IR Interview: Noa Cohen & D.J. Caruso For "Mary" [Netflix]

The Inside Reel

Actress Noa Cohen & Director D.J. Caruso talk to The Inside Reel about approach, texture, characterization and environmemt in regards to their new biblical-based and set film: "Mary" from Netflix.

Transcript

00:00This messiah, is he real?

00:15Has he been born?

00:16Where is he?

00:17Tell me!

00:18Where is he?

00:19Love will cost you dearly.

00:20It will pierce your heart.

00:21But in the end, love will save the world.

00:41The first thing I wanted to ask about to both of you was about perspective and perception

00:46because the journey of this young woman's sort of progression is the why and how she

00:52comes to terms with it in many ways.

00:55First Noah, if you could talk about approaching her that way psychologically, emotionally,

01:00physically, even intellectually.

01:02There's so many different things going on with her idea of piousness versus the idea

01:06of what she needs to accomplish.

01:08Could you talk about that?

01:09And then DJ about perspective and perception and putting that into a visual medium to capture

01:14that correctly.

01:16Right.

01:17So taking on a role like that one is, as you said, was not an easy task.

01:22She holds such a central place in the hearts of millions of people and I wanted to make

01:25sure that I portray her in a way that is very much respectable.

01:31But I knew that the key to bringing her to life on screen in the way that we wanted to,

01:37in the way that she'll be able to touch people on a deeply human level and that will be able

01:44to connect with her that way is to find that balance between her divine role and her humanity.

01:51So I really focused on figuring out who she was as a young woman navigating through those

01:58challenges that she had to face, both the divine and the very, very human ones.

02:04And I feel like being in her position, she had a choice.

02:13I mean, you know, she had this godly calling, but she had a choice and her choosing to accept

02:20that role is not easy as well, you know, it took a lot of courage and a lot of guts.

02:28And I wanted to make sure that this translates.

02:35I don't know why, but I was chosen for this.

02:39Mary, your birth was a gift for your mother and I.

02:46It was a miracle.

02:49But in exchange, I made a promise.

02:52What happened before you did?

02:59Great heresy.

03:01The prophecy speaks of the coming messiah.

03:05What need have we of a messiah?

03:09Let it be understood.

03:11I am your king.

03:16Child.

03:21You are far more powerful than words, child.

03:27I don't understand how it is your will that I should marry this perfect stranger.

03:32Yeah, and that for me, cinematically, it makes it so easy to kind of jump in and say, like,

03:37I'm going to tell this story from her perspective and her point of view.

03:40And that's something you really hadn't seen before in a full movie form.

03:43She's been part of stories.

03:45And so that informed me of how I can tell the story, what I can do.

03:48And if I can put the audience in the room with her when she's making these decisions

03:52and really immerse the audience in the movie, not to look back and say,

03:55oh, this is the story of Bethlehem and that's all beautiful,

03:58but to really be in the story and to see how sometimes how tough it was

04:02and how ugly the world was and how people are always fighting good in the forces.

04:05And when you accept a mission or you accept this, like,

04:08I'm going to bring the world its greatest gift, it is not going to be easy.

04:12And that, for me, kind of opened me up cinematically.

04:14And, you know, I wanted to shoot the movie widescreen

04:17and we used all these vintage old Hawk lenses.

04:20And to me, it was just a great canvas and a great way to paint.

04:23And also to play with the tropes of what a biblical movie looks like.

04:26Because everyone thinks they know it's sand and sandals and everything else.

04:29I wanted to open that up and I didn't want Joseph to pull Mary across on a donkey.

04:34Because I've seen that before.

04:35So we have horses and movement and just so much energy.

04:38And that's what Mary had to go through.

04:40It's her energy that's driving the film cinematically.

04:44All those people out there can call me all sorts of names.

04:56But I'm going to bring this child into the world with love and honor and respect.

05:00I was actually trying to find you.

05:10To tell you I don't care what they say.

05:14But what I do know is that I'm going to love this child as best as I can.

05:21And if you let me, I will love you as best as I can.

05:30I'll jump back to you about using the environments and everything like that, DJ.

05:34But for Snoha, there's different levels of what Mary's going through.

05:38She's very independent and yet she understands duty.

05:42She has humility and yet she does have ego.

05:45She knows what she's capable of.

05:47Can you talk about that energy pushing that back and forth?

05:51Because you even see it with her mom.

05:53Her mom saying, you know, this is not easy.

05:55And you see her sort of moving in between that.

05:58Could you talk about finding those notes within her in that way

06:02and sort of conveying that externally while also feeling it internally?

06:07And then I'll ask DJ one more question.

06:09I think we really wanted to portray both her vulnerability and her strength.

06:14And I feel like to do that it was very important to show her as a young child

06:19seeing how much she loves nature and how free-spirited she was.

06:23And then seeing her get sent to the temple and being kind of locked in this place.

06:28But accepting the duties that she had to accept.

06:31She knows how to get those things done.

06:33But there's this feeling while she's in the temple.

06:36And she says that, can I do even more good outside?

06:39I mean, she wants to kind of break through because she knows

06:43that she is capable of so much more.

06:46And she knows that she has this kind of strength inside of her.

06:50So it was really interesting balancing her independence

06:57and her free-spirited kind of, you know.

07:04But then also accepting her role in the divine plan

07:08and accepting God's plan for her

07:12and accepting all the things that she had to face.

07:18And I think that she had to have such great faith

07:22not only in God but also in herself to be able to do those things.

07:26And to navigate through those challenges.

07:28So, yeah, that was a really interesting process

07:32to kind of portray her both ways.

07:35You did beautiful.

07:36They cast me out of the temple.

07:38What?

07:41Why would they do that?

07:49Because I'm a child, Mama.

07:51Oh, Mary.

07:52I haven't done anything wrong, I promise.

07:55But how could this be?

07:56The angel in blue, he told me.

07:58The angel?

08:00He came to you?

08:03Yes, I thought it was a dream.

08:06You're the vessel of the promise.

08:11It's true.

08:12It's not me, Mama.

08:13I'm engaged to Joseph.

08:14We're not even married.

08:15I can't have a baby.

08:16You're stronger than you know.

08:20You've been selected for great things.

08:23And great things never come easy.

08:25And my last thing, if I have one second with you, DJ.

08:27Could you talk about directing that?

08:29Because you make a very organic environment.

08:31Like the wedding, you know,

08:33the inside sort of the open air, you know,

08:36where she gives birth.

08:37All these things make you feel like you're there.

08:40Could you talk about doing that?

08:41But also directing Noah.

08:43And directing her in a very specific way

08:45where you knew what notes you wanted to hit

08:48but also let her find her way with the role.

08:51Well, yeah, we spent some time in rehearsals.

08:53I like to do, and Noah is so fantastic with this,

08:55is we built the foundation of Mary and who she was.

08:58And if she had any historical or biblical questions,

09:00we kind of dive in.

09:01I can answer all those and help her.

09:03But it's really building that character and the foundation

09:05and finding like her golden key, like Noah said,

09:07her courage and what she wanted to do.

09:10So that for me was it.

09:11And so I'll give you a great example.

09:13During the birth of Christ,

09:16Mary and Noah and Hila and Karen got together

09:21and I said, guys, let's make this special.

09:23What can you do to help me make this special?

09:25And they were spending time in the hotel room

09:27and helping figuring this out.

09:28And they would present things to me

09:29and say, great, that's exactly what we can do.

09:31So it's a collaboration, right?

09:32But it's only collaboration when someone like Noah

09:35is so embedded in who the character is

09:37and I can trust her.

09:38And man, I could trust her to do anything.

09:40And I knew she was right from the moment I saw her.

09:43And in the scenes that you're speaking about,

09:46it's just magical.

09:47But it's a great collaboration.

09:48But to answer your question,

09:49it's because we built a foundation before we went out.

09:51Because as you know, when you go out there,

09:53you just kind of strap it on.

09:55And it's day after day after day after day after day.

09:57You just kind of hang on.

09:58And this wind and sand is hitting you in the face.

10:00And you go, please, God, let us get this right.

10:02And so it was great to have a partner like Noah.

10:08You are to have a son.

10:11But that's not possible.

10:13All things are possible.

10:19You've laid with a man.

10:21No.

10:22Father, I need you.

10:23You'll be put to death.

10:26I'm going to bring this child into the world of love.

10:28I don't care what they say.

10:31I will love you as best as I can.

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