Interviews of Jennifer Lawrence
Jennifer Lawrence Goes All In
This interview originally appeared at: http://www.blackbookmag.com/...
Written By: Ariel Vered on July 7th, 2008.
The Poker House is not a pretty movie, but as its lead, Jennifer Lawrence is hauntingly beautiful. Playing the 14-year-old daughter of Selma Blair’s drug-addled prostitute, Lawrence cleans up the messy house, cares for her two younger sisters, and steals furtive kisses with the drug-addicted pimp who beats her mother. A far cry from Lawrence’s happy Kentucky upbringing and a testament to her acting prowess, her hauntingly honest performance recently garnered the Los Angeles Film Festival award for Outstanding Performance in the Narrative Competition.
The film is an autobiographical telling of Lori Petty’s (yes, Tank Girl herself) childhood in Iowa. In the film, Lawrence is brittle yet vulnerable, world-weary, yet naïve. The film, which takes place over the course of one day, is a roller coaster of emotions that, for many young women, is the ugly truth of their daily lives. But Lawrence doesn’t only want to make you cry. She’s currently in L.A. filming the second season of the TBS sitcom “The Bill Engvall Show”. Her role is a far cry from the gritty, coming-of-age Poker House, but par for the course for a girl whose two favorite movies are Alice in Wonderland and Scarface. Simply put, Jennifer Lawrence is a study in contrasts. Here she talks to us about becoming Lori Petty, not being afraid to do comedy and joking with Charlize.
What attracted you to the role?
It wasn’t even the role specifically. I didn’t fall in love with it until later, when you’re actually becoming the role and you’re creating the character. The script is what I fell in love. Nobody can read that script or see that movie and just not see the incredible depth and beauty of the script.
Why do you think it’s an important film to see?
I think that the most important thing that Lori did in the movie, which I respect so much, is at the end when my character is raped by this man. This horrible thing has happened to her but it didn’t happen to her soul. He had that moment and he had that time, but she didn’t let him have even the rest of that night. I think and I hope so badly, that anybody who’s been hurt in any way like that can get inspiration or help from that, that you can go on.
What did you find the most resonating moment in the film for you?
When you just realize that she’s a kid, she’s just doing what we’re all trying to do. We’re just trying to get through the day and be happy.
You mentioned that the script was what you really fell in love with. The voice-over was such a nice touch of letting the audience into Agnes’s head. It was an especially effective juxtaposition in the rape scene when the voice is so defiant and yet the image is her screaming and squirming.
There is absolutely no way that you can or even want to be in her mind at that time, but you are. And that’s the entire tone of the movie or even her life. You don’t want it but it’s happening. That’s why the film is so powerful. It shows you the ugly truth that so many people don’t want to see. It’s not a pretty script, so it’s not going to be a pretty movie, but it is beautiful, because it’s true and real.
Given that the film is essentially Lori Petty and her actual childhood, how did it feel playing her substitute on film?
I didn’t know that I was Lori, she never told me. I started to figure it out through little clues, and I kind of had it in the back of my mind but I didn’t find out until after when I read it in an interview.
You have this part on “The Bill Engvall Show,” which is a sitcom, but most of your films are really intense roles. Do you find it a good balance to have the comedy and the drama?
Yes, because you can be serious, and you can be artistic, and you can be powerful, but you can still be funny. I’m grateful that the show and both the movies (The Poker House and The Burning Plain) are coming out at the same time so that I’m not typecast in either one because I love doing both. There are so many people who are afraid to do comedy or afraid to do this because they’re afraid to be seen that way, and it’s true.
Have you worked with any actors that have particularly influenced you?
Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger. Just because I got to see the complete polar opposites. Kim is in it the entire time. She comes to set completely in her character and does not leave. And Charlize is like me, joking around, and once the director yells “action,” she gets right to it. It’s just so funny to watch the opposites. Both of them are incredible. I’ve learned so much from them and I admire them.
Do you find then that you don’t get too caught up in the characters when you’re playing those really intense roles, that you can leave it at work and in that moment?
The biggest struggle for me with The Poker House was that I was in therapy for three months after, because that was my first movie. You can almost compare it to a seance. It completely takes over you, and when it’s gone you’re exhausted and you get confused about who you are, what your favorite food is. I know that sounds really weird, but I grew up in such a happy family. I really had nothing to compare this to. I had to go to that dark place, which is a horrible, dark place to go and it’s hard to get out of that. I’m learning more how to block it, kind of protect yourself. Lori would always shake me after the scenes.
You’ve only really been doing your filmmaking and television show for the past few years. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned as an actor?
Oh gosh. Probably that none of it’s real. You have all these people kissing your butt and they’re all sucking up to you because it’s their job, not necessarily because you’re special. The people getting you water bottles and getting you chairs, they’re doing it because they’re getting paid to do it, not because they like you, or because you’re cool.
