Ira Sachs's cinema is renowned for incredible character work.
Across 9 feature films, he’s directed:
Rachel McAdams
John Lithgow
Isabelle Huppert
Ben Whishaw
Rebecca Hall
Chris Cooper
Patricia Clarkson
Pierce Brosnan
Greg Kinnear
Alfred Molina
Marisa Tomei
Brendan Gleeson
In directing each of these actors, he’s crafted consistent standout performances.
In the interview, Sachs details his methodology for working with actors.
For Sachs’ latest film, Peter Hujar’s Day, starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall, which premiered at Sundance, he prepped Whishaw by filling him in on his character's biography, supplying him with voice recordings, and providing in-depth info on the 57 people mentioned in the film.
But what was most surprising was what Sachs withheld:
“I’m not interested in talking about subtext with an actor. I feel like subtext, once it’s revealed becomes text and that’s not what I want.”
He continued:
“But I’m aware if they don’t seem connected to certain words. Like if they seem like there is a gap between their kind of embodiment of a word and what I’m hearing.”
Sachs’ role is to be a good listener, almost like an analyst, tuned into the material with a masterful eye for staging like Ozu or Fassbinder (two of his idols).
Here’s the trailer for Peter Hujar’s Day:
Janus Films releases Peter Hujar’s Day releases November 6th in NYC and LA.
