Rosalind Eleazar interview: Exploring the dark and beautiful side of 'Misty Green'

Courtesy of A24.

Comedian Chris Rock may be a household name for telling jokes but he’s a cinephile at heart. He hasn’t been shy about it and has even directed on the side with “Top Five” widely considered to be his crowning achievement.

His latest as a writer-director is “Misty Green” and it gives his previous efforts some serious competition, primarily with its lead performance by newcomer Rosalind Eleazar. The movie may have supporting players like Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya and Anna Kendrick but it’s Eleazar who shines through in her first lead performance as the flawed and hopeful Misty Green. The character is an aging actress in an unforgiving Hollywood who has burned enough bridges to seriously consider a different lifestyle. But a last ditch effort auditioning for a highly covered role will finally prove if Misty can sink or swim for good.

The UK born Eleazar is best known for TV’s “Slow Horses” but that may soon change as “Misty Green” expands to more theaters and her performance is widely seen. She was recently in San Francisco on a promotional tour for the film where we discussed film festival culture and the harsh realities of releasing a movie during Covid, among other things. The following is a transcription of that conversation.

Q: Have you gotten to see much of San Francisco during this press tour?

Rosalind Eleazar: Not really. I just arrived here in San Francisco yesterday and am leaving tomorrow morning back to London.

Q: So this will be the most of San Francisco you’ll get to see.

Eleazar: (laughs) Yeah, the Ritz Carlton. And it’s such a shame because you want to see the films and you don’t get any opportunity to do that at these film festivals because you’re dancing around everywhere.

Q: Do you also get to see the same filmmakers at these different festival stops?

Eleazar: Yeah because a lot of the same films are playing at these festivals. I’m hoping at one of these festivals I’m able to stay a few extra days and partake.

Q: Speaking of partaking, how was your working experience with Chris Rock as a writer-director? Did he prefer a more collaborative environment?

Eleazar: He was super collaborative. He’s got this phrase, my movie, your character. He doesn’t have an ego and wasn’t precious at all about the script. There were very little things that I wanted to get rid of because his writing is extraordinary. It’s got a rhythm to it that’s witty and direct.

Q: His script allows your character to go to some darker areas. Was that enticing to you as a performer?

Eleazar: Definitely. It’s definitely enticing to be allowed to explore the dark and beautiful side of human beings. We’re all multifaceted. Chris is pretty fearless and he’s written something that’s pretty, and I mean this in the best possible way, ugly. It’s not just a Hollywood story where everything is bad. It’s a character study of someone who’s unable to get out of their own way.

Q: You said earlier you were collaborative with Chris on set. Were you ever tempted to bring some of your own life experiences to the character?

Eleazar: It’s hard to tell if certain things in your life bleed into your characters because it’s all subconscious. Everything I’m doing today I’m banking for another experience. Every time I meet someone it’s a unique experience that may inform me down the line.

Q: To switch gears for a quick second, my first exposure to you was in “The Personal History of David Copperfield.” I saw that film at a drive-in because of Covid at a time where traditional theaters were closed.

Eleazar: Oh wow!

Q: So obviously I saw that film in a car not knowing how the world was going to turn out. For you personally, what was that experience like of having a movie come out in such a turbulent time and not being able to celebrate it properly because of the place we were in?

Eleazar: That was an incredibly sad time because we were just about to start doing press for the film. It was such a shame that film didn’t have the platform and liftoff it deserved. As you said, you saw it at a drive-in, that didn’t happen in the UK. We had to wait and see it on TV and if I remember rightly, that wasn’t until a few years afterwards. As a result, there were a lot of people who didn’t even know about it and it was such a shame.

Q: I’m surprised it didn’t get much publicity even with Armando Iannucci behind the camera.

Eleazar: If I remember rightly, we played in cinemas for a week before we shut down and it makes me sad.

Q: Did that period of time transition to “Slow Horses?”

Eleazar: Yeah. We started filming right at the beginning of the pandemic. We were testing every day and had a lab on set. I find the Covid time fascinating because it’s too much in recent memory that we don’t talk about it. It’s almost like collective trauma.

“Misty Green” is now playing in limited release.