FemmeFilmFest Interview: Molly McGlynn and Mary Goes Round

I first crossed paths with Canadian director Molly McGlynn when we showcased one of her short films right here at the Femme Filmmakers Festival. With the engaging, witty, undeniably honest Mary Goes Round, McGlynn has transitioned to feature films admirably.

The film carries much of McGlynn’s own history to some extent. The tale of a troubled woman who finds it easy to fend off close ones but attempts to bond with strangers. Aya Cash is so damn good here, it’s like the part was written for her.

Molly McGlynn was kind enough to take time out of her hectic schedule to answer some of my questions – as a genuinely huge fan of the film:

So to break the ice, imagine you wake up and the entire film industry has gone forever. What do you do for a living now?

Move to a coastal town in Ireland, get a job at a local pub and try and write a novel that will be a commercial flop but be a cult classic for a select few.

Growing up, who were your big screen crushes?

John Travolta in Grease, Leonardo DiCaprio and Iggy the Iguana (a bookworm lizard who lived in a bookshelf in Under the Umbrella Tree…).

And which films brought the magic of cinema to you personally?

So many at different points in my life. I remember my mother renting a box VHS set of Gone With the Wind when I was a kid and I didn’t want to watch it, but I think that moment was like the gateway drug to the magic. Films that have stuck with me are The Piano, The Princess Bride, Cold War and Toni Erdmann…eclectic, I know.

After high school, what did you study and what did you actually want to do then?

I went to university in Canada and majored in Film Studies and minored in Art History. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I’d be a filmmaker, but I was fascinated in deconstruction the meaning behind images, both still and moving. I think I thought I’d work in a museum, honestly.

There was a point where I got accepted into a grad school in Ireland in Museum Studies. That would’ve been a great ship to get on, but not my ship. It took me a while to circle around working at film festivals and the film industry before I got the confidence to make something of my own. And from there, I couldn’t stop.

So we showcased your short film, 3-Way (Not Calling), two years ago for our Femme Filmmakers Festival. It stood out as very adult-themed but still very funny. Where did that particular story come from?

Honestly, I had never written and directed a full on comedy and I wanted to see if I was funny. I wanted to write something about female sexuality and domesticity through a female POV. I can’t recall the exact a-ha moment, but I am always interested in the moments in between or after “big moments” like having a threesome. The reality is so much better and funnier than the fantasy to me.

So this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was not long ago. What does this event mean to you, and please tell us about your experience there in recent years?

It was a really formative moment in my life. I’ll never forget it. It seems like it’s been a few years since I was there and I am itching to make a new feature…coming soon! In the meantime, I love seeing so many badass women directors premiering at TIFF and all over the world. The amount of talent I see is staggering, intimidating, but ultimately inspiring.

Now, Mary Goes Round, was a film that came out of nowhere, the wife and I really loved it. How much of yourself did you bring to that particular story?

A lot. My whole self. Even though it’s not totally autobiographical. I think Mary is a version of myself that I buried, that I thought I could be if my life were a little different. I empathize with her sadness, isolation and way of covering up her pain. I’m always so moved when someone loves it. It makes me feel connected to humanity in our shared experience.

You must have a dark sense of humor. I mean, Mary Goes Round is about a woman who has a drinking problem, doesn’t treat people particularly nicely, has an estranged father, is pretty reckless generally. How do you write someone like that, and expect the audience to like or empathise with them?

The tone was a bit of a tightrope as it’s talking about really heavy things with a kind of lightness. I never wanted to be flippant though. There is a lot of my voice and the way I view the world in the film. I am someone who has been deeply hurt by people I love and yet, I love them anyway. I have, at times, hurt myself but found a way to forgive. I think I’ve learned that people who lash out are very often in pain and I’m interested in looking at characters like this, especially women, with kindness and empathy. Women are very often not afforded the same luxury as being contradictory and both kind and cruel.

And in the brilliant Aya Cash you have seemingly magic powers when it comes to perfect casting. How did you get her? Had you seen how incredibly versatile she was in You’re The Worst?

I BEGGED!!! I fell in love with her after watching You’re The Worst. I knew she would implicitly understand the tone. She did. We got the script to her agents via a casting director. It pretty much slipped through the cracks but she happened to read a few pages and agreed to Skype with me. We chatted in our kitchens, introduced our dogs to each other and she agreed to go to Canada in the winter with a bunch of strangers. I will always be indebted to her taking a leap of faith on me. She was perfect.

How do you bring important, fragile adult issues to the surface, and yet still have the knack for making us laugh?

It may be the Irish sensibility in me, but I have a tendency to find the lightness in pain and suffering. I mean, life is rife with it, so what else can you do? Get on with it! Are you going to let it suck the joy out you or are you going to look for the crack where the light gets in, as the great Leonard Cohen said.

As a screenwriter, what is your ideal setting for sitting down and writing? Where? Alone? Do you take breaks? Record conversations? Make notes on napkins?

Oh God. I usually don’t write for months, go through deep self-loathing, then eventually write in a panic because I told someone I’d give them a script. I am pretty structured once I get into it though. I break the script in notecards, board it up on the wall and then write the first draft. The draft writing is easy for me, but breaking story is challenging to me. I also love writing characters, but can struggle with plot. But plot is a function of character so if you have a strong character, you likely should have a good plot. Should being the operative word. Writing is painful. But I always feel like I’ve been through 10 years of therapy after I’ve done it.

And as a film director, what are your biggest challenges right now?

I am going to be directing a thriller in 2020 with a blind protagonist which is incredibly thrilling and daunting. It’s a departure in a lot of ways from Mary Goes Round and what I think I’m comfortable in, but I didn’t come to the party to be comfortable. I want to be pushing myself to take risks and big swings for things I believe in my gut. So the challenges I’m facing coming up are levelling up in my technical abilities and style.

What is next for Molly McGlynn?

Trying to drink more water, shoot a feature in 2020 and maybe another one that I wrote after that. Directing/Producing on Season 2 of Bless This Mess. Trying to get more sleep and hold onto joy and optimism in a world that appears to be burning.