Rebeca Hall / Actress and director
In ‘The Night House’, a Disney + film, she plays a widow who feels the ghost of her husband
Rebecca Hall (London, 1982) has become one of the favorite actresses in the horror genre. ‘The curse of Rookford’, ‘Christine’, ‘The gift’ and now ‘The Night House’, demonstrate their ability to frighten us from the big screen as Tippi Hedren did once. In ‘The Night House’ (Disney + movie) she plays a newly widowed teacher named Beth.
In the days and weeks after her husband’s suicide, Beth becomes convinced that her husband’s presence still lingers in their lakeside home from the music playing on her stereo at night or the footprints she finds in the mud. where your boat is docked. Later, she discovers a collection of occult books and photos of women who eerily resemble her, leading Beth to suspect that her spouse harbored dark secrets.
Hall is also making her directorial debut on the feature film ‘Claroscuro,’ which premieres on Netflix this month. Delicate and devastating, it speaks of the racial ambiguity in the New York of the 20s of the last century.
-He has become a horror movie star.
-And the reality is that I have little tolerance for fear. I like to accept demanding jobs, which is why I gravitate towards this genre. It forces you to portray extreme emotions. The pain of this type of film tends to provoke the public and that bewitches the actors.
-‘The Night House ‘explores loss and obsession, what would you highlight about your character?
-She is a fascinating woman that I could not shake since I read her story in the script. I loved the idea of putting together a classic tale about a haunted house with all the typical elements of these films: a woman alone in a house, a delicate emotional state, an enigma to discover. Beth is capable of anything to keep from the house, she is absolutely reckless and impulsive, and is often very drunk. She is fragile, funny and passionate and I thought that was a very human representation.
-There are many scenes in which Beth fights with someone who is not actually present. What are the challenges of fighting a ghost?
-The discomfort is in the fight against nothingness. I remember one day when we were doing an intimate scene with the ghost and I assumed it would be choreographed or there would be someone in a green suit to capture the movement that would later be erased. But no, I got to work that day and they said, now is the scene where you kiss the ghost. It was liberating, because I was forced to leave the shame at the door and give it my all in that scene.
-She is also a producer of ‘The Night House’. What did you contribute to the project from that perspective?
-I like to participate in the creative aspect of my films, to get involved in the scenes and in the script. There were things that needed adjustments and being a producer allowed me to change them by talking to the director.
“Emotionally exposed”
-In the film she plays the wife of a man who has committed suicide. How did you deal with that delicate aspect of your character?
-I felt pressure in that sense. I decided to study the subject thoroughly, treating it with respect. I have not experienced certain situations that I know are real for other people, so I need to soak up information. Entering the territory of suicide seemed delicate and extreme to me, but I dared to enter that dark place of emotions. I have never felt more emotionally exposed than with this role.
-What did you want to tell as director of ‘Claroscuro’?
-My film talks about dualities, categories, identity and how it is possible to live and exist in a gray area.
-Why have you chosen to debut in directing with a racial story?
-My grandfather was black and passed for white all his life. And only by making this movie and spending so much time with this book that I have really discovered its history. Thanks to this film I have understood my own family, things that were obscured and erased. I have managed to make the breed part of my family’s life again. And that is very significant.
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