Director Susanne Bier on the set of Things We Lost in the Fire.
Growing up in Denmark, Susanne Bier was a big fan of 1970’s American cinema. So it seems only appropriate that Things We Lost in the Fire, her Stateside debut, has the feel of one of those classic edgy dramas.
Starring Halle Berry as a bereaved widow and Benicio Del Toro as the heroin-addicted family friend, the two-hour R-rated tearjerker has critics hyping Del Toro, a Best Supporting Actor winner for Traffic, as a legitimate candidate for this year’s Best Actor Oscar derby. During an exclusive interview with Fandango, Bier shared memories of working with her two leads and other brief recollections.
Fandango: You rehearsed every day for one to two hours before shooting any film. How did that help the filmmaking process?
Bier: Well, it changed pretty much the way we did everything on set each day. For example, the scene where Halle and Benicio’s characters almost kiss is not in the script. Halle’s character says those things, but there was no stage direction about the two of them almost crossing over that critical boundary. The idea of adding some physicality came up in rehearsals, and then when we filmed the scene, and worked on it some more.
Fandango: What impressed you most about Benicio Del Toro?
Bier: He’s as brilliant, serious, and dedicated to each scene as you might imagine. But he also has this great sense of humor! And I think what impressed me most was the way he could, at any time, infuse any moment with a sense of absurdity. I truly believe that he views the world as being slightly surreal, and that kind of sentiment informs pretty much everything he does. He is willing to go wherever the scene takes him, he has no hesitation. I like to shoot a lot of takes and do each one as differently as possible, and Benicio is definitely a great person for that.
Fandango: Did anything really surprise you about Halle Berry?
Bier: She surprised me pretty much every day. She’s very creative, very innovative and totally dedicated. So each day, she had suggestions that were very unexpected. And as an actress, she’s brilliant at conveying emotions with only her eyes, without using words. I found that very impressive.
Fandango: Halle has said that Del Toro has tremendous sex appeal in person. Was that evident on the set at all?
Bier: Well, on a typical movie set, the crew is about 15 percent female and 85 percent male, so you’re dealing with a slightly different balance. Benicio is definitely sexy, there’s no doubt about it. When you work with an actor, you kind of recognize and appreciate their physical traits. I mean, you appreciate how beautiful Halle is, and you appreciate how sexy Benicio is. But you’re also telling a story, so your mind is generally focused more on how those traits play within the specific themes of a particular scene.
Fandango: Before filming Things, did you watch any of the other drug addiction movies like Candy, Trainspotting or Requiem for a Dream?
Bier: No, I didn’t, and in fact I’m always very careful about that kind of thing because I try not to reference other movies. I try instead to reference life. Otherwise, the movies become like a self-serving universe, and I think that’s a mistake. So I did reference real drug addicts, I did reference people who have worked with real drug addicts, and I did reference information from Narcotics Anonymous.
I had an NA representative available to me while I was working on the script. I also attended a couple of meetings, and we had another NA person present on set whenever we were shooting specific scenes involving Benicio. We had others on set who were withdrawal experts, so I could talk to them and make sure I was making the appropriate creative choices.
Fandango: I understand you used Hollywood-style test screenings on some of your foreign language films as well. What did those screenings teach you?
Bier: I find this whole process to be very important, because you need to confirm your material with an audience. There might be points where you go, “Oh, they’re not reacting to this the way I expected,” or, “That’s interesting the audience felt that way. Now how can we strengthen their impression of that scene?” It was an important part of the process, along with editing.
Fandango: Is your plan to make another English-language movie, or go back to a Danish production?
Bier: When I finally watched [Things] with an (American) audience, it was gratifying, as they had a very strong reaction to the film. So while I’m happy to look at Danish opportunities as well, I do hope my next film is in English.
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