Jennifer El is the focus of one of the best scenes of 2022. El plays Laura Madden in Maria Schradermovie She saidwhich is reviewing Megan Toohey (Carey Mulligan) as well as Jody KantorX (Zoe Kazan) working tirelessly for the New York Times in investigating acts of sexual assault committed by a former film producer Harvey Weinstein. The film focuses on the women who boldly came forward with the testimony that ultimately sent Weinstein to jail, and one of those women is Laura Madden.
Madden is featured throughout the film, but there is one particular scene where she meets Kantor that is absolutely overflowing with pure emotion and also includes one of the film’s most devastating lines; “It was like he took my voice away that day, just when I was about to find him.” Mulligan most likely She said a representative in the Best Supporting Actress category this year and really deserves that nod, but if I had a say in the nominations, Elle would be in the mix with her.
FROM She said I now play in theaters all over the country and I had the opportunity to meet Elle to talk about her experience making the film and how she thinks the industry has changed for the better. She started:
“It’s going to sound weird, but I think this opportunity to try and play Laura in this movie helped me get back a part of my voice that I may not have even realized was gone. I dont know. Being a part of telling this story was very inspiring.”
She said does a good job of capturing the necessary general touches and details of this large ensemble’s involvement in the investigation, but one of the film’s strongest qualities is that it does just that, and it also includes in-between, deeply human moments that help make the characters’ lives feel whole. . El singled out one particular rhythm for Laura, which may not have been vital to the film’s chain of events, but which was the key to fleshing out her world.
“You don’t really have much time with her, but the moments are so beautifully chosen, such windows into her life, these glimpses of life that she has and what she goes through before a chance or a glove is thrown down about whether she’s even going to talk to these journalists, let alone have the courage to step forward, break the silence and make a record. The moments are so beautifully chosen. I know there was one moment that meant a lot to me. I remember Maria saying “When your daughter says your son wants to take his pillow to Cornwall” because we’re going on vacation - and it was such a lovely little specific moment because this family was getting ready to go in a trip. next morning. Do you know that feeling when you’re going somewhere the next morning, especially with all those kids and everything? And the daughter is like, “He wants to take his pillow!” And Maria is like, “Oh, we don’t take any pillows!” And it was so wonderful to feel like such a real mother at that moment. I like that. I thought, “Oh, I think I understand this person now,” so it was really fun.”
Before wrapping up our conversation, I asked Ale about the current industry norm, which her younger self, a first-time starter in the business, would be thrilled to know will eventually become a given. Here is what Ele chose:
“Intimate coordinators. It would have made a huge difference in my 90s. This is an extraordinary thing. We now have a number on our SAG card to call if we feel we need to share something. Communication, dialogue, a sense of how deep this goes into all areas of life, how deep this problem goes, how whenever there is a mismatch of power, people are vulnerable to abuse. I think the awareness of this around the world is huge.”
I would like to hear more from Ele about her experience working on She said? You can find it in the full video interview at the top of this article!
Source: Collider
