Jordan Scott

With an authoritative, intimidating female lead taking the reins, Jordan Scott’s debut feature draws comparison (although almost certainly inadvertently) with the film that made hers an instant household name three decades ago. That, of course, was her father Ridley’s masterpiece, Alien. But Cracks – an all-female period drama set in a 1930s British boarding school – suggests Scott is eager to side-step the path so distinguishably carved by her own clan. Adapted from Sheila Kohler’s acclaimed 1999 novel, Scott shifted the setting from apartheid-era South Africa to a fictional island off the coast of England in order to carve her own mark on this passionate, turbulent love story. The result is a brave debut feature, but perhaps more importantly, it is a well driven, promising breakthrough that sees Scott assertively step out from beneath her father’s shadow.

LWLies sat down with Scott recently to discuss how she cracked stepping up to directors chair.

LWLies: What drew you to Sheila Kohler’s novel as a potential cinematic adaptation ?

Scott: It reminded me a lot of my own school experience, I didn’t go to boarding school, but it’s the sort of pack mentality of girls. It also reminded me of a lot of my favourite films from growing up like Heavenly Creatures and all those films that little girls love.

LWLies: So is it something you’ve wanted to make for some time?

Scott: Yeah, I mean I’ve always wanted to make something in the boarding school genre I suppose.

LWLies: Was there any temptation to give the film a more contemporary context?

Scott: I was pretty keen on making it a period film, mainly because I don’t think that Miss G would be able to get away with what she did in these times. There is a sense of isolation that you get when you look back to the 1930s; it was really a time when you could cut yourself off from the outside world and it allowed them to create this little micro-climate for themselves.

LWLies: Miss G is an intensely dark, at times detached character. Was that a difficult role to cast, or did you have Eva Green in mind from the outset?

Scott: Well going back to the book Miss G was an incredibly dark character, much more so than the film, but Eva is a fearless actress and she makes very brave choices. She’s always looking to push herself further and I always thought she had this capacity to go to a darker place. She wasn’t afraid to take the character to where she needed to go.

LWLies: It’s certainly a challenging performance, if anything for the sexual overtones at play. Was that aspect something you were conscious of toning down from the book, or was it something you wanted to explore further?

Scott: The thing of it for me is that the character comes from a place of just looking for acceptance and adoration from this new girl, in the same way she’s getting it from all her other girls who worship her. But it was never really initially sexual. It only really becomes sexual through the constant rejection from Fiamma which leads her to this desperation that consumes her and eventually becomes sexual. I definitely didn’t want to push it too far in the film though and actually I feel that what you leave to the imagination can often be more powerful.

LWLies: Did you have any anxieties over some of the more sexually palpable scenes?

Scott: I mean the book is pretty graphic, in a way it actually shows a lot more than we did, but you’ve got to keep in mind that we were working with young girls so we definitely weren’t interested in pushing boundaries in that way.

LWLies: In that respect was it easier working with an all-female cast; not having to worry about male presence?

Scott: You know I’ve never actually thought about that, but it probably did. But all the parents were supportive and we were very careful in making sure everyone was happy and comfortable. We did some tests for how the midnight swimming scene would look, for example, just to make sure everyone knew exactly what to expect.

LWLies: That scene in particular must have been fun to shoot, especially being such a stunning location.

Scott: That was why we went to Ireland in the first place. It was just absolutely magical, really beautiful. You can’t seem to swing a cat in Ireland without hitting something gorgeous. It really does make it easier when you’re working in an environment like that and it really took everyone, especially the girls, to the mind space they needed to be in.

LWLies: How were the girls on set together? Were there ever problems with them having to bond and then fall out?

Scott: That was part of the casting; I wanted to know that they would come together as that group and that they would all really get on. I didn’t want any difficult personalities or people who wouldn’t fit in, because I wanted them to really live in that cocoon together off screen. But they were really supportive of each other and they all fulfilled the roles that they were in the film. It was hard for them though because they adored each other and some of them fell to pieces when they had to do anything horrible to each other.

LWLies: Can you tell us anything about what you’re working on next?

Scott: I’d really love to, but I’m just too superstitious I’m afraid.