A face that holds the film

Mia Wasikowska carries Kuba Dorabialski's "Agata the Writer" so completely that the screen belongs to her, figuratively and literally.

One close-up, one confession

In the film's most arresting stretch, the camera sits on her in close-up while she looks straight at the audience and tells the rest of the story herself.

Curiosity, not caution

She took the scene because she wanted to know what it would become, not because she had worked out how it would land.

“I was so curious about it.”

Not thinking about perception

Wasikowska says she works best when she isn't measuring how a choice will be received, which is what let her commit to the direct address.

“Luckily, when I'm doing something, I don't think too much about how it's going to be perceived.”

References made it click

Dorabialski sent her material to look at, and the idea of speaking to the audience stopped feeling like a stunt and started feeling natural.

“Kuba sent me some references, which I thought were really interesting, and it felt organic.”

Then she watched it back

Seeing the finished sequence, the confidence gave way to a very human flinch at her own magnified face.

“Ok. That's enough of my face!”