‘Monochrome’: Jo Woodcock Interview

In many of her previous roles, Monochrome star Jo Woodcock played the victim – now, she’s the one wielding the knife and rifle.

Thomas Lawes’ female serial-killer thriller Monochrome focuses on a disillusioned young woman who becomes a serial killer targeting wealthy land-owners, forcing a brilliant detective to use his unusual neurological condition to track her down.

Jo Woodcock (Dorian Gray), Singer songwriter Cosmo Jarvis, Patrice Naiambana (Highlander: The Source), Lee Boardman (Jack & The Giant Slayer), Steve Jackson (TV’s Coronation Street) and Liz May Brice (Alien vs. Predator) make up the ensemble cast.

The film, featuring a standout performance by BAFTA winner James Cosmo (TV’s Game of Thrones, Braveheart), will be released on VOD and DVD June 6.

You’ve made a captivating movie. What was the initial appeal for you?

The opportunity to play a serial killer was very appealing to me. I think I’m drawn to things that show the darker underbelly of life. Also there aren’t as many movies made from the perspective of a female serial killer so it was great to be able to tell Emma’s story.

Can you compare it to another, similar film? Anything come to mind?

Well you could compare the essential story to Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves! I mean they’re both about vigilantes committing crimes against the wealthy, on the run from the law-men trying to track them down. But seriously its hard to compare Monochrome to a film I’ve seen before – the only movie that comes to mind is Enemy of the State.

And you had worked with director Thomas Lawes before? When did you first meet?

Tom and I had worked together before on a short film called Three Sides of a Coin in which I played a very similar young serial killer. And from that short Tom had the idea to extend the story and turn it into a feature.

Did the shoot require you to relocate anywhere, if even temporarily?

Most of the film was shot in the Midlands and Birmingham so I relocated there for a while. We also shot all the coastal parts of the film in Ilfracombe which a beautiful part of the English coastline.

How did this film differ from your previous films and series?

In a lot of things I’ve done before I usually play the “victim” or someone who’s being victimised in some way. So with my character Emma Rose it was great to finally play an aggressor, someone a lot darker and much closer to the edge of her mental breaking point.

Does working on a heavy film like this, that’s full of emotion, affect your mood? How did you wind down at the end of the day?

I think researching a character like Emma was the heaviest part of the process. Trying to understand what makes a person kill another person and then carry on killing people, takes a lot of understanding of how someone’s mental psyche. Filming is a culmination of that process, so as long as I’ve done my homework that’s the fun bit. Some of the fight scenes were physically draining but nothing that a glass of red wine, in a hot bath at the end of the day couldn’t fix!

Are you anything like your character?

Yes, not the scary bits! I do have a tendency to be a bit dark and moody sometimes behind closed doors but I’m also very different from Emma in many ways. There’s a bit of me in all the characters I portray there’s but they’re still separate entities themselves. I would find it incredibly boring just to play myself over and over!

If Monochrome was playing as part of a double feature at the local cinema, what would you suggest the second film on the bill be?

I think if I was trying to keep consistent with the themes of Monochrome I would suggest American Psycho. Although I would also love Misery because Kathy Bates’ character in that is a little like Emma in Monochrome.

❉ ‘Monochrome’ is set to be released June 6, 2018, on both VOD and DVD.


News source: October Coast.

We Are Cult is not responsible for the content of this news release.

Become a patron at Patreon!