Jean-Marc Vallée may be spending a lot of time in California these days but the acclaimed filmmaker has no intentions of becoming a Hollywood sellout.
For many directors it might be tempting. After all L.A. is chock full of cinematic visionaries who went from being aspiring auteurs to ciphers of schlock all thanks to the temptation of a big fat paycheque. Last year Vallée found his name on the lips of many executives after he directed 2013’s biggest true-story sleeper hit Dallas Buyers Club which went on to win half of its six Oscar nominations.
However with his new film Wild Vallée proves success hasn’t spoiled him yet.
“I’m still doing indie films but in the States instead of doing them in Canada” says the Montreal director during a recent interview to discuss his latest drama. “But from the beginning I was with a studio that is indie-oriented that is filmmaker-oriented and they want to make dramas great indie films personal films and character-driven films.”
Those adjectives all certainly measure up to describe Wild. Based on a popular memoir by Oregon author Cheryl Strayed the movie follows her real-life 1100-mile solo soul-searching trek from the Mojave Desert to Washington State on the Pacific Crest Trail. All of this after losing her mother losing her husband and pretty much losing control of her life.
“My thing is try to make a film that is as emotional and beautiful as the book” says Vallée — adding that it wasn’t as simple as it sounds. “This character has no real obstacles in life in a narration way of speaking. Dallas was about a guy who has to fight against the FDA and the hospital and the system. (With) Cheryl there’s no fight no enemies there’s no villain — she’s the hero and the villain.”
Vallée largely credits star Reese Witherspoon with a commanding portrayal but he also mentions a cleverly adapted screenplay from unlikely candidate Nick Hornby. Perhaps most famous for two of his distinctly male-oriented novels (which both became hit ’90s films) Fever Pitch and High Fidelity the British author is known as the father of “lad-lit” (a gender bend on the term “chick-lit”). In other words Hornby was not the obvious choice to tailor Strayed’s first-person female narrative.
“Although it’s a film about strong female characters he related to the material” says Vallée. “A woman just talking about herself the way Cheryl talks about herself is very unique and beautiful and honest. So Nick brought his voice in a way his love for words and managed to bring three or four characters in a film and combine them into one or pick up a line that he really loved. He’s very clever with words. He has a way of understanding. It’s nice to hear him talk — the guy’s very quiet but has a beautiful take on humanity and the world.”
If Vallée sounds like one of those “glass is half full” types it’s how he comes across in person as well. For a man who has captured the film world’s attention ever since his coming-of-age drama C.R.A.Z.Y. earned the top Canadian prize at the Toronto International Film Fest in 2005 Vallée is soft-spoken and full of an infectious positive demeanour that breathes within his art. He’s clearly not just an artist who aims to tell a fascinating story — he savours all aspects of filmmaking.
“I like the four seasons of the process” says Vallée explaining that with each stage of filmmaking (writing directing editing and promotion) there is reward — whether it’s “a moment of creative solitude” in screenwriting or “meeting journalists and talking about the film” at the end.
“Among the four things I think my best thing is editing — this is where it’s happening where you see the magic appearing on the screen” says Vallée. “And this one it was an emotional one. I was cutting the film and tears were falling on the keyboard with a box of tissues beside me. Not because of my work but because of the material and I was having a hard time because it was just so amazing.”
WILD directed by Jean-Marc Vallée starring Reese Witherspoon Laura Dern and Gaby Hoffmann opens on Friday December 19.
