The films that inspired the first decade of Margaret Qualley’s career: “I was a little freak”
You can learn a lot about someone through their favourite movies. And I mean a lot.
If someone has a particular penchant for crude American comedies, they probably haven’t developed their sense of humour since they were 12, while those who gravitate towards extreme films full of exploitation and gore probably have some issues they need to work through.
Of course, that’s not always the case, you can love grisly horror movies and also be a relatively well-adjusted person. However, our cinematic interests really do reflect the deepest parts of our psyches, with our movie-night choices often revealing more about us than we even realise.
In fact, a person’s movie tastes can give away their darkest secrets, shattering the illusion they’ve presented to the world. You might want to keep your eye on that person who watches one too many movies about troubled men seeking vengeance; men whose Letterboxd top four contains the likes of Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, and Christopher Nolan are never to be trusted. They’re also probably a bit boring. There’s more to cinema than Inception.
Margaret Qualley has appeared in various subversive films throughout her career, most notably the gore-filled body horror The Substance, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ erotically-charged Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness, and she blames her taste in movies for that. While she might have a great big smile and the kind of outward appearance that suggests a rather wholesome persona, Qualley thinks the movies she grew up loving have made her a “little freak”.
In an interview with i-D, Qualley revealed that her early love of rather intense movies (the kind that aren’t for those who flinch at the mere thought of getting an injection) certainly shaped her interest in appearing in films that are a far cry from the kinds of titles that made her mum famous. As the daughter of Andie MacDowell, well known for rom-com roles like Four Weddings and a Funeral, you might expect Qualley to gravitate towards similarly accessible films, but it seems like the actor grew up reaching for the grittiest and emotionally-charged VHS tapes and DVDs (she’s only 30) she could get a hold of.
She said, “I loved Basketball Diaries, Requiem for a Dream, Kramer vs Kramer, Girl, Interrupted, those were the movies that inspired me. And I think they informed my choices for the next ten years. That, in addition to always looking to work with the best director I could possibly work with. A lot of times, those directors are making things that are more obscure and arty.”
The aforementioned films deal with mental health issues, addiction, divorce, and family trauma; certainly not the kinds of easy watching that you might expect a teenager to enjoy. What all of these films have in common, however, are excellent performances that are practically acting masterclasses. From Meryl Streep’s Oscar-nominated turn in Kramer vs. Kramer as one half of a deteriorating couple, to Winona Ryder’s troubled mental hospital patient in Girl, Interrupted, these movies present the grittier sides of life with an exquisite blend of beauty and pain.
Still, now that she’s older and has gotten much of her desire to appear in angsty, transgressive movies out of her system, she’d love nothing more than to retreat into a world of rom-coms and lightheartedness, “Like The Notebook or Titanic, or something in Nancy Meyers’ world.”
