Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart
Sally Hawkins plays Nathalie
Browsing the sumptuously laden shelves of Manchester's fashionable boutiques in the name of research might sound like a dream to most of us.
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But among the racks of designer dresses and glittering displays
of jewellery, actor Sally Hawkins came to understand how easily that dream
could become a nightmare.
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In Â鶹ԼÅÄ TWO's contemporary drama, Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole
In My Heart, Sally plays Nathalie, a bright and ambitious but emotionally
fragile young woman who works as a personal shopper in a glamorous
department store.
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Though she shares a comfortable home with her young daughter and dependable
husband, Jeremy (Steven Mackintosh), Nathalie aspires to the lifestyles
of her wealthy clients, especially Maya (Daniela Nardini), who has a seemingly
endless supply of cash.
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As the pressures of life and relationships begin
to grow, Nathalie finds solace in shopping, but her life spirals
out of control when she plunges deeper into a secret addiction that threatens
to tear her family apart.
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"I spent a few days trailing around the shops and getting into Nathalie's head and it was kind of overwhelming," says Sally.
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"The colours, the music, the smells, the way they fold the clothes, the sales. You're basically buying into that world – that sparkly, shiny existence – and
that escapism is exactly what it's about for Nathalie."
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The 30-year-old actress, who admits she's no stranger to impulse-buying herself,
says that the experience opened her eyes to the subtle tactics shops use
to draw people in.
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"It was fascinating for me to shop with my eyes completely open," she says. "Different shops create different atmospheres but the aim is always to seduce.
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"There's almost this subliminal message that this dress
or that dress will change your life and that's what it's about for Nathalie.
I can see how easily she fell into that dark spiral – although, of course,
there is no dress out there that will ever satisfy her."
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Sally, who describes her character's addiction as a "fist wrapped around her heart", says that her biggest concern was that the film would do justice to Nathalie's experience.
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"I was very aware that shopping addiction is almost seen as an excuse for selfish, frivolous behaviour," she says.
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"I had to be quite careful because Nathalie could seem quite
unsympathetic; she's spending a lot of money and turning her family upside-down
and she knows it, but she just keeps on going.
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"I wanted to show that it's
an illness and that she literally can't flick the switch. She's terrified
and she's drowning but like with any addiction, she can't haul herself
out."
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South London-born Sally, who won acclaim last year for her role in the Â鶹ԼÅÄ's Victorian drama Fingersmith, says that she loves to lose herself in her characters – something made easier with Nathalie because parts of the script were improvised.
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"I love improvising and it was great to collaborate with Marc [Munden, the writer/director] to create Nathalie," says the RADA graduate, who also appeared in Mike Leigh's improvisation masterpiece, Vera Drake.
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"I was also thrilled when I heard Steven Mackintosh was playing Jeremy because I admire him so much. But during our improvised scenes together I almost at times forgot that the camera was there.
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"It felt so uncomfortable being Nathalie – the deception
that was going on, combined with guilt, pain and fear. It's a powerful
mix and it was quite dark.
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"But I always like disappearing into characters – it's like putting on a pair of shoes and suddenly you're someone else."
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And it does, of course, help when the shoes you're putting on are Jimmy Choos...
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"Mmm I have to admit that it wasn't all dark and traumatic; we did have fun as well. But that's part of Nathalie, too – she has this great passion for clothes and she's very creative, very stylish," says Sally, who had her hair dyed and cut into a sleek black bob for the part.
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"It was very exciting to go out with Daniela and try on all these fantastic dresses. We had a great time, giggling and throwing clothes around and not getting told off! My mum was delighted that I got to wear proper frocks for a change – I've played maids for so long..."
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But mum might be in for a shock when Sally returns to the big screen next year.
Aside from playing feminist icon Rebecca West in a drama about HG Wells for
Â鶹ԼÅÄ TWO, the actress is also filming a horror thriller with Swedish star
Stellan Skarsgård – a hair-raising experience in more ways than one.
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"I'm playing a bit of trailer trash and I've gone blonde for it and it's not the kind of blonde that's going to flatter anyone," she laughs.
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"It's
kind of hard to look in mirrors at the moment and so I'm pining for Nathalie's
bob. It looked so great when the stylists did it, though whenever I did it
myself I was paranoid it looked a bit like a helmet ... but I don't think
I'd mind that now!"
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