(Pictures courtesy of Heather Dapaah)
Any Canadian cinephile price their salt has seen the unique Lifeless Ringers, David Cronenberg’s 1988 physique horror movie about unhinged twin gynecologists performed by Jeremy Irons. A brand new Amazon Prime adaptation gender-swaps the premise: Rachel Weisz stars as Beverly and Elliot Mantel, an identical OBGYNs who dream of upending the patriarchal ladies’s reproductive health-care system (once they’re not switching identities to choose up lovers). The plot follows the opening of the Mantel-Parking Birthing Centre, run by the twins and financed by a morally bankrupt opioid heiress. Then every little thing goes off the rails when Beverly will get pregnant and Elliot will get jealous. Canadian actress Britne Oldford performs Genevieve Cotard, who begins a romantic relationship with Beverly and winds up in a sister-sister love triangle. “After I acquired the primary two scripts, I simply devoured them,” she says. We talked to Oldford about what it was wish to remake a traditional piece of CanCon and to behave alongside Weisz, who was on the “tippity-top” of her dream co-star bucket record.
The brand new Lifeless Ringers has features of horror, but it surely’s additionally a love story and thriller. Is there a style description that most closely fits?
I’d describe it as a provocative psychosexual thriller. The whole lot could be very intense, however once you get previous all the chaos, the present is about love and the birthing course of, which is the place all of us come from. After which you’ve got these sensible characters: twin gynecologists and obstetricians who’re attempting to alter how the health-care system features for ladies. However they’re additionally obsessive about one another, so their private lives are fairly wrought with chaos.
Are you a fan of the style?
I can do gore, however I wouldn’t say it’s my go-to. I’m a fantasy nut. As a child, I used to be obsessive about the Lord of the Rings motion pictures. I like sci-fi. I like grounded drama, and I watch plenty of international movies. I truly made a aware determination to re-sensitize myself to all the violence that’s on display in leisure and on the information. There was a lot of that over the previous couple of years, and I’m somebody who believes that every little thing you eat has an impression on thoughts, physique and soul.
Your character, Genevieve, meets Beverly as a affected person, then will get wooed by Elliot (who’s pretending to be Beverly), then begins a relationship with Beverly and drives Elliot to precise madness. Speak about a twisted love triangle—
Proper. And you’ve got this battle as a result of each Genevieve and Elliot love Beverly, they usually each suppose that they’ve her greatest pursuits in thoughts. It’s humorous as a result of on one hand, my character is grounded on this loving, grownup relationship with Beverly. I haven’t had an opportunity to play plenty of mature characters, in order that was enjoyable. However however, Genevieve has put herself in the midst of a lot chaos, she will be able to’t be fully psychologically wholesome. That’s one thing I’ve been reflecting on as I watch the present and take into consideration how audiences are seeing my character. Perhaps they suppose Genevieve is the dangerous man?
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Had you ever met Rachel Weisz earlier than you booked this position?
I’d by no means met her, however I used to be a fan of her work and have tracked her profession. She was on the tippity-top of the brief record of actors I’d wish to work with. It’s exhausting to call a favorite efficiency. I actually beloved her in The Brothers Bloom with Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody. I suppose it’s one which lots of people aren’t aware of as a result of I used to be speaking with Rachel throughout a press journey to London, and he or she was like, “You’ve seen that?”
An actual Rachel Weisz deep reduce.
Yeah, precisely. The character she performs is simply so quirky and healthful and peculiar and delightful. I suppose all of her characters are lovely, however this was such an important efficiency. I extremely suggest it.
Did you audition with Weisz?
I despatched in a self-made audition tape. I used to be in Toronto on the time, wrapping up a stint on the Netflix present The Umbrella Academy. This was early Could of 2021, they usually despatched me the plot breakdown together with the primary two scripts. I made a tape in the lounge slash kitchen of my sublet. Time handed, and by July, I assumed that it wasn’t taking place. I used to be again in New York, after which they requested if I’d do a Zoom name with Rachel, Sean Durkin, who’s the manager producer and director, and Alice Birch, the showrunner. We didn’t learn the scenes; we simply talked. It was an opportunity for them to get to know me and see if they’d wish to work with me—form of an vitality examine. I keep in mind they requested me, “What does love imply to you?” I acquired fairly emotional and used my palms, which I are inclined to do after I get passionate. My voice was doing the very Canadian, East Coast melodic factor, and Rachel stated, “I might hearken to you discuss without end.” As quickly as we acquired off the decision, I ran to my partner and shrieked.
Your character, Genevieve, can be an actor. Did that enable you relate to her?
There are scenes the place she has to sit down by way of a junket. Or she is available in and Beverly’s household is watching her present, and he or she feels embarrassed. I do know what that’s like. I’d say that I put plenty of myself into the character. I’m a really romantic particular person and deeply protecting of the folks I like—I suppose, fiercely protecting—however there are these moments of deep tenderness. You see the identical contrasting traits in Genevieve: the tenderness in her relationship with Beverly after which on the flip aspect, when she is placing her foot down with Elliot. It’s nothing excessive—only a flicker that claims, “I’m not going to place up with this.”
A part of Genevieve’s story contains her position in a slasher present. Is that an homage to David Cronenberg, a.ok.a. “The Baron of Blood”?
Sure, and it’s truly an Easter egg for followers of the unique film. Genevieve performs a personality named Claire in a present referred to as Rabbit, which is the title of one in all Cronenberg’s early movies. Claire was additionally the title of my character within the unique Lifeless Ringers film, performed by Geneviève Bujold. So there’s plenty of hat-tipping occurring.
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What was it wish to movie scenes with each twin characters from a technical perspective?
We now have Katie Hawthorne, who was Rachel’s scene companion and physique double. So any time each twins have been in a scene, you had two bodily our bodies within the room taking part in each characters whereas a number of cameras have been rolling.
That sounds difficult. Did you ever confuse one twin for the opposite?
The dynamics that Genevieve has with Beverly versus Elliot have been so totally different. The exhausting half was remembering the place the digital camera was and the place you wanted to be for the shot to work.
Rachel Weisz noticed the unique Lifeless Ringers in theatres in 1988. You have been destructive 4 years outdated, so I’m guessing your story is totally different.
I used to be a type of children who needed to observe the issues I wasn’t allowed. I used to be at all times attempting to determine the code for the parental lock. The primary time I noticed Lifeless Ringers, I used to be too younger to understand most of it. I rewatched it a few years in the past, after I knew in regards to the mission however earlier than I had booked the position, and I used to be fairly blown away by the physique horror of all of it.
Lifeless Ringers doesn’t draw back from violence, particularly when displaying the bloody realities of girls’s reproductive well being.
I believe the distinction is that what we see within the present is pure and a part of the method of existence. Sure, it may be violent at instances, but it surely doesn’t really feel gratuitous. I believe it’s actually vital for folks to see these depictions of beginning and what occurs to our bodies. It’s undoubtedly not one thing the favored media tends to painting.
