CONNIE NIELSEN on 'THE ICE HARVEST' Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for Radio Free Entertainment
November 6, 2005
In the dark comedy The Ice Harvest, a lawyer (John Cusack) and manager (Billy Bob Thornton) involved in the business of strip clubs in Wichita try to pull off the perfect heist and skip town with $2 million. But their own incompetence and Christmas Eve malaise threaten to derail their plans.
The Ice Harvest is adapted from the novel by Scott Phillips, and is directed by Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day, Analyze This). In addition to Cusack and Thornton, the film features Connie Nielsen, Oliver Platt, and Randy Quaid.
In this interview, Connie Nielsen talks about playing a femme fatale, working in the strip club environment, and emigrating from Denmark to make it in Hollywood.
The Interview
MEDIA: So how cold was it on set?
CONNIE: It wasn't cold. I mean, for me it wasn't. First of all, because I was indoors most of the time, but also, during the day, while I was shooting, we had like 70, 80 degree spring days. I know that sometimes John was cold outside, because he was doing a lot of the outdoor stuff, and it was earlier in the shoot. But I had a ball. It was great. When I wasn't shooting, it was sunshine, walking around the beautiful little downtown. I had a great time.
How did you like your role of the manipulative femme fatale?
Well, that's the fun part, you know. To be sexy is really boring. To be doing something where you actually take your time to show the little details of how you toy with a guy like that--that's what's fun. I know that women will nod and kind of like say, "It's a little incredible just how easy guys are sometimes." And this film shows it. And that's what's fun about it, too. There's a sense of humor about it.
Which past femme fatales did you borrow moves from?
I watched Lauren Bacall just for a specifically physical thing, and because I just felt like she had that thing which she was doing with the eyes, where she was looking up underneath the lashes a lot--which was not a thing she invented, because it was a thing you actually did do in the '40s and '50s. But then I also put some Jessica Rabbit in there. [laughs] I thought it was fun to show the little things, like affecting that she's a damsel in distress, or affecting that she's hurt, or affecting neediness. And I mean it--"affecting"--because she doesn't really feel any of these things. Just having the chance to do that kind of double play is fun for an actor.
But at one point, she actually is in distress...
Yes, but even then, you can see--and you can tell in the script as well--how she's calculating her chances. And you kind of see her thinking all the time. That's what I thought was fun to do--to show that thinking, whereas a femme fatale, she doesn't show anything usually. She's mystery, right? Part of her shtick is to be mysterious. And in this case, I thought it was more fun to be more transparent.
With all of the film's negative female characters, would you say the story is misogynistic?
No. I think that's really a reading into it, first of all. I think that this is a misanthropic novel, where every human being is bad. I mean, there is no one who is treated nicely or with kid gloves. Everyone in this movie is only out for themselves. I think if you look at themes, then I would say none of the women are great...But you know what? The men are worse.
Was it weird being the object of attraction when there are all these strippers strutting their stuff around you?
No, it wasn't, because I have always found that that was pretty [logical] to me--that what is more sexy and attractive is that which is more mysterious and unattainable. Especially for guys who are living, breathing, and working in a media where it's all about paying the dollar to see, right? And here is the one woman where you can't do that...Of course she becomes the prize.
Were the strip club sets as seedy as they looked?
Yes, they were. Literally, sometimes you were like, "Yeah...I think I'll have my food out in the trailer." [laughs]
Are you a fan of the film noir genre?
I've always thought there was a sort of romanticism in film noir that I liked. And I like that romantic hero who is going to have his heart busted by this woman. I always thought that that was very attractive--a guy who kind of was doomed from the beginning. In the end, I think that perhaps I'll find that the guys are actually rather misogynistic in film noir. But what I like about it is that it's a tradition already, and it's a tradition that is good to play with and send up a bit. And I think that this script did it, and I think this movie does it.
What was your impression of the script, and how well do you think it made the transition to the big screen?
When I was reading the script, I laughed out loud. I think that to the credit of the work that's been made on this movie, especially on the part of John and Oliver, the sort of male malaise that's going on has become a much stronger element in the movie than I actually expected when I read the script...I think that there were some things that were just straight out funny. What surprised me very positively was that that male existential crisis has actually really come through in this film. I'm thinking specifically of when Oliver and John are in the restaurant, and afterwards when they're driving around town in this car...and they've all just lost everything that is worth living for because they've made the bad choices in life.
How was your experience of working with director Harold Ramis?
Harold was just great. Sometimes you just get the opportunity to go in and try a little bit of everything...You get some idea and you want to work it out, and that's the kind of guy you can do it with.
Did you ever want to give your character any redeeming qualities?
No, I didn't feel the need to give her any redeeming qualities. I thought she was funny because she had none. I thought it was funny that she had no conscience whatsoever.
Do you think she is cold and emotionless?
I think she's definitely animated by emotions--just not emotions of compassion or kindness.
Did you feel the need to explain her motivations?
It's only now that we feel that we should make a psychological explanation for everything. I didn't need one. Not with her. I had fun with exactly that kind of personality.
Did you develop any sort of backstory for her?
Yeah, it's Eastern Europe--got out of there probably by the age of 16, probably worked her ass off as a stripper for ten years, saved up money, was a "tough as nails" kind of cookie, made her own rules, decided what she was willing to do very early. (I mean, I've seen some of these Eastern European women--they are so determined, it's incredible.) And then [she] bought her own joint, realized that that was not going to solve her life at all. And I imagined she was on her way to New York.
What's your own backstory as an immigrant from Denmark?
I only came here eight years ago. I came here with a little child and my nanny, and I started doing Devil's Advocate a month after I arrived here. So I've had, you would have to say, a rather easy life in terms of being an immigrant and arriving here. I saw myself as somebody who's just going to come, make my agents happy here, give them six months, and then go home. That's how I saw my life.
When did you learn English?
Oh, I learned it very early on. First of all, because I grew up as a Mormon in Denmark, and there were a lot of American missionaries, and they would hang out a lot with my family. My mother would make Thanksgiving for them every year as well. And being around English-speaking persons from an early age makes it easier. Also, in Denmark, we have no [dubbing], so that everything is in original language with subtitles. And then we just have a really great school system. Really good teachers. I can make comparisons now because I've raised my child in Italy and here, so I can tell the difference between the schools and the ones I grew up with.
