The director and stars of Stephanie Daley take time out at Sundance to discuss the making of this emotional film about the heartbreak of one girl's concealed pregnancy and the woman who must face her in court.

By Jessica Letkemann

Hilary Brougher: I had a really strong instinct I wanted to work with Tilda [Swinton]. And lo and behold, Tilda liked the script. We met and chatted mostly about our kids and discovered that we liked chatting with each other. She came on, both to play Lydia, and as executive producer. The script then got to Amber and... a similar thing happened with Tim. They come with these characters in place and fully alive with their hearts beating. And for me as a writer to see that... My God, that's amazing. Thank you. Especially with such an emotional topic.

What about the script made you want to play these characters, Timothy and Amber?

Timothy Hutton: Well, I read the script and I was just really quite taken with it. That combined with [the fact that] we got together to hear Hilary speak about these characters and this story. We had this great conversation that went off into all these different areas. We talked about tree houses, for example, which I like to build. But the script just slayed me, and [the idea of] working with Tilda. And even though I knew I wouldn't be working with Amber, I'd known Amber. We have mutual friends. Amber's godfather is Neil Young, and I've known Neil a long time. And our paths have crossed through the years.

Amber Tamblyn: To me, once you read a script, it's about the connection with the director. You know you're going to be safe if you have somebody who [has a] vision. I have actually been in rooms and met with directors on big budget films where they're like, "You know, we just got a great budget on this movie. Let's just do it and have fun.... It's gonna be great, whoever plays opposite of you." It's all crap. They talk to you like crap. I don't care how much money you would want to pay me or whatever your crap budget is, I'm not interested. So in this case it's different because there's a sense of safety and a sense of familiarity and almost of family. And if you're being adopted into something, you want to love the family.

Was there a specific thing that drew you to this topic, other than the fact that it was in the news.

Brougher: I ended up having kids after writing the script and before directing it. I'm sure that the way things connect, that was a big part of it. This is a movie largely about the journey of two pregnancies and how it affects two families. I began with Stephanie's story. The idea of a teenager with a concealed pregnancy, then became interested in how some of this stuff plays out in an older woman. Are we really done with our adolescent selves? I looked at women around me, dear friends, who were going through some very intense journeys wit their pregnancies. These are women who are so together and they're up against so much, and it's like, "oh, it's not entirely unlike being a teenager again."

There are certain scenes that were so emotionally resonant, so powerful. It seemed to me it must have been very difficult to film them. Is that true? Particularly the scene where Stephanie is in the stall, silently giving birth.

Tamblyn: Physically, I think it's hard. Definitely. I blacked out twice, I think, doing that. Sitting on the toilet seat there were moments where I remember Hilary was telling me to do something and it was like, “mwhah mwah mwha.” It was total Charlie Brown. I couldn't even hear what she was saying.

Brougher: But Amber just walked in and did that [scene] by the way. So was it hard for me? No. Except...

Tamblyn: Except to watch!

Brougher: It was over and over and over, too. We did it in about five takes. However one of them was about twelve minutes long. But we just rolled.

What made you black out or almost black out?

Tamblyn: Throughout the whole film, Stephanie is so introverted and quiet. I mean, she's got this real innocence about her. So I knew that for me, as an actor, I wanted to show something so opposite of that; ...the most painfully horrific moment that this person will probably ever go through in their life.... So that it was deafening, the comparison between the two. Right. Literally silent.

Tamblyn: Yeah, which is a great credit to them by the way, dropping out all sound in that scene.

Hutton: That scene to me is probably, to me, one of, if not the most, powerful, raw, private scenes ever in a movie that I've ever seen. I mean, you can't get any more private and personal… And public, oh yeah! I mean, she's in a restroom. People come in and out. But what Amber does in that scene is just extraordinary.