Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Youve done two novel adaptations in a row, first Emma DonoghuesRoomand nowThe Little Stranger.
AndFrankwas loosely based on the comic persona of the late Chris Sievy.
People are going to start thinking adaptation is your thing.
I couldnt take that chance.
What about the story ended up attracting you?
And they wrote back apologetically that theyd mistakenly only sent half.
Generally, Im not interested in genre films and not a horror aficionado.
Did you ever meet people like the Ayers aristocratic Brits from giant country estates?I did, actually.
Its a little closer than conventionally, but were not looking up his nose or anything.
Im sure Domhnall wouldnt like that.
Its one of those things that you cant put your finger on, but its odd.
It puts you off-kilter, and were lucky we stumbled on or developed this style.
But a lot more of this than youd think came together in the editing.
And the tiniest changes would entirely shift how the film landed in the end.
Speaking of the diversity of gothic stories, youre actually going against the grain withThe Little Stranger.
Its harder to inflect the tone of the story.
The audience isfindingthese clues you laid for them rather than youre doing the work to tell them.
I dont want people to know why this is spooky.
And yet the house feels wrong somehow.
But you cant point your finger and find exactly what makes it wrong.
Thats the aesthetic, hiding the unnerving parts.
You go online and see how people treat strong women, and its, Oh my god!
But Caroline is the character who begins to understand herself.
Its amazing how powerful that impulse is, for men to shut women down who are assertive.
And we all feel that sometimes.
