By Anne Brodie
Saint Frances is an extraordinary quasi-autobiographical film from writer and star Kelly O’Sullivan. It’s the story of three Chicago women in degrees of personal crises whose lives are touched by the spirit of five-year-old Frances. Bridget (O’Sullivan) is recovering from an abortion when she’s hired by Maya and Annie to be Frances’ nanny as they await the birth of their second child. They embark on a journey together and chaos begins to edge into transformation. What She Said’ Anne Brodie spoke with O’Sullivan from her home in Chicago.
Kelly, you’re a go- getter. How did you adjust mentally to create Bridget who doesn’t really challenge herself?
Bridget is me in slightly different circumstances, I wrote her on all the fears I have as a person, life passing me by without making impact, putting off decisions, following these patterns.
Bridget is recovering from abortion and you show the aftermath. It’s tough.
For sure, it was hard. We wanted to focus on the physical aspects of an abortion which is never seen accurately on film. I wanted it to be realistic and put it on screen not offscreen and vague and mysterious. It was important to me not to show it as traumatic, as it’s often seen in films. I didn’t want it to be a devastating event. I based it on my own experience having an abortion, it didn’t feel it was traumatic, it didn’t define my life and it can be very normal.
Kelly O’Sullivan and Ramona Edith Williams in Saint Frances
And I also think that was my experience. There is a conversation that it can be from women to women. I had prolonged bleeding and after I had experience met women who didn’t have that. You have the conversation so its not monolithic.
Maya and Annie also have issues, including post natal depression, mistrust and insecurity. That’s important.
These women are dealing. You think other people have it figured out and they don’t. Maya and Annie seem perfect, they’re well off, they have a child and another on the way. But they’re going through so much more, and we have massive empathy for all our characters.
Hope arrives in the form of five-year-old Frances, played beautifully by Ramona Edith Williams. It’s a big part, you took a chance on this little girl.
We used a casting agency in Chicago PR Casting, and they brought in thirty girls. She was the youngest. Normally you prefer an older child actor so they can work longer hours and they’re mature, but the casting agency told me they had a feeling about her. She was only five, younger than the character is supposed to be. She was so herself, not trying to be cute or sappy, the Disney channel version, herself. We could trust her to be herself. We moved really quickly in general, as an indie crew. The incredible thing was she was perfect in every take one. I thought surely, she won’t learn her lines, or she might wander out of frame, but every day she would come up with incredible things. She had so much joy and energy on the set. And she kept us from being over serious. I felt like a nanny again, we’d just go and play with a stick.
You integrated Ramona’s interests into the script, drawing, painting, crafts, dance…
Yes! Ice staking! Frances was a soccer player as the script was written, but Ramona’s an ice skater, I thought that’s incredible, let’s do that. It would lend authenticity to the script, doing something that feels real. We shot those scenes at her local skating rink in Chicago, so she was comfortable.
I love that the script isn’t saccharin in any way shape or form, but considering the story elements, it could have veered off.
We really tried to avoid saccharin, we didn’t want to take that Hollywood easy and expected route. We kept going back to underact a moment that could feel saccharin and turned it on its head to keep things realistic. Things can get heavy with a child and then they make a joke. That reminded me of my time as a nanny too. Kids don’t let things get too saccharin, they have moments and then just say “I’m bored!”.
Do you miss her?
I miss her so much. I see her on Facebook now. It was that summer we spent together and I grew to love her and she was my good buddy. Now she’s eight and she just finished filming an episode of Chicago PD! I can see her ice skating amd doing her twirls. We keep up with each other, and its amazing to watch a kid grow up before your eyes.
How do you feel about the experience now having made the film and getting ready to release it?
I never expected anybody to see this movie, which was why I was able to be so honest. I thought well, maybe a few will see it. I’ve been so rewarded, people have been so warm and generous in the way they receive the film now I’m incredibly proud of it and proud of women of all ages who feel seen by it. Before the pandemic in a special screening a woman came up to me and said she’d been through post-partum depression. That the film reflected my experience is the biggest joy of my life, that I could be so honest.
Saint Frances, directed by Alex Thompson, is available on iTunes Canada and On-Demand Nov. 13