British actress Mickey Sumner is little like the roles she’s been getting notice for over the past three years.
After making her film debut as Greta Gerwig’s best friend Sophie in Frances Ha, she’s played mostly no-nonsense Americans like Pattie Smith in CBGB, David Foster Wallace’s ex in The End of the Tour, and now Farrah in The Mend. The Mend focuses primarily on the bad influence of older brother Mat (Josh Lucas) and younger brother Alan (Stephen Plunkett) when left to their own devices. Farrah is only in the movie for the first half hour and last 10 minutes but makes a big impact as the grounding force in Alan’s life. And, along with Lucy Owen’s Andrea, the female supporting characters are as well-written as the men.
Sumner spoke about the experience of making a micro-budgeted film like The Mend and appeal of playing Farrah.
Lesley Coffin (TMS): After watching both films, I couldn’t help but think The Mend would make a perfect double feature with Francis Ha, considering the way they look at co-dependent relationships.
Mickey Sumner: I love that idea. I’ll have to tell John. It’s kind of true.
TMS: Were you at all surprised by the kind of trouble the brothers get into when left to their own devices?
Sumner: I have three brothers and grew up with a lot of guy friends, so I think I had an idea. But what I liked about watching the movie for the first time, because I’m not in the middle of the movie, was that even when they become disgusting, there is still something about them that’s very human and lovable about their confusion.
TMS: They almost start acting like little boys, the way they cook and make messes everywhere they go.
Sumner: Watching it made me really happy to be a girl.
TMS: Even though the film’s central relationship is about these two brothers, both girlfriend characters are surprisingly well developed characters for this kind of movie that focuses so much on male relationships.
Sumner: Yeah, absolutely. It is so rare to get a girlfriend role that isn’t just a function for the men. And I read so many scripts where the girlfriend roles are just so underdeveloped. And then I read this and thought, Farrah could be the star of her own movie, and so could Lucy’s character. You know they have a whole life going on, and that is so exciting to read. I just wish more writers and filmmakers paid attention to that and created better female roles.
TMS: Were you disappointed to not have any scenes with Lucy Owens in the film?
Sumner: Yeah. It was really interesting. Lucy and I have actually talked to John and said “now you have to make a movie about the girlfriends and give us scenes together, because I think that would be so interesting to see them together.” But it was disappointing not to work together, because we’ve become really good friends since making the movie. So let’s hope for a The Mend 2.
TMS: You are only in about a third of the movie. How were your scenes filmed?
Sumner: We made it over 25 days, in Myna (Joseph, producer) and John’s (Magary, director) apartment, but I was shot out of the film within a week. I spent most of my time in the apartment, except for the subways and car scenes.
TMS: The party scene is about 30 minutes long. How long did it take to film?
Sumner: Well, we shot that party scene over a four night, night shoot. And it was in Myna and John’s apartment. So those days were like a house party that never ended?
TMS: Were the house-party scenes entirely scripted?
Sumner: Every scene in the film was scripted. John is an extremely organized writer and director, and the script was extremely tight by the time we started shooting, so we never had to change things. And during filming, everything was so choreographed, especially that party scene. So it was really fun to work with someone with such clear vision and knows what he wants.
TMS: One of my favorite things about your character is her refusal to become a mommy in her relationship with Alan. I love at the beginning, when she refuses to get the cookies out the cabinet and at the end when she tells him to make her sandwich.
Sumner: I was so excited about those lines. I thought “go make me a fucking sandwich” was a line I would like to say myself. I wish I had more Farrah in me. There is a lot I could learn from her.
TMS: She seems, we don’t know this, but to be the most put together person in the movie. Do you think she is, at least compared to the other three?
Sumner: I think that in the day-to-day world she lives in, she is probably pretty well put together and knows what she wants. But she is in this bizarre relationship with her boyfriend, and we don’t see what happened in Canada. So in some ways, she’s probably a dark horse with the mess on the inside. But she also has a creative outlet in dancing. The brothers don’t have that. They don’t have anywhere to put all that angst and shit.
TMS: I see some similarities in Mat and Farrah’s character, considering how direct they are with people and their biting sense of humor. What have been audience’s reaction to Farrah?
Sumner: My fear was that people would think she’s a bitch, but the feedback I’m getting is she’s grounding. And that was really nice to hear. She is strong and has opinions, and will always stick up for herself, so it was great that she’s been well received by audiences.
TMS: Did you read the script and know what had happened when your character was away? Sumner: I purposefully didn’t really those scenes, because I wanted my own reaction to be similar to Farrah’s. So when I walk in and see the knife in the door, and the apartment is a mess and the guys are all sweaty and dirty and naked, I can just be like “What the fuck?” It was just as confusing to me as it was for Farrah, so that was a choice I made.
TMS: Your first scene is a fight you’re having with Stephen’s character about what you want and don’t want during sex. What was your reaction to reading that scene and the way it introduced the character?
Sumner: I read that scene and that was when I said, I want to do this movie. Because that is exactly who she is. If something happens, she isn’t afraid to say “I don’t like that.” And she’s not afraid to tell Josh’s character “I’m not pleased to see you.” And she’s just straightforward, and I wish I had more of that quality in me. I find it really refreshing for people to be straightforward and to the point. I mean, try not to be rude about it, but straightforward. I actually based a lot of Farrah on the film’s producer Myna, who is also John’s partner and co-wrote the story. And she is so direct and clear, without being mean. And that’s what I loved about her and what I wanted to infused in Farrah.
Lesley Coffin is a New York transplant from the midwest. She is the New York-based writer/podcast editor for Filmoria and film contributor at The Interrobang. When not doing that, she’s writing books on classic Hollywood, including Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector and her new book Hitchcock’s Stars: Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood Studio System.
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