Thursday, November 13, 1997
Improvisation sets story in ‘Kiss or Kill’
FILM:
Australian tale still slick as it lets actors create their own
linesBy Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
One would think that directors would like their actors to know
their lines before arriving on the set. But Australian filmmaker
Bill Bennett encouraged his actors for his latest movie to make up
their lines. Following the director’s documentary style, the film
"Kiss or Kill" was mostly improvised, which provided a welcome
challenge for both the actors and Bennett.
Made and set in Australia, the film follows Nikki and Al
(Frances O’Connor and Matt Day, both from "Love and Other
Catastrophes"), a couple of con-artist lovers who uncover an
incriminating sex tape on a football hero. As they wander from town
to town, the lovers must deal with Nikki’s repressed childhood
memories, her sleepwalking, a rash of murders that follow them
everywhere, and the police who are now on their trail.
Bennett had seen their performances in the comedy "Love" and
believed there was unmined potential in the actors.
"Matt had played this kind of geek role in ‘Love,’ and I thought
there was so much more to him than that," Bennett explains. "And
Frances, she’s got a smile that lights up a room, but she’s also
got a side to her that’s quite scary."
After meeting with Bennett, Day also recognized the opportunity
to broaden his acting range and eagerly accepted the part.
"I wanted to branch out and push the boundaries a bit," Day
says. "It was different to what I had done in the past, which was
mostly nice-guy roles. This is just a chance to show a different
side and break out."
For O’Connor, the emotionally complex role of Nikki and the
chance to improvise her lines were key factors in joining this
project.
"Putting a character together like that is really fun," O’Connor
says, "and the process of improvisation also attracted me because I
might not get this opportunity again to have that much input into a
character and a story."
An important element during pre-production was establishing the
chemistry between the two actors who were going to be playing
lovers. Although the two actors did collaborate on "Love," they had
very few scenes together.
"We were very aware that we had to make this relationship seem
like a real one," Day says. "So we worked and invented a kind of
history for our characters during the two weeks of rehearsals. It
just made it a lot easier for us to fall in the roles."
The process of shooting and improvising the film proved to be a
challenging, frustrating, but ultimately rewarding experience for
the cast and crew. Bennett had decided on an improvisation format
for that documentary feel.
"You can get an enormous sense of truth and a real edge with
improvisation," Bennett says. "The downside is that it can look
like an improvised film with no neatness and slickness as a
scripted piece. But I’ve kind of developed a process now so that it
doesn’t show. And I don’t think anybody looking at ‘Kiss or Kill’
who didn’t know it was improvised (would guess)."
O’Connor and Day both had a little apprehension for the first
weeks of filming as they became accustomed to the
improvisation.
"It’s a bit scary because basically you’re saying this character
is only going to be as good as I am," O’Connor says. "You have to
put a lot of faith in yourself."
As the two lead actors became more comfortable with the
director’s style and got to know their characters, Day believes the
lines became easier to improvise.
"It was a matter of finding your feet and just running with it,"
Day says. "After a while, you kind of just felt that you started to
understand your characters and it became more and more
instinctual."
Both credit Bennett’s direction for helping them adapt to
improvising more successively.
"A lot of directors are either technically proficient or good
with actors, and Bill’s very knowledgeable about both sides," Day
says. "That was a terrific way of working with someone who is
totally involved in what they did."
The end result is something the cast and crew can all be proud
of. O’Connor believes that one of the advantages of this film style
is having the actors enhance the movie in ways the original script
may not have foreseen.
"Bill was very clear with what he wanted, so I don’t think the
original vision was ever altered," O’Connor says. "But it may have
been deepened or filled out in areas that Bill wasn’t thinking
about in terms of a feminist statement or the comedy. I think
there’s a lot more comedy in it than there originally was."
For Day, the best part of doing "Kiss or Kill" was the sense of
freedom that would allow him to take his character anywhere he
wanted.
"I found it very empowering because usually you find on the set
of the movie that you’re being compromised by the technical
aspects. In this way, the technical aspects are being compromised
by the actors. It was a good turnaround, this whole change in the
balance of power."
FILM: "Kiss or Kill" opens Friday.
October Films
Frances O’Connor, Matt Day and Barry Otto (left to right)
largely made up their characters in "Kiss or Kill."