In this Internet-dominated age, even the tiniest films can find some degree of exposure. Most of these movies get a few blog posts and fade into the ether, but a select few thrive in this brave new electronic world, thrusting their stars to unforeseen heights. Greta Gerwig is one such beneficiary. She developed a love of musical theater when she was just a teen, and took plenty of acting classes while she was at Columbia.
She saw herself becoming not an English or philosophy professor, but a playwright. The crucial takeaway? Next up, Gerwig plays the titular role in Lola Versus , which is directed by another young talent with a rocketing career, Daryl Wein. At first Lola is shaken and confused, but as she puts her life back together, she reassesses her ideas of what she really wants. The result is an incredibly fresh take on a genre that, frankly, was well due for one.
Zachary Wigon MM : There are a lot of moments where Lola Versus feels like it could be a romantic comedy, but it continually dodges genre conventions. How important was that to you? I really loved the fact that she makes big mistakes. I felt like that was really great because a lot of times characters make the kind of mistakes that are no big deal.
In this film, she acts like an asshole and her friends treat her like an asshole. Was it freeing to be able to do that? GG: It was always a struggle we had, determining how dark it should be. My instinct was to go for the darkness as much as I could, because I thought that would make it real and funny. Half of it is funny, and half of it is a Lars von Trier film. MM: What was the process with Daryl Wein like, in terms of how you guys shaped the character together?
GG: We talked a lot about who she was before the film begins. Someone explained to me that in the old studio system they used to give actors lessons in how to answer the telephone. I think a lot of what I did was building up that self-assured nature, that confidence that Lola has prior to everything falling apart around her. You just have to be open to them.
