Went Up The Hill Q&A with director Samuel Van Grinsven

Went Up The Hill director Samuel Van Grinsven takes some time on the day of the film's New Zealand release to talk about his processes, his actors and what the hardest part of making this movie was.

Tell us where the idea for Went Up The Hill came from?

I had an image in my mind. Two people standing either side of a coffin, both equally mourning, but knowing nothing about one another. Strangers. That was the starting point.

Talk us through your casting process for the roles - what was about it Dacre Montgomery and Vicky Krieps that made them a fit for Jack and Jill?

I was drawn to Vicky’s insatiable curiosity and beautiful sense of trust. It’s contagious. There was something heartbreaking about locking that person, or that energy, inside this world and this house. Who was she before this? Who could she be if she gets out? For Dacre, it was his contradictions in a way. Vulnerable and deeply honest, but with a screen energy and physicality that carries a sense of danger or a live-wire quality.

The landscape and the house architecture seem to play a big part as extra characters in the film - can you talk through how that played into your direction?

Without spoiling the film, the audience shares a unique relationship with the character of Elizabeth. She is not on screen, at least not in the way they are accustomed to. What that meant was that I needed to imbue her in every possible way beyond performance. She was an architect, she built this home - so we brought her to life via its lines, its severity, its beauty, its complexity and its choices.

What was the trickiest part of the film to make - and why?

Practically and technically, the ice sequences were incredibly difficult. They required real ingenuity to pull off at our budget level and within the harsh elements of our shooting location. Ben Milsom, our Art Director, and Sherree Phillips, our Production Designer, were incredible and inventive - I learnt a huge amount from them and I love what we pulled off.

The other challenge was stamina. This film is unique in that it is largely a three-hander told with two actors. There was rarely, if ever, a day on set where Vicky and Dacre were not needed for the majority of the day as they juggled two characters each. That takes a huge amount of trust, patience and focus. I was incredibly fortunate to have found that in the pair.

How hard was filming the possession sequences in the film - and were there moments when Dacre and Vicky were doing this that really surprised you?

I think what surprised me was how easy it was in a way. Not easy in a practical sense, but that the answer was simpler than Vicky, Dacre and I had initially imagined. We realised we weren’t creating some grand act of perfect mimicry between the two as they shared this third character. We were creating a distinguishable energy or a persona. But the application of that persona scene to scene is different. Dacre is playing that presence as a wife, Vicky is playing it as a mother. Two vastly different relationships but sharing this intensity and energy of a common person.

We understand your parents were Elvis impersonators and were out on the road a lot with you - can you tell us more and how did this influence you in terms of style or the direction your life followed?

The family business is musical impersonation - mainly ABBA when I was a kid. It took me a long time to realise, but so many of my choices and to a degree my taste comes from the experiences of being on tour and listening to my Dad work. That deep empathy it takes to step into someone else's shoes every night, the storytelling of lighting, the emotional structure of a show from song to song. All of it. Plus, you meet a lot of real characters in that world - they’re hard to forget and I’m sure have and will end up in some scripts.

What's a behind the scenes trick you always employ to get the best from your crews and actors?

On both my first and second film I worked with the composer on sketches of the score before pre-production even began. Tone is one of the hardest aspects of your vision to share with your cast and crew, it’s illusive and subjective. Words can only get you so far. There’s something about score - this glimpse from the future of post-production - that can create a common ground between you all. It speaks not only to the emotional narrative but also to pace and screen language.

What's the one moment from the film you're proudest of and why?

There is a scene with Vicky, where she rounds the corner into frame and appears in the reflection of a painting. Shooting this scene was a surreal moment - to witness, for the first time, Vicky take on this other - second - character and experience the palpable difference both on screen and within the room itself. She transformed, it was subtle but it was real. Those moments on set when that feeling you’re attempting to conjure on screen are actively felt within the room are unforgettable.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Visual art, photography and the work of certain fashion designers are the most consistent sources of inspirations I return to. Following the work of a designer - year after year, collection after collection - as they redefine their codes and the character of their “woman”.

There is something both illusive and beautifully clear to that. Which is the best kind of art.

How does the nursery rhyme play into this (Jack and Jill Went Up The Hill), or was this just something you put in for fun?

I was drawn to the maternal nature of a nursery rhyme. Its act of nurture, to guide children to sleep, but simultaneously steeped in cautionary tales. It inspired every aspect of the film - from the tone to the pace to the hypnotising sense of repetition in the structure. It also speaks to the pair of protagonists, two adults who in many ways return to a childlike nature and vulnerability as they search for something - together. Giving away their trust as they are lulled into sleep. In a very literal answer to your question… Listen to the score and you mayrecognise the melody played with throughout.

What's your next project?

The script is written and we are casting currently. There is a looser quality to this next film - a fading youth which I am very excited for.

Went Up The Hill is in New Zealand cinemas now.