An emotional and gritty tale about healing family wounds, Bleeding Love follows the story of (Clara) who embarks on an impromptu road trip with her estranged father (Ewan) following a near fatal drug overdose. En route to Santa Fe, Clara is unaware her father is taking her to rehab, and they’re forced to confront the issues of their past. In cinemas now, I caught up with Grammy nominated director Emma Westenberg to find out what it was like working with Ewan and Clara.
Bleeding Love
Where is home?
For the past 6 years I have been living in L.A. but I have just moved to London which I am loving. It’s such a fun city and I really like being closer to home. I’m Dutch and I love the fact I can just take the train to Holland to see my parents, brother and cousins.
Describe a typical day?
I tend to spend most of time in front of a computer…or behind a book. I’m either writing or developing scripts or pitching on commercials which involves reading and developing a lot of treatments. For inspiration I like to read a lot, fiction but also non-fiction…reading trains your imagination.
What drew you to this project?
I got involved through Vera Bulder, who co-wrote the script with Clara McGregor and Ruby Caster. I have known Vera for 10 years. She’s also Dutch and I cast her in my first ever music video when I had just was started out and then we started working together on shorts. Then she moved to the U.S and we stayed in touch professionally.
I felt a deep emotional connection to this story because substance abuse touches so many families, including my own, so when Vera Bulder and Clara McGregor approached me to direct I connected to the story immediately.
A huge part of the appeal was working with Ewan and his daughter, which was quite surreal. Another big factor was the opportunity to work with a long-time collaborator like Vera, and also the production team involved, who had worked on some iconic movies. I knew I would absolutely love to work with them. And then of course the subject matter and the relationship between father and daughter. I was like, OK I would know how to tell this story. Because when you start a project like this you have to have some type of way in or a perspective.
Ewan McGregor & daughter Clara McGregor starring in movie Bleeding Love
The film explores multiple themes, but addiction lies are the heart of the plot – Ewan McGregor is an alcoholic who has lost touch with his daughter….Clara has just survived a near fatal drug overdose – how do you tackle themes like that?
In the lead up to the movie I started to read a lot about addiction and dependence. One book that was a big inspiration for me when looking at the characters and looking at their dynamic was In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Dr Gabor Mate. It’s a really beautiful non-fiction book. Dr Mate is a psychiatrist that writes about his experience of working in an addiction clinic. It was really helpful for me to understand the pattern of this destructive behaviour, personally and professionally.
What’s the biggest misunderstanding about addiction?
What I recognise myself is that it’s not about the substance or about the activity. It’s about the pattern – which at first can seem harmless, but at some point it creates a circuit in your brain, and that becomes really hard to break and come out of. And of course, with alcohol and with drugs it’s damaging your body, so it becomes even harder. The main thing is to identify when and why did this impulse to numb or cover up feelings start. When you understand that it gives you a bit of grace, to understand what addiction is really about.
Can you imagine having directed this film without the real father/daughter connection.
It’s hard to imagine it any other way now because their relationship added so much to the feeling of the movie. We had the script and we had prepared how they would go through the emotions of the story but we also worked with improv and added in parts when they weren’t acting and just being father and daughter so that added a layer of genuine feeling that we would never have had.
It’s a story about love, but ultimately is it about trust?
Yes, I guess it’s about trust, but trust is a weird thing…because what is it based on? I think the movie is more about showing up. Showing up for someone can become difficult when you feel like you have hurt them or done something wrong. But just the act of showing up for somebody can be very healing. Even though you have had a hard time in each other’s lives, if you show up for each other, it can still change.
What did teach you about parenthood?
That growing up every child will find something they aren’t 100% happy with about their parents…something that didn’t go well. Maybe it taught me that you can never be everything. The truth is that time changes so much and as a person you simply can’t be everything. This makes the subject of parenthood and addiction so complicated. As a child you grow up thinking what you parents do is normal, but that doesn’t mean it becomes a question of who’s to blame. Ultimately, it’s about how you deal with it. The film looks at finding a way to move forward. The mother in the movie has dealt with the daughter’s addiction and is at breaking point. And that’s the point she turns to the father and says, OK now you can work it out.
Most surprising thing about working with Ewan and Clara?
From both sides it was very brave, it’s your inner world. But they were both just such professional actors, so in the role, so in the moment. Then in between the takes they would have banter and interact, and sometimes we would use that. I was nervous going into it, you never know how much they are going to let you in, or if it’s going to work. But it was only a positive extra. They bounced off each other so well. It was truly beautiful to witness that.
At what point in the movie are the audience most likely to cry?
The ending. When it becomes clear what the journey has meant for them. They become closer and closer. Reuniting, it’s beautiful…and sad.
What’s next for you?
I really want to work on a genre movie, musical, horror…
Bleeding Love will be released in UK cinemas from 12th April.