Interviews reveal connections in ‘The Optimist’
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The new film "The Optimist" will be available on VOD on Nov. 17. It tells the true story of Herbert Heller, a Holocaust survivor who spoke to thousands of students about his time in Auschwitz. The film stars Stephen Lang, known for his roles in the "Avatar" and "Don't Breathe" franchises. The Dominion Post spoke with Lang, along with writer-director Finn Taylor. The following has been edited for clarity and length.
The Dominion Post: One of the things that was so interesting about this film was that it dealt with the topic of suicide in such a generous way. It’s just taken with so much care, and it doesn’t even make a moral judgment about it. Can you talk some about that choice, Finn?
Finn Taylor: Producer Janine Thomas and I felt that it was important to be as accurate as possible. And the truth is, the very first time that Herbert did speak to a group of children, after 60 years of the secret, a teenage girl came up to him, and she’d already written a suicide note to her parents. He showed it to him, and she said his story is what made her reach out. So it was Janine’s idea to include that in the film because he took his trauma and went on to save and help 1000s of teenagers, as that’s how that came about, in wanting to be accurate.
Stephen Lang: It’s interesting you phrased it as a generous point of view towards suicide, which I think is a very accurate word in a way. I would also add that it’s non-judgmental towards it, which I think is extremely important. It’s probably the first opening of the window that allows Herbert to kind of get into Elsie’s character, you know what I mean?
TDP: Absolutely. Kind of riffing on that, I really love the relationship between Herbert and Abby over the course of the film. Can you just talk a little bit about working with Elsie (Fisher), as somebody who’s a veteran in film, and here’s somebody who’s newer to the scene? How did that dynamic impact your on-screen relationship?
SL: Well, I call her a veteran. A younger veteran than I am, perhaps, but she knows her way around a set, it seems to me. But she works with an honesty and a simplicity, and just brought tremendous pathos and passion to that role. She inhabited it quite completely, I think. And it was so helpful to me in my mission as Herbert. I just wanted to reach out to her in a way, and that was helpful. And so I think we were able to feed each other in that way. It was a very beneficial, mutually rewarding relationship for two actors to have.
TDP: So, just as we wrap up here, I always like to ask folks, what did you learn from working on this project that you’d want to take into a future project that you’re working on?
FT: Oh boy, I learned that I hire Stephen Lang!
SL: I’ll tell you what I learned. I said when you get to a certain age, you don’t have to play old, because you are old. So perhaps it’s good to play young. That is a key to Herbert; the fact that youth never, never expired in him. He always kept that. He kept the flame of youthful hope alive for his entire life. As much as he gave to the children and the mothers, the families that came into his store, I think he received so much from them as well, and that’s what filled him, filled his spirit.