the night and are made to believe god is giving them punishment for all the misdeeds they have done in their lives. However, one night, two young girls manage to see a man trying to do the heinous crime, and scream. Several men are arrested and women take the matter into their hands and decide what they need to do. A section of women gathers up to decide what their next step should be. Should they forgive the men? Or should they stay in the village and fight? However, the most extraordinary step that they think of is that all the women should gather and leave the village with their children.
The extraordinary movie, which is inspired by real events, shows how it is important for these women to make a decision so that their children don't face what they are facing. Salome (Claire Foy), Mariche (Jesse Buckley), Ona (Rooney Mara), Agata (Judith Ivey), Greta (Sheila McCarthy), Autje (Kate Hallett), Neitje (Liv McNeil), and August (Ben Whishaw) are included in the conversation. Every actor in the movie gives a phenomenal performance. However, Michelle McLeod's portrayal of Mejal takes us through a lot of emotions and the young star has done an amazing job of telling viewers how people, especially women, feel when anxiety creeps up and they are unable to tell it to the world.
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MEAWW caught up with McLeod after the movie's premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and had a discussion about her career and how 'Women Talking' changed her perception of a lot of things.
Congratulations on the massive success of 'Women Talking'. What a beautiful film. But before talking about the movie, we would love to know more about you. You've been acting since the age of 11, so how's your journey been in the entertainment industry?
Michelle: That's a really good question. I mean, anytime you're in the entertainment industry, your journey is always going to be a roller coaster. But for me, I find it truly rewarding. I don't think I could do anything else. I've just been drawn to this career, this passion for storytelling and acting since I was 11. That's so funny. You nailed it. But it's also super fun. Like, you build these little communities, and you create these pieces of art that in film can be, you know, timeless. And so my journey has just been driven by passion. I've been studying and immersing myself in theatre, acting and film for many years now. And all the opportunities that come along are just, you know, the icing on the cake and I couldn't have asked for anything better than this movie.
What was the first instance where you felt that okay this is something I want to do professionally and make my career in?
Michelle: I loved watching musicals, particularly ‘Oliver’ the musical was my biggest jam when I was a kid. And I had everything memorized, I could do all the dancing, I could do all the acting, I could do all the singing, absolutely loved it. And I thought, Oh, my God, I could do that I could, I could be in a movie. And I could have so much fun. And I could play these characters and just, I don't know lit a fire in me. And oddly enough, in my community theatre in Peterborough, Ontario, the next play that they were doing was ‘Oliver’. So I was 10 at the time and I convinced myself I was gonna go and audition for this musical since I knew everything. But I was a little naive and didn't realize that I don't know what an audition is. So I just kind of walked into the room and expected someone to give me a role. And I kind of looked around and I was like, I'm here, I want to be in it. And they were like, you have to read and sing. And I didn't know about that. So I read some scripts, and I sang a song I think, I think happy birthday because I wasn't sure. Needless to say, I didn't get in. But now that I had that experience, the next year’s musical was The Music Man, which was also a family favorite.
So, I actually sent my dad out to buy me the record at the time. For every day for a year, I learned everything, like the dances, and the character singing. And the next year, I went in there and I blew them away. I was completely prepared and ever since that day since I was 11, I was in every single production in my community theatre up until I graduated and went out to university. So I definitely wanted it really bad. And I wanted to be a part of that community very badly. So thankful for that experience and I think that experience kind of influences the drive. I feel like I have it.
I was at the London Film Festival and attended a screening of 'Women Talking'. As soon as the movie ended, I believe it was the only movie where an entire lot of media persons stood up and applauded. It talks about an important issue. So, tell us about how did you get to know about the movie? And what was the audition procedure like?
Michelle: So I got the script for the movie and I didn't quite know what I was reading, I didn't have any reference experience. I didn't know it was a book, they didn't really give me much to go on. So I dove into some research and before I read the script, I realized that this was derived from real events. So the movie itself is a fictional tale that happens after the events, but the events themselves did take place in real life. Real women were and are affected by this kind of attack and violence. And it really struck a chord with me because I mean, as a woman, I think we naturally take on a bit of fear in the world and we're protective of ourselves because we're just taught to be protective of ourselves. So hearing all these women's experiences in real life, and how they were gaslit and made to believe that what they were experiencing wasn't real, almost just blew my mind. I felt like my heart just went out to these women and I mean, you want to do so much but there are also so many restrictions around what you can do and then I realized it was a book and I instantly got the book the same night, read the whole thing. I read the whole thing in a couple of hours and yeah, it was just so thought-provoking and deep and I felt like I just got to see inside the souls of these women. Creating a different discussion and building hope around the situation, and inspired me so much.
The next day, was my audition with Sarah and it was a live audition. I had now a better understanding of the script that I was saying, and I became very emotional in my audition. I felt like this was something important that I was doing and I had to do it justice whether I got into this movie or not, I knew that this movie was going to be amazing. I would support it in any way that I could. So it was kind of an emotional journey, I'm happy to have received that material. Because had I not, maybe I wouldn't have known about this and I loved this opportunity to shed some light on changing the conversation and, hopefully building a better world for ourselves.
There's a scene in the movie when you seem to be having a panic attack during the conversation and Jessie Buckley's character just blasts you off for doing that on purpose. Take us through that scene and what was going in your mind when the scene was being shot because prior to that we never saw your character being so vulnerable.
Michelle: Like, when I read that scene in the script, I knew I could do it justice because I know exactly what it's like to have anxiety and how it feels to hide it. But I think that's exactly what my character did. It’s scary, you know, feeling something, but if you don't know how to verbalize it, or explain it, you feel shame around it, right? You don't feel like you can express yourself. I think she (Mejal) felt shame about having anxiety and the way that she was able to deal with it by suppressing it. Smoking was used to kind of control the way she felt about it so that she could rise above it and if you look at society, today, we are riddled with anxiety these days, like it is just very common. I myself have gone through it. So, I completely relate to Mejal and what that means, especially when you don't understand it, you do try to bury it down and you try to persevere. But then it bubbles up, it always comes back because anxiety is an indication that something is wrong, that you haven't dealt with something yet. So the panic attack scene, you know what, I'm lucky to have the group of actors that I did because watching them be so vulnerable, really helped me be more vulnerable in that moment. I kind of dove into what my personal experiences were. During the pandemic, I myself had a panic attack and didn't understand what it was. I just felt short of breath, something was happening, I actually thought it was going to die. But it was a panic attack, and no one tells you about these things. So when it happens, it's shocking. It's jarring.
So when I was trying to portray that in the movie, I kind of drew from my experiences of fear and terror. So that was a very vulnerable moment for me and I actually loved playing it because it was also cathartic in a way to kind of draw on mental health. I think that's a very important thing to shed light on and ultimately, I probably wouldn't have been able to give it as much justice if I didn't have those women around me. Even though Jessie Buckley sass me in the movie, she's very supportive, so I do appreciate them all.
Sarah Polley, what an amazing filmmaker and writer, she never lets her guard down and always takes up stories that mean so much to society. How did you feel while working with such a director?
Michelle: Polley is brilliant in so many ways, but probably her best superpower is that she's so caring and empathetic. And I think that's what makes her great for making this kind of movie because she understands she's also been through so much in her life. She has overcome so much that she has so much experience when it comes to trying to shed light or to start a conversation around various topics that show up. And so on set, she was just the most supportive person I've ever met, like, she opened the conversation for us, we would have conversations about our acting, or like what we wanted to happen in the scene and I don't think that's ever happened to me in a project. Usually, you just go in there, you have your lines memorized, and you kind of do your thing and then off you go. It was super collaborative. We did two weeks of rehearsal prior to that, which, again, in the film is very rare. And it almost read like a play, we were kind of moving with each other like a play in the rehearsal process. But while filming, it became real and everyone's vulnerability, I guess, was cracked open. She took the time she helped space, she provided us with support, and we had a therapist on set at all times, to make sure that if we were overwhelmed or triggered in any way, we had someone to go talk to so that we felt safe and there was no problem stopping anything.
If you wanted to stop or take a break, there were opportunities to do that. But she's just a genius, like her composure, her experience, the way she handles herself, the way she gave, she brought this movie to life. There are so many elements to it. One thing I absolutely love about this film is that she never shows violence. She never allows triggers to be triggering to the audience. And you know what, that's just another element of care. Like, she's just so caring in so many ways and a brilliant filmmaker. And, you know, I knew Sarah Polley because I'm a Torontonian. I knew about her, and all the wonderful things that she's done in her career, but her as a person, was such an honor to get to know her as a person. I admire her and, she definitely inspires me to take chances and risks in my life.
'Women Talking' is scheduled to hit theatres on December 23, 2022.