New Delhi, Apr 23 (PTI) Filmmaking is sometimes about chasing images stuck in one's subconscious, says director Amanda Kramer describing her campy period drama “Please Baby Please”, starring Oscar nominated Andrea Riseborough and Demi Moore.
If fans spot movie references in her film, it is totally intentional, Kramer said about her latest that harks back to “The West Side Story” and the golden era of Hollywood, heralded by stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean. She also counts American filmmakers such as Kenneth Anger and John Waters as major influences.
"I love when people can see the influences in the work. I think my film is a love letter to cinema," the filmmaker told PTI in a virtual interview.
"I'm a huge lover of cinema, and sometimes when you are a lover of cinema, it gets stuck in your brain, these images, and you are chasing them like they're your dreams. You want to reimagine them and twist them. I love being self-referential and referential in cinema," Kramer added.
"Please Baby Please", one of the most popular titles currently playing on MUBI India, is woven around a couple who, after witnessing a murder in the gritty streets of a surreal 1950s Manhattan, become the dangerous obsession of a greaser gang that awakens a sleeping quandary about their sexual identity.
Kramer, a musician-turned-director also known for “Give Me Pity!”,"Paris Window" and "Lady World", wrote “Please Baby Please” in 2019-2020 after watching a lot of old movies.
“I was thinking about love and romance and trying to write a love triangle, where all of your disparate ideas come together and create one master idea. You never understand really how all the pieces fit together, but it was definitely just an interlocking of influences and the time,” she recalled.
While art films generally shy away from being bold in their approach, “Please Baby Please” has been praised for its stylised theatrical tone by the critics. Kramer said her goal was to give the audiences “a full sensory exploration”.
“I am very conscious of that theatricality. It's like Bollywood. You want to have entertainment, you want to have singing and dancing. I think it's wonderful,” she said, talking about her fondness for beautifully constructed sets, gorgeous costumes and theatrics of movies of the past.
“It's not like that's gone, but that certainly is in the ghetto of a different kind of film, maybe a Marvel film or something that is a giant studio film. Independent films don't really have the opportunity to be that theatrical or that wild or bold. I stand by attempting something very fantastical and something very entertaining, and I also stand by colours and vivid textures and quality,” she added.
Asked how Riseborough and Moore came to be a part of her film, Kramer said one thing led to another.
“I connected to Andrea through an agent, but once we met, we became fast friends. Andrea suggested to me that she knows Demi Moore. I thought it was a long shot, but Andrea spoke with her and gave her the script.
"As soon as Demi read it, she was intrigued and we had a conversation. Luckily enough, she loved it and said yes. She gave an amazing performance," the director said.
"Please Baby Please" also stars Harry Melling, Ryan Simpkins, Dana Ashbrook and Karl Glusman.
Kramer is currently working on another film with Riseborough, which she said is "an equally over the top '70s thriller".