Brit Marling: The Keeping Room ‘Felt Really Fresh’

The Keeping Room stars Brit Marling and Hailee Steinfeld on making a female-driven Western.

Den Of Geek: We havent seen many Westerns in the past with such strong female characters.

Is that what attracted both of you to doing this initially?

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Brit Marling: Yeah.

I think also just the idea of three women working together.

Ive never seen that before.

I mean I think you see the lone female protagonist, like Clarice Starling orAlien.

But this was like, Wow.

Ive never seen three girls get together and roll up their sleeves and defend themselves and protect each other.

That felt really fresh.

What kind of research did you do?

How did the accents come about?

Steinfeld: I was really psyched to do that.

She was first telling us like its hawt and I was like, What?

It doesnt sound southern.

It sounds vaguely British.

Is that something you have to be conscious of on set?

Does it become second nature after doing the work with a coach?

But we did throw in reminders to each other every now and then.

And we would go over it.

And wed go over it with each other.

So it was nice to have had that sort of experience together beforehand.

Marling: I think the film is incredibly prescient, just on violence in general.

I think weve sort of become completely desensitized to it.

And human beings shouldnt behave this way to each other.

Its also a bit subversive in a way that the Union guys are the monsters.

Marling: I think that Sam Worthington is so great in this movie.

Its just a horrifying endeavor.

He doesnt know how to let go of fear and violence and all these things.

So you watch him struggle with that.

And I think Sam did an amazing job of showing that internal conflict.

Hailee, do you feel like youre at the forefront of a Western revival these days?

Youve doneTrue GritandThe Homesmanin addition to this.

Youve got three of them on the books now.

And I dont know that I would have for a while if it werent for that movie.

But its an interesting time that I continue to be fascinated by.

Have you gone back and watched some of the classics as background at all?

Do you have a favorite Western if youve seen any more?

Marling: We were talking about this earlier.

What an exciting performance.

Was the training challenging for you, the riding and shooting?

Marling: That was the best part because you are so exhausted by it.

You are so exhausted that you just show up and be a real human being.

The Keeping Roomis out in limited release now.