WithDestroyernow playing in limited release, I recently sat down with directorKaryn Kusama’sto talk about making the film. During the wide-ranging interview, she talked about why she didn’t want to use soundstages,Nicole Kidman’samazing performance, the challenges of filming the bank heist in camera and on a very limited schedule, what she learned from early screenings, what her three-hour version of the film would have been like, how she works with screenwritersPhil HayandMatt Manfredi, and more. In addition, she talked about the resurgence ofJennifer’s Bodyand why she loved working onHalt and Catch Fire.
If youhaven’t seen the trailersforDestroyer, the neo-noir crime thriller is led by an incredibleNicole Kidmanperformance (one of the best of the year), which sees her playing a LAPD detective Erin Bell who is haunted by her undercover past. When her old gang leader resurfaces, we follow Bell as she tries to figure out where he is. As she pursues him, we see flashbacks that slowly reveal how her undercover operation years ago went so wrong. Scripted byThe InvitationwritersPhil HayandMatt Manfredi, the film also starsSebastian Stan,Toby Kebbell,Bradley Whitford,Tatiana Maslany,Jade Pettyjohn, andScoot McNairy.
Check out what Karyn Kusama had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis. You can also read Adam Chitwood’sDestroyerreview here.
Karyn Kusama:
Here’s the official synopsis forDestroyer:
Destroyer follows the moral and existential odyssey of LAPD detective Erin Bell who, as a young cop, was placed undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. When the leader of that gang re-emerges many years later, she must work her way back through the remaining members and into her own history with them to finally reckon with the demons that destroyed her past.
