Tagline: Dreaming is Believing.
In The Good Night, dreaming is believing, as Gary (Martin Freeman) a once successful musician, struggles with his career and an inert relationship with his girlfriend Dora (Gwyneth Paltrow). As his work as a commercial jingle writer spirals into ever more degrading depths, his best friend and former band mate Paul (Simon Pegg) seems to find success at every turn.
Gary is depressed and dejected until he meets Anna (Penelope Cruz). She is everything Gary wants sexually, artistically and intellectually–she is the girl of his dreams…literally. But Gary can only be with Anna in sleep which consequently sends him on a quest for more frequent slumber.
With the help of a new age guru named Mel, (Danny DeVito) Gary shuns reality for the comfort of his dreams even as the troubles of his waking life increase. Written and directed by Jake Paltrow. The film also stars Michael Gambon, Amber Sealey, Keith Allen and Finty Williams. Produced by Donna Gigliotti and Bill Johnson, THE GOOD NIGHT shot for six weeks on location in and around London, England, on stages at Ealing Studios, and a week in New York City.
The Characters
“The reason we wanted to cast Martin as Gary,” says Gigliotti, “and the reason we did was because he has tremendous humanity as an actor. You immediately love him, you want to watch him, and you care about what happens to him. It almost doesn’t matter what he’s doing, you feel great empathy for him. When Jake sent Martin the script – about a year and a half before they started filming – Martin responded enthusiastically.
Freeman adds: “I read a lot of scripts and there’s not many I like. I immediately liked this. Jake’s a really good writer. The script was so good, so believable. I couldn’t hear the pitch as I was reading it, which was a good thing. It wasn’t formulaic. It was personal and it overlapped with my own taste. That’s always a good starting point.”
Gary (Freeman) is a Londoner, who has been living in New York for seven or eight years since his band, with whom he had enjoyed brief and moderate success, split up. His friend, Paul (Simon Pegg), a former band member, decided to stay on in America in the wake of that success. Gary however, has remained a struggling musician, eking out a living writing jingles for commercials. His relationship with his long time girlfriend Dora, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, is no longer exciting. “He is unhappy,” says Freeman. “He knows what he’s capable of and he’s nowhere near where he wants to be. When he meets this amazing woman in his dreams, it’s no surprise he retreats there. It’s more fulfilling than his reality.”
About her co-star Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow says: “He’s an amazing actor – so funny, so specific, so talented, so heartbreaking. He has this everyman thing but with an incredible depth, and sweetness, and intelligence. Jake was so taken with Martin. In America, people are just discovering Martin and Simon so it was such a cool choice of Jake’s. He was committed to having him star.”
“I had to beg my brother to let me do it. Finally he did.” says Gwyneth. Adds Gigliotti: “It wasn’t Jake’s first instinct to cast Gwyneth, it’s true. She had read the script and she can of course spot a good role. She lobbied Jake for the part. It took him a while to make that determination which I understand. I can imagine it might be difficult to direct a sibling, especially an older sibling, with whom you are very close. But on the set they’re director and actor, not brother and sister. I’ve seen no other evidence than that.”
Continues Gigliotti: “People will be surprised because she doesn’t look like Gwyneth. She has dark hair and dark eyes. It was important to Jake she look different to the iconic Gwyneth we all know.”
Dora still loves Gary but she is frustrated by their relationship. Says Paltrow: “He used to be a passionate musician and she responded to the artist in him. He’s become inert and they fight a lot. It’s a very unsatisfied relationship. They talk and don’t talk about the same things. They’re quietly growing apart. Dora is really sad and disappointed.” Still, Paltrow admits to enjoying the part as a character in such a dysfunctional relationship: “It’s funny and messed up at the same time. I’ve really enjoyed playing Dora. Anyone that’s ever been in a relationship can relate to it and that makes it an interesting role to play.” Equally Paltrow has enjoyed working with her brother, and says: “I’m tremendously impressed and really proud of Jake and how he’s doing this from both an artistic standpoint and a logistical standpoint. He has such a unique vision.”
Penelope Cruz had intended on taking some time off after working with Almodovar for several months when she received Jake’s script. “I said I’d read it because everyone had been telling me how good it was but I wasn’t planning on working so soon again,” says Cruz. “But I fell in love with it and forgot about the plans I had not to work.”
Cruz plays two different characters, Anna, the quintessential dream girl – loving, supportive, sexually available, and Melody, the girl Gary’s seen in advertising images, the real manifestation of the girl in his dream, who’s not quite so perfect. Playing two very different characters, sometimes on the same shooting day, is no mean feat but, Cruz says: “The script is the basis for everything and Jake has written such an amazing script. Everything is very clear when you have great material to follow.
She continues: “He’s so great with actors too, he always there for you.” Cruz also enjoyed working with Freeman: “Martin has an amazing combination of control, of the technique of acting but being there in the moment, seeing you and hearing you. He is a really honest actor and this has been a great experience, a great collaboration.”
It was an inspired decision to cast Simon Pegg as Paul, Gary’s friend. Good friends in real life, their dynamism and chemistry on camera are a reflection of their relationship off camera. “Paul’s moved on and is experiencing success but his integrity is no longer intact,” says Simon. “He’s boisterous, laddy, insensitive. He’s the friend you’ve had for such a long time, you can’t be bothered to not be friends with him.”
“I read the script and really liked it,” says Simon. “It’s a really witty and interesting script, and also throws up interesting ideas about the notion of reality and the potential dreams offer us. It was a great read, a real page-turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When Jake called me and asked me to get involved, I said yes please.”
Freeman was thrilled that Pegg was joining the cast. “He’s one of the best actors we have with an innate sense of comedy. He’s very good at his job and makes it fun.”
Danny DeVito probably elicited the most excitement from the crew prior to his arrival on set. He plays Mel, the dream doctor, who Gary goes to for advice and from whom he learns the technique of lucid dreaming. Although he only filmed for four days during the six-week shoot, he made a huge impression on cast and crew. “Danny was great to be around,” says Martin. “There’s something about him that people respond to and when you meet him, you know why.”
Casting DeVito in the role – which reads as though it was written for him – certainly reinforces the fact that the story is taking place in New York. Says Gigliotti: “To me and Jake, when you have a line that says `not bad for a schlub from Astoria’, there’s only one guy you can cast.” She continues: “It’s fascinating to watch him work. I think there’s a great deal of preparation that’s gone into the character. Watching him subvert some of his natural exuberance has been amazing. You usually think about Danny in a different way to how he’s portrayed here. He’s usually more fiery, sharper, harder. There’s vulnerability in this character that’s really wonderful.”
“I liked the script a lot”, says DeVito. “It’s very emotional, very moving. It’s also very funny and I thought Jake had handled the material with sensitivity. How much do you feel, how do you relate is an important factor in deciding if you’re going to do something. When I read this, I felt an emotional connection. I felt immediately it was mysterious and challenging.” Says Freeman: “His performance is so natural, so seamless. One of those actors you want to watch and listen and learn from…”
The Look
“Jake’s a very visual director and had a very clear idea of how he wanted the film to look,” says production designer Eve Stewart. Given the short preparation time, and the limited budget, Jake’s clear vision was a tremendous help. She continues: “We had many discussions during the pre-production period about how to facilitate his ideas. Once we got going, I think we were flying with the same ideas concurrently.” Jake’s characters are very clearly drawn which was a huge help to Stewart.
She observes: “I’m very strict about character information and making sure they world they inhabit is believable and that nothing will work to suspend that belief. The design of Gary’s apartment, for example, was completely character-led. Obviously you have to build into that what angles will work for the camera, what colors work but its character based first and foremost and always serving the story. I’m very much an illustrator of what’s on the page.” This approach served Paltrow’s strong sense -for his characters well, and is borne out in the design of Gary’s and Dora’s uncared for and cluttered apartment — an indication of the crumbling relationship, a sense that they haven’t invested much time and effort in their home.
Early on the filmmakers had to decide how they would differentiate between Gary’s waking and dream world. They came up with the idea to shoot the worlds using different cameras and film stock – the waking world would be filmed on Super 16mm, the dream world on 35mm. “It will appear to the audience that the two worlds have different texture.” says Gigliotti. “The waking world is grainier – as is reality – the dream world clearer and crisper, more perfect.”
Some slight changes in film speed and sound are also used in occasional and subtle ways to distinguish between the two worlds. Says Stewart: “We were very careful not to make the dream world too surreal, too psychedelic. It has to be very connected to his reality so that you can believe he could really exist in that world. And once you’re in the dream world, it’s fairly seamless and you get a blend of waking and dream a state which is more fascinating in a way.”
Without a massive special effects budget, the filmmakers came up with a simple device to take Gary from his waking world into his dream world — using the door to his bedroom. “It was the bane of our lives,” says Stewart. “The door had to have its own truck, we had to haul it over beaches, fields, tracks but it’s such a good device. Regardless of whether we had the budget for CGI, it was better to have the actual `gateway’ physically there.”
The shoot was an exacting one. Filmed over six weeks, the filmmakers’ biggest challenge was making London look like New York. Choosing locations like Clerkenwell that have a similar feel to areas in New York such as Tribeca and Soho and clever casting of extras — as diverse as possible — certainly helped, adds Stewart “It was very hard. London just doesn’t look like New York. There are a few streets here and there where you can just about get away with it but the architecture is so different.”
It meant on location that Paltrow was constantly restricted with angles he could shoot from proving to be both a logistical and creative challenge. Other locations include the Painted Hall at Greenwich’s Naval College – a magnificent building providing the backdrop for a key dream sequence, and for two other key dream sequences, a private residence in Kent, made entirely of glass, and the sprawling beaches at Camber Sands, in Sussex.
The Good Night (2007)
Directed by: Jake Paltrow
Starring: Danny DeVito, Gwyneth Paltrow, Martin Freeman, Penélope Cruz, Simon Pegg, Michael Gambon, Stephen Graham, Kate Harper, Gael Le Cornec, Meredith MacNeill, Simon Pegg, Amber Sealey, Skye Bennett, Amanda Abbington
Screenplay by: Jake Paltrow
Production Design by: Eve Stewart
Cinematography by: Giles Nuttgens
Film Editing by: Rick Lawley
Costume Design by: Verity Hawkes
Art Direction by: Leon McCarthy, Lisa McDiarmid
Music by: Alec Puro
MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexual content.
Distributed by: Yari Film Group
Release Date: October 5, 2007
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