Heretic, by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods | The Wolf and the Sheep

In Hereticby Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East play two Mormon missionaries who believe they can convert Hugh Grant, in the role of a man much less charming than he seems. The Press met them by videoconference.

Co-writers ofA quiet cornerby John Krasinski, directors of 65 and of HauntScott Beck and Bryan Woods have known each other since they were 11 years old and have worked together for over 20 years. About fifteen years ago, the two forty-year-olds were shooting a short film in a house inhabited by a seemingly charming old couple. From there germinated the premise of their new feature film, Heretic.

“This couple predicted the end of the world soon. For years, we thought about the consequences of bad beliefs in the wrong hands and the danger of being in the presence of bad people,” says Scott Beck.

Pour Hereticthey therefore imagined an anxiety-provoking closed session where two convinced Mormons, the candid Sister Paxton (Chloe East) and the sassy Sister Barnes (Sophie Thatcher), fall into the net of Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), a cynical scholar, who will deliver a lesson in the history of religions that will shake the most devout members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I learned a lot of things thanks to Heretic, says Hugh Grant. The many years of research that Scott and Bryan put into writing down everything Mr. Reed said has paid off. I was sincerely fascinated by it, even though I knew that a myriad of religions predating Christianity shared many similar aspects with the Christian religion. »

Like their partner, the actresses, both raised in the Mormon religion – something the directors were unaware of before hiring them – enjoyed discovering the history of religions. “I had the impression for a long time that it was the only true religion,” summarizes Chloe East. As you get older, you wonder if you believe everything you’ve been told because you were a victim of this culture or if you actually have faith. What I liked about Hereticis that it allows you to broaden your thinking to others than yourself, but in the end, no one ever knows the answer. »

Although Scott Beck and Bryan Woods relied on dialogue to create fear, they did not skimp on the visual aspect. For the photo direction, they called on Chung Chung-hoon, Park Chan-wook’s faithful collaborator (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, Thirst) to whom we also owe the images of Last Night in Sohod’Edgar Wright.

“We have always been fans of Chung Chung-hoon,” reveals Bryan Woods. In all the films he collaborates with, he leaves his mark in every shot. Ironically, one of his great contributions to Hereticis to have prevented us from being amazed from the opening scene. Chung-hoon suggested that we be as boring as possible, not going into fantasy from the beginning so that we could get darker and darker in the second and third acts. We found it really clever that he proposed this restraint, this simplicity in order to better serve this film which features people talking. »

“Chung-hoon is truly brilliant!” exclaims Sophie Thatcher. I felt like the camera had its own personality. Most of the time we didn’t know where the camera was. In his way of filming, he isolates the actors, but without telling them; we therefore had to remain fully invested at all times. His photography creates all the tension and oppressive feeling that one feels throughout the film. There is such a stylized point of view that I don’t believe any other cinematographer would have achieved this result. »

The power of control

Besides the careful photo, what is striking in Hereticit is the model of Mr. Reed’s house which sits in his library. Evoking The Amityville Horrorby Stuart Rosenberg, and Hereditaryby Ari Aster, the miniature house is integrated into the action thanks to judicious editing effects.

“The central theme of the film is control,” recalls Scott Beck. And more broadly, how each religion obtains control by dictating its laws, by teaching to treat others as oneself from texts taken from old books. For us, the miniature house is a concrete manifestation of this ideology. In a superficial way, it also creates a link with the metaphor Mr. Reed uses, for whom religions are like board games. Looking closely at the model, we realize that he had foreseen everything that was going to happen, even what seemed unexpected. »

From there to affirming that Mr. Reed would be the incarnation of the Devil, there is a step that Hugh Grant would not dare to take. “I really enjoyed being monstrous, but I think most actors would say the same. Generally, viewers are attracted to villain characters. In fact, I think it’s because we are horrible human beings and the kindness we display is just a veneer that eventually cracks,” the British actor concludes calmly.

In the room