New on Blu-ray and DVD this week, Cold Comes the Night stars Alice Eve as a struggling motel owner who finds herself embroiled in a killer’s mission. A blind killer (Brian Cranston) loses his helper (co-killer?) and forces Chloe (Eve) to be his eyes to finish the deal. We got to speak with Eve by phone, on Valentine’s Day no less, about the thriller written and directed by Tze Chun. We also discussed her recent role in Star Trek Into Darkness and upcoming movies with Neil LaBute and Chris Evans.
CraveOnline: You seem like a pretty good maid in Cold Comes the Night. How much would it cost to have you clean my house?
Alice Eve: I don’t think that it’s something that I have a price for. It’s very hard work, what those ladies do who work in a hotel.
It certainly is. Very good answer. At one point, Chloe makes tea instead of coffee. Was that a British touch?
That was actually Tze. Tze is Chinese, or his parents are Chinese, and of course “for all the tea in China” is the big expression. China’s a big tea culture. She actually didn’t have tea how I would have it, with milk and sugar. She had a Chinese version of tea. I think the idea was that tea is a calming thing rather than coffee which is going to give you the jitters.
It seems like such a cliché whenever we talk about a role being de-glamorous when you’re not wearing Hollywood makeup. Is the real lesson that real women are still pretty?
I’m not sure that that’s not slightly reductive. I think that the point is that women come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes we have makeup on and sometimes we don’t. I don’t think it’s any more complex than that. It’s a pretty transparent reality, but it still is a sort of fascination I suppose, the transformative ability of the female.
I certainly don’t mean to be reductive. I guess I’m trying to say I see the same face with or without makeup.
That’s good. That shows a keen eye and someone who’s interested in engaging with the person. One hopes that there are more people like you in the world.
Thank you. With a psychological thriller like Cold Comes the Night, how do you gauge the tension level when you’re shooting out of sequence?
That’s a big part of the job. That’s not something that’s an afterthought. You have to measure it. You have to know exactly where you are in the story, exactly what’s happened and what hasn’t. I did a movie called Some Velvet Morning with Neil LaBute which all took place in real time. That was helpful because we shot it in sequence and then you really do know where you kind of lift off emotionally, but with Chloe, it was very much a process of being cognitive of where you were in the story.
Are there any helpful tricks you can use to know where you are in each scene?
Preparation is all, really, isn’t it? I would say to anyone who hopes to execute their job well is to just prepare. It’s not like a trick. It’s just time and effort.
I noticed a lot of the shots are in close-up. Is working in close-up a unique challenge?
I think it’s the privilege of cinema acting because it’s the only time that you really do get to see someone as you would if you were in an intimate setting. Theater’s wonderful because it’s visceral and it’s happening in front of you but you never get that close. So the close-up is a great privilege of film.
Was the fight scene with Erin Cummings in the movie very down and dirty?
Yeah, that was pretty rough. I think we did that on day one or two. Obviously nobody is quite on their feet at day one or two, but if we weren’t, we certainly felt it after that. We choreographed it but yeah, there were some bruises afterwards.
What is your process or your work when you get a role? How do you begin?
Well, as William Wordsworth said, “To begin, begin.” I think the most important thing is to just start. It doesn’t really matter how it is. It’s always different for each character because they come from different places inside you. Some come from the mind, some come from the heart, some come from experience, some come from imagination. It depends where you meet them.
You’ve done some very big, elaborate movies. Was Cold Comes the Night very intense compared to some of the comforts you may have on studio films?
This was very intense. We made it in the Catskills in winter. Hurricane Sandy came through while we were making it. It was some real world experience.
Do you thrive on that?
Sporadically, Fred. One can’t do it too much because it does deplete resources. Apart from anything else, just your wellness is compromised. For example, in this movie, we were just outside in the cold a lot in freezing temperatures. But of course it feeds you in so many ways and you do come out slightly changed. So that in its own way is an addictive art form.
Indie movies can be very tenuous also. Were you attached for a long time and was it ever in flux?
Yeah, I was attached for a long time actually. I was attached for about 18 months. Usually you have a few things going so when the thing that’s meant to be is meant to be, that’s when you do it.
Were you signed on first? Was there ever a point where you didn’t know who would play the killer?
Yeah, I think there was a point we didn’t know. Tze had seen a movie I did called Crossing Over and I think that that was what made him feel that I would be right to play Chloe, so he came to me early on in his process and I very much enjoyed meeting him.
Was it a meeting or did you have to audition too?
No, I didn’t audition. He wanted me for the role which is incredibly flattering. I sat and had some coffee with him and I got on with him very well, so I felt that it would be a good opportunity and a good experience to go through.
