Lesli Linka Glatter

A Conversation with Lesli Linka

by Erich Leon Harris | Published March 31, 1998

When watching Lesli Linka Glatter's new film, The Proposition, you wonder how a sophomore feature director so quickly perfected her balancing act. After developing a compelling script she elicited superb performances from her cast and still maintained a visually stunning palate.

"I guess it comes from my background as a dancer and choreographer," she confesses. "Either your leg is up or it's not, there's simply no way to cheat in dance. I try to bring that sensibility to filmaking."

There's a refreshing honesty about Lesli Linka Glatter that puts you completely at ease. It's a sentiment echoed by her film's co-star, Neil Patrick Harris.

"She's one of those warm, personable individuals who can stay true to each actor's needs and still get the job done. She's very collaborative in the truest sense of the word."

Madeline Stowe and Kenneth Branagh in The Proposition (1998).

ERICH LEON HARRIS (ELH): When I heard the names of your cast, I was sold. Tell me a film stars Kenneth Branagh, Madeleine Stowe, William Hurt, Robert Loggia and Neil Patrick Harris, and I don't need a story pitch. I've been a William Hurt fan since I saw Altered States as a kid. You got a fabulous performance from him.

LESLI LINKA GLATTER (LLG): Thank you. He's such a tragic hero in this film. Every character has their bridge to cross, but his is the one character whose arc you can't see at the beginning.

ELH: Could you tell MovieMaker readers about the story?

LLG: I approach every story in terms of themes. The theme of this story is about how we as humans think we have so much control, but in reality we have so very little. The story itself takes place in 1935. It's about a very wealthy couple played by Madeleine Stowe and William Hurt. He's an industrialist on President Roosevelt's advisory cabinet. She is a feminist writer and they have everything money can buy except for one thing-he is infertile, and they want a child more than anything. Together they decide to hire a surrogate to impregnate her. As a result of this act, everything in their lives spins out of control.

ELH: The story seems simple, yet the characters are rich and complex. How did you come to find this script?

LLG: It had an interesting incarnation. The writer, who has become a wonderful friend, is named Rick Ramage, and yes, that's his real name. The original title of this script was "Shakespeare's Sister," which is a metaphor for Virginia Wolfe's A Room of One's Own, which deals with gender equality. It takes the premise that if Shakespeare had a sister, and she had been given the same opportunities as he, would she have been as great? We'll never know, because it didn't happen. Needless to say, when Kenneth Branagh became the lead in the movie, the writing was on the wall that the title would never happen. Polygram would have to explain that this film is not about Shakespeare's family life. I read this script a long time ago. The producer Diane Nabatoff found the material and the script went through 12 drafts but kept getting worse through the development process.

ELH: Was the studio trying to turn pomegranates into apples, since both fruits are red?

LLG: Exactly, but there's no way to do that. You have to embrace this story with all of its complexities and oddities. It's certainly an intelligent pot boiler. So we went back to the original draft and worked together. We had an amazing time. My only regret was that we didn't have more time. You see, it's always feast or famine when you're trying to get something going. This came together, and we had six weeks to prep. So either it was going to happen now, or not at all. It had to do with Kenneth Branagh's schedule.

ELH: Was it difficult to put the ensemble cast together, then to direct such seasoned talent?

William Hurt and Branagh

LLG: After Kenneth came on, it was not difficult. He was a dream to work with. We had to have conversations where I'd ask if certain things were okay with him. I completely admire his work and he's directed more than I have. He said that he had been directing and starring in things back to back and wanted the opportunity to come in, do his work, and when he leaves it's my problem. He was so funny and fun to work with; he was a real surprise.

ELH: Who else surprised you in the cast?

LLG: Everyone, in certain ways. Madeleine Stowe was incredibly smart and asked very pertinent questions.

ELH: I thought Neil Patrick Harris really held his own in his scenes with William Hurt and Robert Loggia.

LLG: The story of casting him was interesting. He was the first actor that came in and read for this role. When he came in, and I hate to say this, I saw Doogie Howser walking in. He did a wonderful reading, but I thought I couldn't cast him. He had everything, he looks like a young Jimmy Stuart. Neil embodied the innocence and the American idealism that everything's possible, but I saw 40 other actors.

ELH: You're great, but you're Doogie Howser.

LLG: I saw the same thing that I'm sure he's fighting to get away from, but the bottom line was when I asked myself who was this character Roger Martin, I felt it was Neil, and he did a wonderful job. Robert Loggia, who's worked with everybody, says Neil is a real talent.

ELH: One of my favorite scenes occurs when Madeleine Stowe and William Hurt are discussing the fact that she hadn't gotten pregnant on the first try and would have to hire the surrogate again. The emotion of the scene, shot against the majesty of this gigantic mansion, had a real impact as the actors walked across the expansive lawn. Was that by design?

Loggia and Neil Patrick Harris.

LLG: You're absolutely dead on. I loved that juxtaposition. It must be from my background in modern dance because I always come to the set prepared. I like to think through every scene and see every shot beforehand. We didn't have a long shoot so we had to be ready.

ELH: How long was the shooting schedule?

LLG: It kept getting cut. We started with 55 and ended up at 42.

ELH: The strong performances and the subject matter make me wonder why the film has a spring, rather than a fall release?

LLG: I think with a smaller movie they were trying to find a place where it could be released and find its audience.

ELH: TV watchers might recognize your name from directing episodes of "Twin Peaks," "ER," "NYPD Blue" and "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories." What are your reflections on your TV career?

LLG: TV has been an incredible training ground. Certainly working on something like "Twin Peaks," which was a director-inspired show where you were given a lot of freedom in terms of what you did, allowed me to learn how to direct and work with actors. With The Proposition, we only had a six week prep, I think without the training I received in television, I don't think I could of handled this shoot. MM