Naomi Watts and Matthew McConaughey have a pretty unconventional way of getting into their characters. "Sea of Trees" co-stars wrote love letters to one another since they didn't have much time to prepare for their new roles as husband and wife.
Watts shared to Vogue Australia that it was actually McConaughey's idea. How did their exchange go?
The British actress said, "Some would be just a few lines or something fairly benign, and then other times it would be a long letter about how we failed and how we need to change and accusations of giving up; the same old story, your classic marriage problems."
She also shared that it would also vary from poetry to "stormy letters," and she would even send him voice recordings as the character if she knows that her on-screen partner will be doing certain scenes.
"Sea of Trees" is directed by Gus Van Sant. McConaughey and Watts play Arthur and Joan Brennan, and McConaughey's character heads to the "Suicide Forest" in Japan to administer his own death. Even though it was selected to compete for this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes, it was relentlessly booed during screening and received incredibly bad reviews from critics.
The Guardian says that it was "fantastically annoying" and a "dishonest tearjerker." Despite getting abysmal reviews, the director and McConaughey claim that they don't really care if people don't like their movie. The all-American actor recognizes that the audience has the right to praise or bash any movie; it just happened to be his own.
"Sea of Trees" isn't Gus Van Sant's first entry in the revered Cannes Film Festival. His 2003 production "Elephant" has in fact won the Palme d'Or during that year. However, his most current work has been deemed his worst one yet.
