We Have Always Lived In The Castle is Stacie Passon’s second feature and it is a gorgeous, haunting vision of the Shirley Jackson novel of the same name. It centers on the Blackwood family, an eccentric group of extremely wealthy people who live in a veritable castle on the edge of a small town.
A tragedy has befallen the family, which has named them outcasts in the community. The only Blackwoods left in the family are Constance (Alexandra Daddario), Merricat (Taissa Farmiga) and their uncle Julien (Crispin Glover). Or so they thought. After a while, their cousin Charles (Sebastian Stan) comes to visit and throws off the balance in the wonderful world that the sisters have built for themselves.
It’s hauntingly beautiful and a powerful statement about the bonds of sisterhood. I was incredibly fortunate to interview both Taissa Farmiga and Crispin Glover, both of whom I find to be brilliant actors, for the film.
First, my conversation with Taissa, and obviously I had to ask about American Horror Story.
“I understood that everything she did, she did for a reason and she believes she was doing the right thing…”
First of all, how did you become involved with We Have Always Lived in the Castle?
Taissa Farmiga: I just finished doing this off-Broadway play. The director of that play, said, “Oh, by the way, a producer friend of mine would love to have you in their movie,” and I hadn’t even heard of the movie yet.
Then the offer came in a couple of days later and they set up a Skype with the director Stacey. So I read the script. I immediately was captivated and I fell in love with the tone of the story. This contradiction of something that’s so dark and twisted and foreboding. There’s something that feels off, but yet everything has this fairy tale wash over it. I love that. I love the character of Merricat. I didn’t understand her, but I wanted to. I had a wonderful conversation with Stacy and then I just wanted to be a part of it. Luckily they gave me the opportunity.
There’s a lot of ways you can perceive Merricat. You could see her as kind of a protector but also as sort of “wicked” or what have you.
Sure. I think she’s actually a combination of everything you said and so much more. You know, she is a protector at the end of the day. She’s also a child. She’s also fragile. She’s also scared, but these feelings and emotions come out in different ways for different people. For her, she wants to protect Constance. That’s her number one priority.
