Noah baumbach said that this story describes the very realistic marriage situation of two sisters in Le Cai family, inspired by a simple but mysterious picture, which almost jumped into Baumbach's mind like a dream: a mother and her son were sitting on a moving train ... In this fleeting and almost unconscious epiphany, a gradually clear role-margot appeared in Baumbach's imagination with an indelible firmness, followed by her sister Pauline and her adolescent son Claude.
The evolution of this story is just in line with the typical working style of noah baumbach's tendency-his plays are usually from the inside out, starting with the most basic skeleton structure, which is not only full of flesh and blood, but also influenced by the feelings and emotions of the surrounding environment. Baumbach is like a detective, specializing in all the secrets and humor contained in human relations. He explained: "After the production of Squid and Whale, I began to work on the ideas and story contents of other types of works, but there has been no progress. However, when my mind suddenly remembered this picture about' mother and her son sitting on the train'-in fact, I can't remember exactly where I saw such a scene, maybe it was a dream? I only know that it really inspired me a lot of stories, because it kept the mysterious atmosphere that I was always interested in. I slowly groped in the darkness of memory until all the pieces were pieced together and adjusted, and then I picked out the parts worthy of further analysis. "
When noah baumbach began to create the role of margot, he started with the relationship between mother and son. Everything came from a pair of mother and son who were facing life changes at the same time-the mother was about to end her marriage; The son should get rid of impatience and enter adolescence early. Baumbach said: "margot and Claude get along in a very changeable way. When we saw them, Claude was even more mature than his mother, and margot began to look beyond marriage. These personalized changes may be a threat to them, but in the end they will help them connect more closely. "
The destination of margot and Claude's train trip is a family wedding, and then Pauline walks into the picture. Noah baumbach realized that what he studied was the most mysterious and difficult to analyze among all family relationships: adult sister relationships, especially those who had had an unstable family life ... It can be said that the bond between margot and Pauline is extremely fragile, sharp and full of sympathy. Baumbach found himself in the whirlpool of jealousy, need, admiration, secrets, anger, resentment, calmness, hope, fear and love, which happened to be his best field. Under the cute and intelligent appearance of margot and Pauline, surging emotions constantly impact them, especially when margot, who is too demanding and picky, destructively regards Pauline's fiance as an unworthy candidate, forcing the two sisters to solve the problems that have been neglected before, and finally let them get the kind of harmonious family relationship they always want from each other. Noah baumbach said: "margot and Pauline insist on one thing: they are best friends and closest confidants, but everything they always take for granted will be tested in this movie."
Margot at the wedding has a very common feature in noah baumbach's works, which comes from his familiar sensory skills of discussing how to reunite estranged families. Baumbach continued: "All the characters in the film are experiencing changes. Because of the uncertainty of the future, they are afraid: Claude is going through adolescence; Margot is getting a divorce; Pauline and Malcolm are getting married ... when everything happens at the same time, you will feel that everything is out of control. "
After creating such a sharp and humorous, touching but flawed character, what noah baumbach needs to do next is to find an excellent actor who can perfectly interpret all this. He said that in the process of writing the script, he didn't take a specific actor as a reference in his mind, because in his imagination, he preferred to let the characters have their own life framework. However, once the script was completed, Baumbach had to focus on the choice of actors. He hopes to find a talented actor with verve, verve, vitality and subtle differences in performance, so that every role can be reborn in the image.
The central role of the film is naturally margot, a passionate and indifferent woman. Her tongue is like a whip, constantly attacking people around her, as if she had obsessive-compulsive disorder. She has a harsh but sincere view of everything. Although margot didn't mean to ruin Pauline's wedding celebration with her own ability, she can't control her life, so how can she control her mouth? In order to fully embody this contradictory character in the picture, noah baumbach knows that what he needs is an actress who can go deep into this emotional crisis. He said, "margot must show toughness and uncompromising stubbornness. She can be extremely destructive and fragile at the same time. I found that Margo should be a very compassionate woman. Even though she likes telling people what to do, she finds that her life is actually a huge mistake ... me.
What is needed is an actress who is not afraid to completely open her inner world. "
Soon, noah baumbach found the piety and soul he needed from Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman ... Kidman played Virginia Woolf in stephen daldry's The Hours, and finally won the Oscar for Best Actress. In addition, she has played countless changeable roles, and has experienced such a huge performance span from the musical Moulin Rouge to the classic psychological thriller Cry of the Island. Moreover, Kidman is a "frequent visitor" in the field of comedy suspected of mischief. Her outstanding performance in gus van sant's black comedy "Whatever it takes" was recognized to the greatest extent.
On the set, Nicole Kidman did bring the sincerity that noah baumbach had been expecting, which was almost cruel, and made the role of margot have amazing realistic quality. Baumbach commented on her: "Kidman always makes this character sympathetic during filming, because she cares more about the truth than her personal life. Kidman really understands the role of margot, and she won't let you have even the slightest doubt about her performance-that's what makes her outstanding. The way margot walked into this movie is like a devastating snowball, so I need an actress who has a certain pushing ability and a real sense of touch, as if she really belongs to Le Cai's family and is an inseparable family member, instead of being killed halfway. Kidman did everything I asked for, and she also brought humorous elements that exceeded my expectations. "