CINEMA                                               From the Desk of  T. Brooke

"P.S." ACCORDING TO LAURA LINNEY 

Two years ago novice director Dylan Kidd brought us 'Roger Dodger', which followed the exploits of a mean-spirited, clever, cynical New York male brilliantly played by Campbell Scott. Now the filmmaker has moved into softer territory with a romantic drama based on an older woman-younger man relationship.  The film is called 'P.S.' and once again Kidd has placed a powerful actor, this time Laura Linney, at the centre of a romantic drama he adapted from a novel. Linney plays a Columbia University admissions officer drawn to a young applicant because he reminds her of her first love.

Laura Linney explains the whole story:  "I think she’s deeply trying to work her life out, and she’s deeply, deeply lonely, and she’s missing, as many people do, the sort of passion and connection and desire that you have from a first love."
In this picture Linney seems in full possession of her prodigious acting skills. Early on she startles the audience with an energetic sex scene that is raw, not Hollywood glossy. The young man who’s the object of her lust is played by Topher Grace. The clips handed out to promote the film don’t show the scene, but you get the feeling that it was extremely uncomfortable to shoot. I think everybody’s always apprehensive about a sex scene. But I think the thing that is interesting about this one is that it’s extremely sexy - and we’re both clothed! There’s no nudity in this sex scene. Topher doesn’t have a shirt on but other than that, there’s no nudity and yet it’s an extremely sexual scene. You always feel so awkward, you feel so awkward when you do it. But I think that between Topher, the director, Dylan Kidd, and myself, I was the one who most relaxed because I’ve done them before. The two boys, they were nervous wrecks!" The unusual romantic coupling is at the core of this film and it’s nicely portrayed, but Kidd’s screenplay has some side stories – a relationship with a divorced husband and a best friend – that don’t quite work. But what is very effective is Linney’s performance. From 'The Truman Show' to 'You Can Count on Me' to 'Mystic River' to the forthcoming 'Kinsey', she’s got a very, very good track record.

Q:  "How much freedom do you have right now to choose the kinds of roles that you want to do?"
Laura Linney: "Well, everyone has the freedom to say no, everyone has that freedom. And sometimes you have to say yes, just because you’re an actor and you have to pay your bills, and sometimes that happens. But do I have great power? No. I think that’s a big myth. Nobody does."
Q: "Would you like to get to the point in your career where you do have the power to dictate the kinds of films you’d like to make, in terms of creative control and content?"
Laura Linney: "I wish I was a little more ambitious in that way, in terms of wanting to do my own projects. I’m just not that way, I wish I was. It would make a lot of people I work with much happier if I was a little more motivated in that direction. I’m just not. I’m really quite happy."