Grace Lisa Vandenburg (Teresa Palmer) counts everything – the letters in her name, the poppy seeds on her orange cake. She counts because numbers hold the world together. But when a chance encounter with Seamus (Joe Dempsie) turns her world upside down, Grace’s meticulously ordered life starts to unravel. Addition is about accepting who you are and celebrating the things in life that really count.
As the new Aussie rom-dramedy Addition prepares to release in Australian cinemas on January 29 (courtesy of Roadshow Films), Nick L’Barrow sat down face-to-face with the films director, Marcelle Luman, to chat about the visual process of adapting a book to film, and the importance of creating a character that connects with the audience.
Nick: I’d love to start by talking about the process of adaptation, specifically from a director’s perspective. When I’m reading books, I kind of play the movie version of it in my head as I read along. I’m curious to know if that is the same case for you? And if so, how did the visual language of the film evolve from what you initially envisioned compared to what we as the audience will see in the film?
Marcelle Luman: Well, I’m a very visual person. I have a background in visual arts. But, with Addition, I was actually given Becca’s [Johnstone, screenwriter] first draft of the adaptation first, then the novel to see if it resonated. And then from there, Becca and I kept on developing it. Like any adaptation, it’s going to be much more reductive than the novel. But, there were many things that really stuck out to me that were visual aspects of the film.
Things like how we would visually treat the little brother, how we would deal with the character of Tesla. That was all kind of in my head. But, I also was focused on trying to visualise what Grace looked like, because she’s super smart and sexy in the book. We definitely came back a lot to old French records. Analog things like that that I sort of thought she was tapped into.
Even the palette, the colours, things like the big windows where Grace was living to make her feel like she was trapped because she doesn’t want to go outside. Her world’s very small to begin with. So I wanted the outside world to be beyond the windows, almost feeling like a cage.
Nick: Film is such a powerful medium to explore certain themes. I think the destigmatisation of mental health in media is on an upwards trajectory–
ML: Hallelujah!
Nick: I genuinely believe it! And I think Addition explores mental health issues in such an accessible way, and the rom-com lens makes that feel a lot more palatable for audiences. I’m curious to know if that was something that was on your mind as your were making the film?
ML: I mean, first and foremost, you have to love Grace as a character. You have to fall in love with her. So it was very important that we had somebody who could embody Grace and be loveable. So, who better that Teresa [Palmer]?
I also didn’t want to get stuck in the dreariness of it all. I didn’t want to make misery porn. And it is really easy to go down into a really dark space. We were very cognisant of trying to keep that balance of showing the dark and the light side, but also being emotionally resonant so the audience could connect to it. I think one of the biggest things that made that a lot easier was Grace’s connection to her family. The love and support of her family is really the anchor of that.
Nick: I really appreciate when a romantic story about adults is made for adults. There’s absolutely a time and place and audience for more sanitised portrayals of young love, but when it comes to mature relationships – adults are complex, adults swear, adults have sex. I’m curious to know if there was a bit of freedom in exploring an adult relationship in a mature way, and not being overly concerned as to whether it’ll be too risque or things like that?
ML: Yeah, I think there is a freedom to that. But, that also requires the sort of support – there’s a lot of stakeholders in a film. You’ve got producers, executive producers, distributors. Film is a business, and you want to make sure your audience is going to love your film. You need to bring in the audience and let them know you’re thinking of them.
I think, to your point, there is a freedom to it. But, we were also thankfully helped by the performances that were rooted in real feelings, particularly when you talk about things like sex. Joe [Dempsie] and Teresa were very brave and able to go to these places where you are vulnerable. They were able to do it at the drop of a hat, so we were very fortunate in that.
Nick: You’ve mentioned finding resonance in film, and movies especially, but fiction has played a huge role in my life when it comes to emotional resonance. Movies have helped me process emotions, understand things about myself, and understand other people’s perspectives. And I think Addition will absolutely be something that audiences who struggle with anxiety in the way Grace does will be able to resonate with. How has fiction and art played a part in your life when it comes to emotional resonance?
ML: I love cinema. I love film. I really do. And I love all kinds of films. Cinema is great and has the ability to really open your eyes and to see the complexity of people. That’s what I love about it. I definitely relate to more characters who have a great degree of nuance and complexity and layers to them. And I do understand that more about myself, being able to navigate areas of my life that are tricky… I have anxiety myself. It’s not anywhere near Grace’s anxieties, but I have dealt with it. And even making this film was a learning experience and learning to acknowledge that within myself.
Nick: I’ll close out our chat with this. There is the character of Nikola Tesla in this film, who appears as an apparition that Grace befriends. I’m curious to know, if you had a sort of apparition-like live in buddy, who would it be?
ML: Ooh. I’d like to have Nelson Mandela. I just think he’s the coolest. He’s so wise and fantastic.
Thank you so much to Marcelle for her time, and to Roadshow Films for organising the interview. Addition is in Australian cinemas January 29.
