Why Toni Collette refuses to rewatch one of her favourite movies: “The effect it had on me was so profound”
In 1994, a young Australian actor broke out with the title role in the cult favourite comedy-drama Muriel’s Wedding. The story of a young woman with zero social skills but big dreams, the film opened to incredibly positive reviews and a box office figure that few other Australian films had managed up to that point.
As for the woman in question, she went on to have a pretty great career herself. Her name is, of course, Toni Collette.
Since her turn as Muriel, Collette has gone on to appear in blockbusters, arthouse favourites, and everything in between. Little Miss Sunshine, The Sixth Sense, Knives Out, the list goes on and on.
During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the star of Mickey 17 was asked to provide five of her own favourite films of all time. With the exception of The Sound of Music, all of her choices have an element of tragedy to them. Terms of Endearment, Harold and Maude, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, not exactly what you’d stick on for a cosy Sunday evening.
One of her choices, though, Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, was so traumatic that even she struggles with it.
“I have only seen this film once and I will never watch it again,” she confessed. “The effect it had on me was so profound that it kind of shifted things creatively inside me”.
“I went to the cinema one night in London with two very good friends when I was 24,” she added. “It blew me away. It’s so raw and so poetic at the same time. Emily Watson was sublime. I came out of the theater in a daze and the three of us wandered around the streets of Soho for hours not quite knowing what to do with ourselves. I literally didn’t sleep all night. I just lay there in my hotel room reliving the story. Even now I can see the bleak color palette, the camera moves, and Emily’s naive face. Lars von Trier is a genius. Every film he makes is so honest and powerful.”
Inspired by a Danish fairytale, Breaking the Waves was one of the first major releases by professional nutcase von Trier. It follows a young Scottish woman (Watson) in the wake of an accident that leaves her husband (Stellan Skarsgård) paralysed. When he encourages his god-fearing wife to have sex with someone else and tell him about it, she must reconcile her deep-seated religious views with her increasing sexual desires.
This was Watson’s feature film debut, which you wouldn’t be able to tell just by watching it. She is magnificent, able to convey a series of incredibly complex emotions with a simple facial expression. It earned her an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Actress’ and put her on the radar in a big way. Strangely, she would never collaborate with von Trier again, despite him essentially being the one to put her on the map. Then again, given what he’s capable of, maybe she dodged a bullet. Or several.
“Favourite” is an interesting term when it comes to films. You might really love something, but in a way that shakes you to your very core. Breaking the Waves is not a film that needs to be watched multiple times in quick succession or, if you’re Toni Collette, ever again.
