The Oscar-nominated director opens up about his bittersweet ode to friendship and alcohol.
How did you want to navigate that balancing act and find the tone that felt right for you?
Each moment had to go its own way.
Henrik Ohsten/Samuel Goldwyn Films; Inset: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
It’s very much an exploration of life.
Yeah, that’s exactly what I wanted, an exploration.
For instance, that codfish scene was on the editing floor for months.
But in the right linking with the right dosage, it worked.
What was it about that codfish scene that made you change your mind?
I was the one representing the bad taste, I guess.
My editors have better taste than I have.
For me, it was disarmingly silly.
For others, it’s probably just too silly, but for me, it was disarming.
I liked that and kept wanting to see it.
Every time I watched [the dailies] with my wife, we couldn’t stop laughing.
Tears were rolling down our cheeks.
So it was like, “Ah, I couldn’t live without that scene.”
This film is more nuanced.
How did you want to navigate telling a story about drinking without veering into cliches?
To begin with, the original idea was to make a celebration of alcohol.
You’ve worked with Mads Mikkelsen before, but what was different about working on this film together?
He said yes before there was a script.
He was more like a friend carrying me through than my actor, to some extent.
So it was very different from that first time we worked together.
The first time, we had this element of politeness, getting to know each other.
This time was very close, I have to say.
It’s not about alcohol, really.
It’s about letting go of control.
In a time of super-controlled performance culture, we’re making a movie about letting go of control.
They have to have a solid foundation to be able to fly in front of the camera.
He was very nervous about that.
He was a little bit like, ‘I hope you know what you’re doing!'"
What’s it like to direct actors acting drunk?
I’m going to talk like a TV chef: First, you have some really good actors.
It’s like how you’re free to’t make a great steak without great meat.
And then maybe there’s a little crack into the fact that you’re pissed.
But when it gets clumsy and ugly and falling around, it’s very difficult.
Yeah, I know the actors went and watched a bunch of YouTube videos for research.
What were some of the takeaways from that?
There’s no protection.
You don’t care.
There’s a lot of pragmatic work to it as well.
What do you remember most about filming that finale?
This is the kind of scene where my family came in.
No one has seen him dance.
So it was as cathartic in real life as it was in the movie.
But beyond all that, I was in a very celebratory mode.
Was it as much fun to be there as it is to watch on screen?
It was, actually.
The situation makes them drunk.
It’s that ecstatic thing of the group collectiveness of it, which was very powerful.
