DIVA sat down with the star of William Oldroyd’s new film to talk about bringing Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel to life
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY NEON
William Oldroyd’s new film Eileen opens with a young woman shoving snow down her underwear after watching a couple make out in the car next to her. From this point on, we know that Eileen is going to take us down a wild ride.
Starring Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night In Soho) as the titular character of Eileen, the film follows the life of an introverted outcast who works in a juvenile detention centre for boys. Based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel of the same name, Eileen’s world is completely transformed when she meets the detention centre’s new psychologist Rebecca – played by none other than Anne Hathaway.
New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie was shot to superstardom after her role in Debra Granik’s drama film Leave No Trace in 2018. Since then she has starred in the likes of Jojo Rabbit, Last Night In Soho, and M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller Old.
The Thomasin that sits across from me beaming is a far cry from the dark and morally ambiguous character of Eileen that audiences will soon see on the big screen. So, how does one crawl into the mind of such a twisted character like Eileen?
Thomasin laughs as she shows me the document on her phone where she collates all her information on Eileen. On the screen she points out pages and pages of notes from both the film and the script, detailing everything from Eileen’s perception of herself to her relationship with her father. Thomasin even admits that she sent the document to a clinical psychologist who couldn’t give the character a formal diagnosis.
“Eileen jumped out at me [when I read the book],” she says when explaining what drew her to this project. “I was very interested in the character, exploring Eileen’s history and how her mind works.”
Alongside Eileen’s peculiar habits, the story is largely centred around the sapphic relationship between Thomasin and Anne Hathaway’s character, Rebecca. From the moment Eileen meets her, she appears to be utterly infatuated with the bleach-blonde psychologist.
“I read it as a complete obsession,” Thomasin explains. “Rebecca comes in as a fresh breath of air, and a way into the wider world which Eileen has been so isolated from.”
In order to fully submerge herself into the role, Thomasin listened to So This Is Love from the Cinderella soundtrack on repeat to mimic Eileen’s utter devotion to Rebecca. “We didn’t film it as a queer story,” Thomasin continues. “I genuinely didn’t even really think ‘Oh we’re making a queer film’. It’s just we’re making a film and my character is in love with a woman. I’m really thrilled by the way that it’s been received by the LGBTQIA community. I’m really honoured that it’s been received well.”
That dreamy, Disney-like infatuation is backdropped by a much darker story, one which pushes all boundaries that are traditionally set for female characters. Roles like Eileen often don’t exist within the film industry, and for Thomasin being able to play such a complex, morally ambiguous character was liberating.
“It’s only very recently that women actors have been able to play such unlikeable characters, and for those characters to be taken on board by the audience. It’s an exciting thing to be able to do,” she explains.
She continues: “I never felt any pressure to make Eileen likeable or make her someone that the audience could sympathise with. My priority was just Eileen and not how she was perceived.”
Out of Eileen’s collection of quirks, Thomasin’s favourite one to portray was her walk. Tightly caved in on herself, Thomasin was able to embody most of Eileen’s character through her physicality alone. Even acts as small as shaving her big toe or spitting out chewed-up chocolates give the audience a sense of who Eileen is.
“She’s like the opposite of main character energy!” Thomasin concludes with a laugh.
Eileen will be in cinemas from 1 December 2023.
DIVA magazine will celebrate 30 years in print in 2024. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
