What was your research process like in terms of portraying Elyse’s psychological state with accuracy?
I engaged the professional services of Dr. Sheski, Professor of Psychiatry at USC. I wanted to be certain to accurately portray Elyse’s condition of Borderline Personality Disorder and chronic depression.
What was the significance of the Wizard of Oz book throughout the film?
The Wizard of Oz is a book that many mothers have read to their children, but I chose it particularly because of the lines: “If we walk far enough we will find a place.” We walk, and walk and sometimes we come back to where we started. But life continues, and this film is about the journey of life and walking our own yellow brick road.
Not everyone knows that your husband, Sir Anthony Hopkins, is also a composer. What was the process like of working with him in his role as a composer?
Working with Tony on the score was one of the most rewarding experiences in creating the film. His score helped to set the pace of the film, and he masterly interpreted the lullaby I heard in my mind for Elyse. He composed a Lullaby for Elyse that served as her place of solace and comfort. When someone is experiencing mental illness you see their loneliness, isolation, sometimes volatile violent behavior that tends to alienate their loved ones, and they need a place to escape. Elyse is humming a tune that is a bit melancholy, but also has a tinge of light and solace. I felt she possessed this inner sound to soothe through the darkness of her life.
And did you experience any of this with your mother, who you said also experienced mental illness?
Yes, I was about 8 or 9 years old when I knew something was wrong. As an undiagnosed schizophrenic my mother could sometimes be inadvertently cruel or negligent. She was also a beautiful singer and a trained opera singer, so music was an escape for her, the place where she could find comfort. I called on those memories of my mother in formulating the tune for my Elyse character.
There is one scene that stunned me. When Elyse looks at the picture her son Cody drew for his father’s birthday, it shows Cody and his father inside a heart, but the mother outside of the heart.