Tom Beasley talks to Oscar-nominated director Lenny Abrahamson about his new gothic tale The Little Stranger…
It has been three years since Lenny Abrahamson first introduced his intense drama Room to the world, winning an Oscar for leading lady Brie Larson and earning himself a Best Director nomination. He’s now back with gothic horror The Little Stranger, which could hardly be more different to his last movie.
An adaptation of a Sarah Waters novel, the film stars Domhnall Gleeson as a doctor delivering care to the strange family that lives in a mansion following the Second World War. Strange, potentially supernatural events begin to happen within the house and characters begin to question whether the building itself might exercise a malevolent influence on those inside it.
Abrahamson came to London this week to promote The Little Stranger and we went along to have a chat with him about adapting Waters, Domhnall Gleeson’s dormant Irish accent and the boxing movie he hopes to make next.
THE LITTLE STRANGER tells the story of Dr. Faraday, the son of a housemaid, who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country doctor. During the long hot summer of 1948, he is called to a patient at Hundreds Hall, where his mother once worked. The Hall has been home to the Ayres family for more than two centuries. But it is now in decline and its inhabitants – mother, son and daughter – are haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life. When he takes on his new patient, Faraday has no idea how closely, and how disturbingly, the family’s story is about to become entwined with his own.
The Little Stranger is set for release into UK cinemas on September 21st.
Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.
