Michelle Krusiec has no hangups about her lesbian sex scene in award-winning Saving Face. Elaine Chan meets her Saturday, November 26, 2005
Michelle Krusiec has no hangups about her lesbian sex scene in award-winning Saving Face. Elaine Chan meets her
W il and Vivian are naked in bed, kissing each other passionately. The phone rings: Vivian's mother asks if Wil is there.
"Does she know we have sex?" asks Wil after the call. "No, she thinks we conjugate Latin verbs," says Vivian.
Saving Face, Alice Wu's debut feature, began as a letter to her mother and ended up winning the 2005 Golden Horse Audience Choice Award.
Michelle Krusiec stars as Wil, a young Manhattan surgeon juggling a promising career, a hot dancer girlfriend Vivian (Lynn Chen) and her traditional Chinese family in Flushing, New York.
Her middle-age Ma (Joan Chen) arrives on her doorstep one night, pregnant and without the name of the father.
In a series of comical situations, Wil and Ma face and pursue their own desires and ultimately rediscover their love for each other.
Krusiec was born in Taiwan to Chinese parents. She moved to the United States at the age of five with her aunt who married an American sailor, adopting his name.
Growing up in middle-class Virginia under a dominating mother, she turned to the performing arts as an outlet for expression. She created a one-woman theater show, Made in Taiwan, an autobiography of what it's like to grow up Chinese in America, which she plans to bring to Hong Kong next year.
Q: How did you do that naked sex scene with Lynn Chen? MK: I have a natural protectiveness about Lynn. In t
he scene, I was the assertive one, which was what Alice [the director] wanted. For me, being assertive isn't a problem. Taking off clothes - you just had to deal with that. You have to accept it and forget about it. Q: What does your mother think of you in a sex scene with a woman? MK: I haven't asked her. My mother is quite open about sexuality and sex. We shared a fascination for the concept of porn. When people ask me how I could do that lesbian thing, I'd say I'm confident and open about my body. Q: How would your mother react if you were gay and you came out to her? MK: I am heterosexual and I don't think she'd handle it very well. If it's on paper, a tape or on TV, it's okay. If it's about me being gay, it's a different story. She wouldn't understand. It's one of the biggest taboos in Chinese culture. Q: What did you find in the script that drew you in? MK: The whole thing. This was the first script I read with no holes in the story, no moments of "this doesn't ring true." I was struck by how well-written the story was, how vivid the dialogue and how interesting the character. Q: How did you get into character? MK: Initially, I didn't know what to do with Wil. Alice and I did have an instinctive understanding, and she gave me mannerisms. I would try to figure out why she [Wil] walks that way, why she twirls her hair when she thinks, why she has cookie crumbs on her lip. Then I'd start exploring. I had 28 days to get my s*** together. At the end of the day, I would keep exploring. Q: How is your mother different to Ma? MK: Joan's character goes through a period of discovery at the age of 48. My mother and I raised each other. She was getting Americanized the same time I was growing up. She gave me opportunities my siblings in Taiwan didn't have, so she was a lot stricter with my thinking: You've got to take responsibility for your life and who you are. I started getting gray hair at 12. Q: How are the dynamics different? MK: Joan and Wil build walls around things they do and don't talk. I was a sponge that absorbed everything my mother said. Joan's character is dominant but my mother is more earthy and raunchy. She talks in your face and she loves to curse. She comes up with sayings like "a man comes in the door your husband and walks out of the door somebody elses' husband." Q: Does she have traditional values? MK: She thought I should find a rich man and have him take care of me - a typical Asian housewife attitude about having a good life. Having lived in the States for 20 years, she has a `how to cook and clean and be a good host to find a guy but never letting him f*** you over' kind of atttitude. Q: How did you get along with Joan Chen? MK: Joan is a veteran actress and we had a very natural mother-daughter chemistry. Wil lets her mother live with her, take over her apartment and tell her she can't have friends over. She exerts her power over Wil. With Joan, I allowed that hierarchy to happen. Q: How did you hit it off with Lynn? MK: I always thought Vivian was a very sexual character, maybe even more daunting and aggressive. Lynn brought that quality of a sweet girlfriend as opposed to one who pushes me to spend more time with her. She brings sincerity and a friendship aspect to it.
source:
Standard Weekend
