{"id":2875,"date":"2021-06-19T22:49:04","date_gmt":"2021-06-20T02:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=2875"},"modified":"2023-12-12T03:29:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T08:29:44","slug":"tribeca-film-festival-interview-essie-davis-talks-the-appeal-of-pursuing-the-justice-of-bunny-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=2875","title":{"rendered":"Tribeca Film Festival Interview – Essie Davis Talks the Appeal of Pursuing \u2018The Justice of Bunny King\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the many great films premiering at this year\u2019s Tribeca Film Festival is The Justice of Bunny King<\/em><\/strong>, the feature film debut from New Zealand director Gaysorn Thavat. Essie Davis (The Babadook<\/em><\/strong>) stars Bunny King, as a woman fighting desperately to get her children back from foster care who also looks out for her niece (Thomasin McKenzie), whose housing situation seems far more problematic than what Bunny might offer her own children.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 performance is the heart of this film, tapping into a resilience \u2013 and a sense of humor \u2013 that indicates her commitment to providing for her family, even if the government tells her she\u2019s not fit to do so. I spoke with Davis and discovered her passion for this material and for broadcasting the stories of so many to the world with this important, affecting film.<\/p>\n

Q: What attracted you to this role?<\/p>\n

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<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: She\u2019s just so hopeful. She\u2019s so positive. She\u2019s a real fighter, and I think no matter how awful her past situation has been, she\u2019s got such a positive attitude to life, and to what she can achieve in spite of everything that holds her back. I think it\u2019s a really important story to tell, because it\u2019s been untold forever.<\/p>\n

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The amount of women who are struggling on the poverty line, the victims and the survivors of domestic violence, and the hoops that current Western society makes them jump through to prove that they\u2019re worthy.<\/p>\n

Q: What kind of research did you do to prepare for this role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I spent a lot of time with a lot of women in New Zealand and spoke to them. It was just amazing. Nearly every extra who was in the film would say, this is my story, this is what happened to me. I\u2019m so glad you\u2019re telling my story. When we\u2019re sitting in the department of family services in the film, the amount of women who are in there who were just saying, this is exactly what I\u2019ve gone through, this is my life, it\u2019s so important. Thank you for telling this story.<\/p>\n

Q: Bunny takes some troubling action to try to remain with her family. Do you believe everything she does is justified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I think that she makes a lot of bad mistakes, but I can completely empathize with all of the choices that she makes. I can understand how frustrating it would be to have essentially saved the life of your child only to be considered dangerous. That\u2019s just a contradiction in itself. Yeah, I do think she\u2019s totally justified. She gets put into a situation and she\u2019s not going to quit because she doesn\u2019t want to break a promise to her children. If she\u2019s given the opportunity to start a life in a garage and have the stability to bring up her children, she can\u2019t stand by and let her brother-in-law be a pedophile. I certainly, from my character\u2019s point of view, feel that everything is justified. It just turned out stuffed up.<\/p>\n

Q: You\u2019ve played some memorable mothers in films like The Babadook <\/em>and Babyteeth<\/em>. How do you see those roles as being different from this one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: She\u2019s so different. She\u2019s a real fighter. She\u2019s a never give up girl. And she knows how to make do. She\u2019s incredibly capable and she\u2019s actually got more hope and more capability and common sense than either of those other two mothers. All those mothers love their children, but Bunny has to fight for hers. I mean, I guess they all have to fight for their children, but Bunny is quite practical and kind and generous.<\/p>\n

Q: There is some humor in this otherwise very serious film. How did you balance those moments?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: Oh, I think the whole film is meant to be full of humor. Bunny\u2019s got such a positive attitude to life, and to the flip side of a shitty situation. There was a point in the pass of the script where all of the humor was sucked out of it, and it was like, no! We\u2019re talking about hope, and giving energy and positivity to a really shit situation that thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of women find themselves in. I don\u2019t recommend going to the lengths that Bunny goes to when she gets cornered, but there\u2019s only so many months, years, that you can bang on a glass window or stand in a queue waiting for someone to actually help when you\u2019ve done everything that they\u2019ve asked you to do.<\/p>\n

Q: One of your costars is the very talented Thomasin McKenzie. Had you seen her work before this, and what can you say about her?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I love Thomasin. I met her on True History of the Kelly Gang<\/em>, which we shot with my husband. That was the first time I had seen her, I saw her audition for that. She stood out because she was not trying to fit in. She\u2019s very simple and eloquent in her presence. We had a lot of fun, I have to say, particularly having our little head-thrashing bash singing to the music in our car journey. She\u2019s a really lovely actress, and it was a pleasure working with her.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Q: You\u2019re also working with a first-time director, Gaysorn Thavat. What guidance did you receive from her, and what was her vision?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: Gaysorn has a great vision, she\u2019s very eloquent and she fought really hard, as I did with her, to keep this in both the humorous and brutal worlds that we both saw, as opposed to high comedy or darkest drama, which are also great but different styles of Kiwi film. She was very insightful and highly researched, and we just held each other\u2019s hand and fought together to do what we wanted to do. I really loved working with her.<\/p>\n

Q: You\u2019re from Australia, starring in a film from New Zealand that\u2019s premiering in the United States. Do you think that there is a universality to the story portrayed in this film?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I think it\u2019s a universal story, particularly in Western society. I think that particularly at this time it\u2019s just getting worse. The poor keep getting poorer. The rich keep getting richer. Domestic violence is having a spotlight shone upon it. It\u2019s not okay. Men and boys have to learn how to relate to women in respectful and kind ways, and our governments need to support women much more than they are. It\u2019s ludicrous that there isn\u2019t more support for women in dangerous relationships or children and mothers to be supported together. There\u2019s a housing crisis certainly in Australia and New Zealand. I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like in the States, but I imagine that being poor and having to tick boxes for the government must be extremely frustrating and unfair.<\/p>\n

Q: This film reminded me in a good way of Herself<\/em>. Have you seen it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I haven\u2019t. It\u2019s on my to-watch list! I\u2019m looking forward to that.<\/p>\n

Q: You\u2019re not in New York now, but you\u2019re in Toronto shooting another project. Can you tell me about it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: No, I can\u2019t. I\u2019ll have to kill you. I\u2019ve actually just arrived. I\u2019m in quarantine, but it\u2019s very exciting.<\/p>\n

Q: Do you have colleagues in New York and have you heard how the film was received?<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: No, I haven\u2019t. Have you? Someone pinged me a review and it was quite positive.<\/p>\n

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Did you enjoy it?<\/p>\n

Q: I\u2019m not sure enjoy is the right word but yes, it was very good.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: But did you have a laugh and a tear?<\/p>\n

Q: Something like that \u2013 I think that\u2019s a good way of putting it. Thank you for talking to me today, and I wish you plenty of luck with this film and whatever secret project you\u2019re working on now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: I would tell you, I\u2019m just not allowed.<\/p>\n

Q: I hope we get to speak about whatever it is someday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

ED: Thanks so much, Abe.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the trailer for the film:<\/p>\n