Naomi Watts & Andrew Lincoln Interview: Penguin Bloom
Penguin Bloom stars Naomi Watts and Andrew Lincoln chat about portraying a real-life couple in their upcoming Netflix film.
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Penguin Bloom, a true tale of trauma and recovery, arrives on Netflix January 27. The film follows the Bloom family in the wake of matriarch Sam’s (Naomi Watts) accident, as she attempts to manage her pain and lift her spirits while her husband Cam (Andrew Lincoln) and children acclimate to a new life for her.
Just when all hope seems lost for her, the kids discover a young magpie with a broken wing that they name “Penguin.” In helping to care for this new life, Sam finds the strength to care for herself once more.
Watts and Lincoln spoke to Screen Rant about learning from the real-life Bloom couple, as well as tracking the emotional evolution of their story onscreen.
I was bracing myself for pain with this film, but Penguin Bloom was so heartwarming and beautiful because of the supportive relationship between your characters. Can you talk about meeting them in real life, and bringing that romance and partnership to the screen?
Andrew Lincoln: I loved talking to the real Cam. Obviously, I asked him thousands of questions that I thought would be helpful. And the main question that really unlocked the project for me was, “What do you want from this film? Why do you need this film?” And he said, “I want people to know that we’re soulmates.”
That, for me, was absolutely brilliant; that even they’ve been through this extraordinary, traumatic experience as a family, in sickness and in health, they managed their way through this thing. That’s what he wanted to resonate – the love story within this. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as sort of a primary carer love story on screen, and that interested me a lot.
But also, you know, they’re extraordinary people. Cam is an extraordinary guy, and Sam is remarkable in her searing honesty and what she’s been able to do with her life, and how she’s been able to accept. They’re a family that live, as you know from the film, in the most beautiful parts of the world. They’re very active people; they travel, and they still travel a lot. But this was all overnight taken from Sam, and that’s where the film begins, really.
Naomi, I know Penguins mirrors Sam’s journey: we see her dive into the depths of despair, but also come out on top emotionally and even physically with kayaking. What was it like to convey that physical journey, coming from your emotional core?
Naomi Watts: Yes, finding the bird and caring for the bird really unlocked so many things for her. Because she was not only dealing with excruciating pain physically, she was also in her mind battling with these horrific thoughts on a daily basis. While everyone went off and did their things, while, the kids went to school and Cam went to work, she was left alone. She really was living a private hell and, quite frankly, wanted to end it. She didn’t know that she was going to survive.
And then down comes this bird; this little creature that needs care. And through restoring its health, she’s able to unlock her own mind and get out of the way of herself, which she just wasn’t able to do until that time. Of course, if that would have happened anyway, we’ll never know. But in this story, it jolted her in a way that she needed, and it is what creates the poetry in the story. Hopefully that translates to the screen: this sudden beam of hope that changed their family and repaired them all as a unit.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/penguin-bloom-movie-naomi-watts-andrew-lincoln-interview/