EXCLUSIVE | 'Women Talking' star Michelle McLeod was in 'awe' of co-stars Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Rooney Mara and more
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: This year has been phenomenal for movies made by female filmmakers and we have seen some really powerful cinema coming out in the form of 'She Said' (Maria Schrader), 'Aftersun' (Charlotte Wells), 'The Swimmers' (Sally El Hossaini), 'The Eternal Daughter'(Joanna Hogg) and many more. All the aforementioned titles discussed different stories in the most surreal way possible and enthralled the viewers with some of the best stories that have come out in recent years. However, one movie that has managed to create a lot of impact in the minds of viewers is none other than Sarah Polley's 'Women Talking'.
The movie, which is inspired by real events, sees women taking their future into their own hands after they are sexually abused by men in their sleep and made to believe that god is giving them punishment for the sins they have committed. However, soon it is found that men have been drugging the women to sexually abuse them after two young women catch one of the men who entered their house to abuse them. A lot of men are arrested and it's now up to the women of that village to decide what they want to do. The movie is packed with powerful performers like Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Rooney Mara, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and more. However, the performance of young Michelle McLeod will be leaving a long-lasting impression on the minds of viewers.
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McLeod plays the role of Mejal in the movie and stays pretty strong until that one very moment when Jessie Buckley's character blasts her off for faking a panic attack. Well, if you haven't seen the movie, you'll get to know what Buckley's character says. The young star is surrounded by some of the fiercest artists in the world right now and she believed that such a company made her confident in giving her absolute best.
MEA Worldwide caught up with Michelle McLeod and asked how surreal it was for her to share a frame with such icons.
While talking about her co-stars, McLeod revealed every actor portrayed their characters in a 'different way' and it was an 'emotional roller coaster' for her to see so many amazing women reflecting on how they all deal with their traumas.
"Oh, wow, that's a great question. There's a lot going on in that question. But I think what was awesome about it is you're absolutely right, everybody was different and everybody came and portrayed their character in a different way. But you know, I also find that very kind of reflective of how we all deal with our traumas, it's an emotional roller coaster, and there is no right way to deal with these types of things. Also, this was the first time that these women were able to express these emotions. So everyone had been packing them down, and they're coming out in various ways through love through anger, or through silence, you know, there's a lot going on," McLeod told MEAWW.
The 'Don't Talk To Irene' star also noted that she related to Foy's character Salone because she'll be really angry if she gets to know that her girls are not safe and can face a similar kind of abuse. She also noted that she was in 'awe' of all of her co-stars and learned a lot about acting from all of them.
"As a person, I definitely relate to Claire Foy’s character Salone because this stuff makes me angry. What women have gone through and the things that happened to us at some stages because we are women. However, these things can happen to anyone and I think I would have probably dealt with it as she (Salone) deals with it. It was great to see what these women could bring to the table as we navigated through their emotions and what I love seeing in acting is the journey. So it's never one note because it's an up-and-down journey. I think some of the moments you see me in the movie are where I'm just kind of in awe of what's happening. It's powerful when we grow and bring everything in the script to life. But really what we're talking about is something that we're dealing with in various contexts, so it was very real," McLeod said.
'Women Talking' is undoubtedly one of the best movies of the year and is an important story for everyone to know.
'Women Talking is scheduled to release on December 23.