The Dream Life of Miss Fran: “Not all films have to show fireworks”

Meeting with Daisy Ridley, temporarily escaped from Star Wars, and director Rachel Lambert, around their heady portrait of a woman suffering from social phobia.

In a small port town in Oregon, Fran (Daisy Ridley) is an office worker who could lead a comfortable life if she were not constantly paralyzed by her social phobia and death anxieties, which regularly propel her into mental spaces surreal. The arrival of a new office colleague will turn his life upside down… The previous sentence could be taken from the pitch of a nice rom-com, but The Dream Life of Miss Fran (a.k.a Sometimes I think about dying in original version) is much smarter than that: it’s a funny film, minimalist and poetic, both surly and seductive, about a woman opening up to the world late in life. Told quietly, with great finesse. For Daisy Ridley, it is the affirmation of a taste for independent cinema, after her years Star Wars (and while waiting for episode X, the first in the saga to be directed by a woman, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy), as well as a testimony to her ambitions as a producer. Meeting with the actress and her director Rachel Lambert.

First: The French title of your film gives it a little feel-good side. In original version, it’s darker: Sometimes I think about dying…

Daisy Ridley : Yes, but I find that having two titles highlights that the experience of this film is very subjective. The reactions of the spectators differ enormously in front of The Dream Life of Miss Fran. My mother, for example, came out in tears. Others died laughing, because they were seduced by the touches of black humor. There are two titles, as if to say that there are several ways to see this film.

Daisy, Rachel, how did your paths cross?
Rachel Lambert: The script for the film was sent to me by my producer Alex Saks at the end of 2020, and my first, instant desire was for Daisy to play the role of Fran. We sent her the script, she read it and immediately expressed the desire to be fully involved in the creative process, to make the film together.

Daisy Ridley: As simple as that. I read the script, I loved it, we made the film! Usually these things take forever, you love a script and you don’t hear anything about it again for two years. Sometimes we collaborate on projects that have been in the works for seven years… There, in one year, it was done. Unusual speed.

And this desire to produce, Daisy? Where does she come from, and does this status as a producer have an impact on your work as an actress?

Daisy Ridley: We quickly agreed with Alex, the producer, that the film would become more easily made if we worked together and joined forces. But once on set, in Portland, I don’t think it changed anything. Rachel controlled her set very well, the schedule, she allowed the whole team to grow and experiment, and she spoke to me in the same way she would have done if I didn’t hadn’t been a producer. During filming, I was just an actress.

Your performance – and the entire film – manages to captivate while remaining restrained and minimalist. The most striking scenes show you haggard, silent, in these somewhat sad atmospheres… How do you excite the audience without, um, doing much?

Daisy Ridley: But I do lots of things, imagine! (Laughs) Originally, there was a voice-over in the script, the character’s inner voice, which gave rhythm to the entire plot. But we didn’t end up using it. I decided to use them as if they were game cues. When you look at me saying nothing, I’m actually immersed in this inner monologue. Of course, many things also pass through the body. I figured Fran was the type of person who doesn’t want to take up too much space, so she carries herself like she’s locked in her shell. And her step is light, because she doesn’t want to make too much noise.

When did you decide to remove this voiceover?

Rachel Lambert: I wanted to get rid of it from the start!

Daisy Ridley: No ?! I did not know.

Rachel Lambert: And Daisy ended up saying, “What if we used it more as game directions?”, which proved that she was a great collaborator. We still recorded a bit of this voice-over, to give ourselves the possibility of using it in editing. But from the first take, from the first shot of Daisy silent, I knew we were going to be able to do without it. Daisy inhabited the shot with so much intensity, she put so much thought into the image, that it was enough. Besides, every time I watch the film again, when she doesn’t say a word for 20 minutes, I’m convinced I hear her speaking. Just by the way she inhabits the frame!

The description of this little office life at home The Office in which Fran evolves is a caricature, but very tender, very warm…

Daisy Ridley: It wasn’t meant to be condescending. These office scenes could be a documentary. This is a group of people that everyone would know and can understand. Their lives are rich and detailed. The film treats all its characters as it treats each other, with great respect and kindness. I think not every movie has to show fireworks. Here, we are looking more at fire under the ashes. Soon, flames will take off, thanks to the connections that Fran will manage to weave.

The bizarre charm of the film owes a lot to this actor, Dave Merheje, who plays this nice, slightly strange colleague…

Rachel Lambert: Yes, I discovered it in the series Ramy ! I thought he was a non-professional because his playing seemed so fresh and spontaneous. But, for information, Dave does stand-up. I often work with people who have a background in comedy or improv, I love the way their brains crackle and come up with unexpected ideas. Dave brings the right energy to the film.

The film deals with social phobia. Daisy, how are you in society? What impact does being not only an actress have on your relationship with others, but one of the faces of the most famous saga on the planet?

Daisy Ridley: I have never been very sociable. When I’m comfortable, I’m very comfortable, and when I’m uncomfortable, I’m very uncomfortable. I have a big problem with the eye contact, it takes me a while to establish it. And I can sometimes go to dinner with very good friends and still find it a difficult, if not insurmountable, challenge. Fame has tended to make me wary of meeting new people. Like: “but what do you want from me, in the end?” Now things have calmed down a bit, I think I’m… reasonably cynical! (Laughs) In fact, I’m much more comfortable at work than in life in general. At work, I know why I am there, what I have to do.

One might think that The Dream Life of Miss Fran symbolizes your indie turn, but you signed for Star Wars. Many young actors and actresses come out of their experiences in these huge franchises, particularly because of a sometimes toxic fandom… So no choice between big machines and small budgets? You keep seeing the glass Star Wars half full?

Daisy Ridley: Yes, I think I see it as half full. Since the last Star WarsI’ve done a few indie films, some bigger than Miss Fran, films of all sizes, in fact. They come out in scattered order. I didn’t plan on doing another one. Star Wars, but I reasoned with this film as with any other: do I like the project, the script and the people with whom I am going to make it? The idea of ​​this new episode is very exciting so I’m happy to be part of it. This is what I want to do in my career: act in films that are not similar, work with filmmakers who are very different from each other.

The Dream Life of Miss Franby Rachel Lambert, with Daisy Ridley, Dave Merheje, Parvesh Cheena… Currently in cinemas.