The innocence ends on Stoker. The highly-anticipater thriller "Stoker" stars Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode. The story tells of the bizarre coming-of-age of India (Wasikowska) as she enters womanhood written by Wentworth Miller and filmed by Park Chan-Wook who is a Korean director, which is also his debut movie in English.
The movie introduces India Stoker as she loses her beloved father and best friend Richard (played by Dermot Mulroney) in an unexplained car mishap on her 18th birthday. Upon her father’s demise, India’s life is suddenly shattered in their very secluded estate. Left with her unstable mother Evie (Kidman) and Uncle Charlie (Goode), her father’s brother who mysteriously showed up during her father’s funeral, India experiences an unraveling of herself that surprises and frees her at the same time.
Exquisitely sensitive, India has since exhibited an impassive demeanor which masks the deep feelings and heightened senses that only her father understood. While she initially finds herself mistrusting her uncle, he fascinates her as well and she begins to realize how much they have in common. As Charlie reveals himself to her little by little, India becomes increasingly infatuated with her charismatic relative and comes to realize that his arrival is no coincidence. With her uncle to guide her, she is about to fulfill her unusual destiny.
Finding an actress who could embody the contradictions of the character while making India’s transition to womanhood graceful and natural was critical to the film’s success. Park selected Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, whose delicate beauty and solemn serenity had already won the 22-year-old leading roles in films including Tim Burton’s “Alice In Wonderland” and Cary Fukanaga’s “Jane Eyre.”
“It’s completely confusing and really intriguing,” Wasikowska says. “She’s trying to figure out what role he has in her life and it’s far bigger than she ever imagined. She’s not sure what he wants from her at first, and as she slowly finds out how much alike they are, it’s both terrifying and appealing. There’s a definite sexual tension between Charlie and Evie, as well as Charlie and India, so it’s up in the air as to who and what he’s really there for. You are never really sure—until you are.”
Working with Park was a constantly evolving, and always stimulating experience for the actress. “Even on weekends, we would meet for lunch and continue discussing the character and the story,” Wasikowska says. “Ideas would snowball, becoming more and more complex and interesting. During shooting, he let us sit for long moments in silence where seemingly not much was happening, but there was always strong underlying tension. That approach was perfect for this material.”
“Stoker” opens in cinemas Today. March 1 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.
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