Chicago Critics Film Festival Interview: Alex Thompson and Kelly O’ Sullivan – Director and Star of SAINT FRANCES

By Movie Geeks | May 18, 2019

The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek will be covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks

Saint Frances follows Bridget (Kelly O’ Sullivan), a young woman who has just gotten a nanny job watching over Frances (a revelatory Ramona Edith Williams). As their friendship develops, Bridget must deal with her own problems following an abortion. It’s a charming, socially aware film that could make for one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the year.

Yesterday, I had the great fortune to sit down with the writer/lead actor Kelly O’ Sullivan and director Alex Thompson to talk about the development of Saint Frances and the dynamics of working with the brilliant young actress at its center.

S: I wanted to start the interview with the writing of the piece. Kelly, you wrote the piece and I wanted to ask where the inspiration thematically really came from in your life?

K:  The inspiration came because when I was in my 20’s I was a nanny and that had a profound effect on me, having a job that was so impactful. Then, when I was in my 30’s, I had an abortion and I realized that the way that abortion is portrayed in most TV and film is not at all representative of the experience that I had. Just in terms of most times you see abortion in TV and film there are these really traumatic circumstances surrounding it, it’s this devastating thing that women go through, there are all these moral questions about it and most of the plot revolves around whether [the woman] will get an abortion and then finally at the end she decides that she won’t or she does and she’s traumatized from it. I thought it was really important to have a story where an abortion is an event, it’s not the event, and that the woman is 100% sure that it was the right decision the entire time.

S: That brings me to Alex, what about the film brought you to the project, themes wise, content wise?

A:  I really welcomed to work on something that was so full of humor and joy and life. As you said, it has a structure that allows for an almost dissociative, sort of jumble of meanings to come out of it. The script was so dense with characters and circumstances and it felt like there was a lot of opportunity to tell [a story] that would be meaningful but also something that would resonate with a wider audience. I love Kelly’s writing so much, and it was clear that her vision was something that, if I could manage not to f**k it up along the way, would be really exceptional.

S: To prepare for this interview, I watched two of your short films: “Calumet” and “Irene and Marie,” and the themes of those films definitely resonated into this one.

A: In what ways? I’m so curious.

S: Just the ties to religion and the ties to that very slice of life, living under everyday circumstances that are difficult and still getting through because of your bond with other people.

A: That’s definitely something that I’ve found in my life. When the establishment fails, whether that’s religion or society, those other people are the ones that help you out, get through the day or what have you.

S: Kelly, what did the writing process for this movie look like for you?

K: I started writing in January of 2018 and I gave the first couple of pages to Alex. He read them and he thought that they were good, so he encouraged me to keep writing and then probably three months after that I had the first draft. So, we said, “Ok, let’s film it this summer,” and so three months after that we started filming, so it was really fast. Super fast, but I’m glad it happened that way because I think I have a tendency to overwrite and I would have if we had waited for another year. It would have become an entirely different beast and I’m happy with what it is.

S: Alex, this is your first feature film. Were there any specific challenges that came with making a feature film rather than a short film?

A: Oh! There are many specific challenges to making a feature film. It takes longer, for one thing. You have to sustain a certain level of intention and pay attention for longer, but to be honest, I had produced two features prior to this as well as producing and directing a feature for my thesis, so I had some understanding of what it was to make a full-length film. However, I think in this case, the stakes are considerably higher because we were working with a wonderful, very young actress, Ramona Edith Williams. It felt really important to give her a positive experience. And I was working with a lot of crewmembers/collaborators who I’ve been building relationships with for the last five to seven years. I think that rather than feeling less pressure, having done it in some capacity before, actually felt like more pressure, even if I was doing it with the people that I love, the people that I enjoy spending time with. So other than the logistical things, you don’t have three call sheets you have twenty-two call sheets, it was really an endurance test in terms of tone and style, making sure that all those things are unified every single day. If you let your attention drift or if you lose focus, as a director specifically, that scene might end up on the cutting room floor because it doesn’t stand up with the rest of the film.

S: Absolutely. I saw you edited this as well which must have posed its own challenge.

A: Yeah, with a lot of help from our consulting editor Sophie Marshall, who gave some incredible notes, I think without which we would have a very different movie…on the record.

S: We’re only as good as our collaborator, huh?

A: That’s very true.

S: Kelly, was there anything different about acting in your own work, compared to something someone else has written?

K: Well in some ways it’s more pressure because if it fails it’s definitely more on my shoulders then if it was somebody else’s writing, but in some ways it’s less pressure too because I don’t have to worry about delivering somebody else’s lines the way that they imagined them in their head. I can do it the way that I imagined it. I actually found it to be, in some ways really fun, and in some ways, I had a lot of insecurity about if we cast the right person by casting me, cause I think there are better actors out there, who would do a better job. But then, it ultimately came down to thinking, “No, I think, I understand how this story should be told,” so I’m glad we cast me but there are still moments where I think we could have gotten somebody better.

A: Well, I disagree, for the record.

S: I’m glad they cast you as well, the scene in the car where your speaking on the phone, the combination of the shot choice and your performance is just brilliant.

K: Thank you.

S: Kind of the same coin, Alex is there anything different about directing someone who has written the movie that you’re directing?

A: I far prefer it, honestly. The reason for that I found that the process is really helpful and it helps crystallize what you actually want to say. Even if you think you have the best idea, sometimes giving that idea a voice to a group of people will only strengthen it, if you are confident and curious. Starting out with someone else’s intention and then constantly having that conversation, I think just lead to a stronger film. It certainly helped so much to have so much subtext and intention built into the script and working with Kelly as an actor, as well there was such a shorthand between us from the get-go because we were working with these characters for so long. We could say a lot with so little and it saved time and we got to do more. It’s a lot easier to give somebody else the benefit of the doubt, meaning another writer, then it is to give yourself the benefit of the doubt because in that case, you feel a little indulgent. When you’re giving someone else the benefit of the doubt it leads to more interesting places. I always prefer that over directing work that is purely written by me.

S: For both of you, the child actor in this film is great. She’s fantastic and I wanted to ask about how you guys developed dynamics with her to get the best possible performance out of her and how she was on set?

K: Ramona is incredible. She’s just a phenomenal actor and her parents did an extraordinary job in preparing her because they didn’t overcoach her. I think that one of the most incredible things about Ramona’s performance is it seems like nothing is scripted like she’s just saying things in the moment, spontaneously and everything is scripted. That’s really hard for an adult actor to pull off, let alone a child actor. I think we tried really hard to keep the attitude on set really playful, to be really playful with her. It was important to me that Ramona and I actually had a friendship and luckily she’s an awesome person so it was really easy to be friends with her.

A: I think that it’s always great when actors bring something of themselves to a role and when you’re six years old you can’t help but do that. It was such a gift to get to try to capture Ramona’s energy and friendliness. The set just lit up when she was there, and everybody benefited from it. On top of that, she was just a really good actor, who seemed to have a really inherent understanding of being present. That was really unique. It was the least difficult element of shooting this film, I think.

S: As a wrapping up question, you guys won the SXSW Audience Award, which is definitely exciting. I wanted to ask about your feelings about the reaction to the film, how you feel about the overall reception?

K: I think we’re thrilled, I know I am. You never know how something you make is going to be received, so knowing that people left the theater at SXSW, having an emotional reaction, and for the most part, they left feeling hopeful. That is really encouraging because that’s what we hoped they’d walk away with. With a greater sense of empathy, and having liked the characters, and been moved by the story. Honestly, it’s the best thing in the world to know that people are being affected by it in a positive way.  

A: I think we were just so happy to even be screening at a festival like that. I think it’s easy for us to keep moving the finish line, like playing at SXSW, to be granted an award, to getting to premiere in our hometown at the Critics Festival, and I think the thing that was and continues to be the most rewarding to me is hearing how the film has affected so many different people in such a diverse set of ways…and I really like when people laugh.

S: Well that’s fantastic! I’m sure on Friday night I’m sure we’ll all be chuckling along the way watching Bridget and Francis get along.

Wang gave an entertaining Q&A afterward. She spoke about returning to China, and about going to her Nai Nai’s with the large crew to use the restroom.