From Johanna Schneller of The Globe and Mail:
Link: Sarah Polley’s Alias Grace adaptation the right fit for Canadian TV
Sarah Polley, the Oscar-nominated, Canadian writer/director/actress, spent 20 years thinking about how to adapt Margaret Atwood’s sprawling novel Alias Grace for the screen. She spent her own money to buy the rights when they came available. Then, she spent nearly two years writing, often in snatched hours during her children’s naps. Continue reading.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: X Company: Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern talk “Friendly Fire”
“It’s one of those classic things where you set these two people in motion and create a powerful dynamic between them, but if it’s too quickly or easily satisfied then it loses all its power. We’ve been stretching this elastic for as long as we think is right. We definitely wanted to give them this moment of being able to be completely free with each other.” Continue reading.
Spoiler warning: Do not read this article until you have seen X Company Episode 309, “Friendly Fire.â€
In X Company‘s penultimate episode, “Friendly Fire,” Duncan Sinclair (Hugh Dillon) bet on Franz Faber’s (Torben Liebrecht) word and lost. Desperate to rescue his POW son, the team leader agreed to turn over the blackmail tape he was holding over Faber’s head. However, during the exchange, Faber had Sinclair and Neil (Warren Brown) arrested to prove his triple-agent status to his incredulous superiors.
“The big question—and we’re starting to answer it in these last two episodes—has been, ‘Can we trust Franz Faber?’ And that answer is really starting to become clear. He’s somebody who wriggles out of those tight spots,” says episode writer Daniel Godwin.
In a fruitless attempt to help Neil escape, Sinclair chose to take his own life, giving himself up to the greater mission, and, as Godwin explains, paying for his mistakes.
“He’s definitely feeling a lot of guilt over becoming emotionally compromised by the involvement of his son, and I think he’s maybe starting to realize he was wrong about trusting Faber, and that’s what came crashing down on him,” he says.
To get us ready for next week’s series finale, Godwin joins us to break down Sinclair’s sacrifice, Faber’s double-cross and all the other plot points of the action-packed episode, including Alfred and Aurora’s long-awaited romantic interlude.
Stephanie Morgenstern directed this episode. Did that add any excitement to the assignment?
Daniel Godwin: For me, it was very cool, because it was Stephanie’s first hour of television that she’s directed, and it was a big honour. Because the first hour of television that I got to write was actually thanks to Stephanie, because she’s the creator also of Flashpoint, which was my first writing credit. So for that to come full circle and have my script be the first thing she directs for TV, how cool is that?
And her attention to detail is so impeccable, and then, of course, her experience coming from the acting and writing worlds combined with her knowledge of the show, I think it really shines through in this episode and you’ll see in the final episode even moreso. I can’t think of a more fitting director to wrap up the series, really.
I was so sad that Sinclair died, but his sacrifice made sense to the story. Why was the decision made to kill him?
That’s a good question. We talked a lot about this in the writers’ room. In fact, we talked through just about every version of these last two episodes, in terms of who would survive and the outcome of that. Going into the final season, Mark and Stephanie had a pretty clear picture of where they wanted things to end for each of our spies. And this season, we were fortunate to have such a talented writers’ room. I think we were all interested in chasing down a conclusion for Sinclair that felt the most emotionally satisfying, and so when we looked at him, Sinclair’s a guy who believes in protecting this bigger picture and this great mission. He’s definitely feeling a lot of guilt over becoming emotionally compromised by the involvement of his son, and I think he’s maybe starting to realize he was wrong about trusting Faber, and that’s what came crashing down on him.
And, you know, with his son, he’s someone who’s given so much to this war, and it felt like a fitting sacrifice for him in the end for Neil just to have a chance of escaping. And it kind of sets the stakes of where these guys are at and the reality of that, and that’s why it was just such a tragic conclusion when Neil was recaptured at the end there.
For me, actually writing that final Sinclair scene was really tough. I’ve known Hugh since back on Flashpoint and killing a main character like that, unfortunately—or fortunately—I’ve never had the pleasure of doing before. So getting to write that was such a privilege. And if anyone is a fan of Flashpoint, for me, I wanted to play with that final scene a bit. I wrote it as sort of an anti-Flashpoint moment. Normally, at that point, Hugh would be the one trying to talk down the guy with the gun, so it was a lot of fun getting to reverse those roles and take him to that really dark place.
And what about William? I’d hate to think both of Sinclair’s sons died.
Well, you may want to tune in next week!
Faber faced a nightmare version of This Is Your Life, when his superiors laid out all his inconsistent actions since Season 1. It was fascinating to see him get out of it, but he turned on Sinclair to do it.
Faber is one of my favourite characters to write for. Torben, in particular, does such a great job at bringing him to life, too. The big question—and we’re starting to answer it in these last two episodes—has been, ‘Can we trust Franz Faber?’ And that answer is really starting to become clear. He’s somebody who wriggles out of those tight spots, and that’s where we like seeing that character when his back is against the wall. And, you know, at the end of 308 when he revealed he’s a triple agent, it’s all starting to catch up to him. And, for me, I loved just kind of pinning him with all those questions, especially this being the penultimate episode, seeing him sit down and have to answer about all these lies and all these things that he’s stacked up over the last three seasons and just picking at those scars and those scabs, and I think truth is really catching up to him. And for the first time, I think we’re starting to see Faber for maybe who he truly is, and he’s starting to realize it, that he’s a pawn in this much larger game.
I can’t decide if I think Faber should die for his sins or be forced to live with his actions.
That’s what we talked about in circles for days and days and days. Which is a sign, I think, that you’re on to something good, when you can inspire those conversations and those thoughts.
It was so much fun to see Krystina out in the field. She was so in charge with Manfred, and it was wonderful to see her alongside the rest of the team.
Well, Lara Jean is such a great actress, and think we were all dying to see her in the field properly and have Sinclair make good on his promises of getting in the field. I really liked how we revealed that, too, without making a huge deal about it. We just pick her up, and she’s in Berlin, helping to set up a mission just like any other team member. And like you said, watching her in action with the team, alongside them, like I would watch an entire Krystina spin-off series.
Now that Sabine knows the truth about her father’s beliefs, she seems ready to fully embrace her autonomy and start standing on her own. What can we expect from her in the finale?
I think you’re definitely on the right track there. I think Sabine is someone who’s been told how to act and told what to do her whole life, and you see that coming from her husband and from her father and the spies are telling her what to do. And her awakening has really been in full force this season, with the bullet holes she saw in the clothing, and she’s really starting to open her eyes to what’s going on. And now with Ania during that air raid in this episode, that moment where she starts comforting that girl, I think she’s starting to notice that she’s playing a part in this whether she wants to or not, and she’s more powerful than she knows. So she’s got some choices to make, coming up, to separate her from the people who are controlling her and telling her what to do.
When we last spoke to you, you were worried fans would hate you because you broke up Aurora and Alfred, but you got the chance to make amends in this episode. Are you happy with the way that payoff played out?
So happy. Again, that was such a long arc in the making, so I think it concluded in such a great way. And for Alfred and Aurora, they’ve been resisting this for so long for all the same reasons that Sinclair has been fighting, for that bigger picture, the mission, the duty of it all, that kind of thing. And for both of them in this episode, the reality is setting in that they’re behind enemy lines, and this is an incredibly dangerous mission, and they both know that they could die at any moment. They’ve seen that with Harry and everything leading up to this moment, but I think that even on a deeper level, what’s happening with Aurora is that she’s questioning those orders in that bigger mission now. Because what she just did on ‘The Hunt,’ that insane episode, she’s starting to lose sight of who she is and what she’s doing, and our season theme of becoming the enemy is really ringing true for her. So, meanwhile, in this storm of the air raid, it’s Alfred with his perfect memory who’s able to remind her of exactly who she is. And Evelyne and Jack just played it so beautifully, and I think people watching that moment feel the same as Alfred and Aurora do, because if it’s not now, when? How are we gonna do this? Yeah, that moment really paid off in a great way.
Neil was captured at the end of the episode. How’s he going to get out of that jam?
We know Neil’s pretty strong. He’s always been one of our strongest team members, so we do have a plan. You’re in good hands. Keep watching, and I think everyone will be pretty happy with how things all go.
So everything comes down to the anniversary party with Voight. What can viewers expect from the finale?
I think it’s a really strong episode of X Company. It’s a really fitting way to say goodbye. It’s glamorous, there’s action, there’s plenty of emotion and so many turns. I think people are going to be really surprised at how everything shakes out and where it all goes. And I think you’re going to feel very satisfied. I think it’s a very fitting conclusion to the series.
This was your last episode of X Company. In 20 years, what do you think you’ll remember most about your time on the show?
I think for me, I’m just really proud of what we accomplished in three seasons. It’s been such an honour to be able to tell these stories and to write such compelling characters for the brilliant actors that we have and to be able to shoot in historic European locations and just working with Mark and Stephanie again. I’m so thankful to them for creating such an amazing series and just letting me be part of it. I think that’s what I’ll remember the most.
X Company airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on CBC.
Images courtesy of CBC.
From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:
Link: X Company’s Stephanie Morgenstern on directing the final mission
“It just felt right to me to be able to bring this story to a close rather than give the two-part finale to a guest director. Mark and I were present from the inception of these characters 15 years ago and it felt right like it was ours. It had to be ours and be told from the point of view of someone who has a very intimate knowledge of who these characters are and what their history is.” Continue reading.
When X Company‘s Livia Matthes was growing up in Berlin, she saw bullet holes scarring the walls of many buildings she passed, daily reminders of the toll the Second World War took on Germany. Meanwhile, in school, she learned about the toll Nazism took on the world.
“In Germany, we have the most Third Reich education in the world,” she explains. “We start in third grade, and until 13th grade, we have Nazi education each month. We learn a lot from the time we are small children, so I know a lot about that topic.”
However, even with her background, Matthes found her character Sabine—Franz Faber’s sheltered wife—a little mysterious when she first landed the part.
“There is no material on the wives of Nazi officers,” she says. “There’s nothing, it’s really crazy. So basically, it was an empty page.”
Matthes and the show’s writers have taken that empty page and created one the show’s most compelling characters. Over three seasons, viewers of the CBC spy drama have seen Sabine grow from an isolated mother trying to hide her disabled son, Ulli, from the Nazis to a woman being manipulated by everyone around her to a woman who is ready stand on her own.
As this week’s episode, “Friendly Fire,” begins, Sabine is still reeling from her father’s revelation he believes Ulli was “a parasite.” But Matthes says that painful blow is the final step in Sabine’s journey to autonomy.
“After that conversation, there’s just really no one left she can trust anymore, and basically she has nothing to lose anymore,” she says. “So she will take her life into her own hands and just do what she feels is right and follow her own heart.”
Matthes—who has multiple German TV and film credits and recently popped up in the Netflix series Sense8—joins us by phone from Brazil to give us more insights into Sabine and tell us what she loved most about working on X Company.
How did you become involved in X Company?
Livia Matthes: I had auditioned for another part and then a couple of months later, I received an email that I didn’t get that part, but they would like to propose to me the part of Sabine. So I prepared myself because there wasn’t much information for her, and I really read a lot of books and watched a lot of film.
Then when we all met again in Budapest to shoot Season 2, Mark and Steph told me that they really liked what I did and wanted to know more about Sabine and explore that part more. Then she became a constant character on the show.
What were your first thoughts on Sabine?
When I did research, I couldn’t find anything. There are no documentations, there are no articles, there is nothing if you search the Internet or go to the library. There is no material on the wives of Nazi officers. There’s nothing, it’s really crazy. So basically, it was an empty page. I could interpret her how I wanted to, or how I thought a Nazi woman would be. But in this case, I personally think she is not a typical Nazi woman. Yes, she’s the wife of a Nazi officer, but she doesn’t know what he does, she doesn’t know much about the whole system, she was basically kept in a golden cage. She had to break with all of her friends and neighbours because no one was allowed to know she had a disabled child, and she kept him. They were not allowed to keep a disabled child; they were all sent to the camps, where they did experiments and then killed the children. So it was really interesting for me, the human part. In the beginning, she and Faber never talk about politics, they only talk about personal stuff. Only later, when she wants to be included in all the decisions, that they talk about politics and about life outside.
Ulli’s death was one of the most poignant storylines X Company has ever done. How difficult was that for you to portray?
It was so hard and emotional. I tried to prepare myself psychologically, how the person must feel in that moment. It’s just really insane. I think it was more Faber who decided to kill Ulli, because Sabine’s the mother. I don’t think she would have given up so quickly on rescuing or saving him. Maybe she would have tried to run away at night, do what a lot of Nazi people did, try to escape on a boat to Argentina or Brazil or whatever. But she was a wife, so the man back in those days had all the power to make the final decision, and she couldn’t come up quick enough with an alternative.
Sabine’s Season 2 storyline with Aurora became a fan favourite. Did you have any idea their friendship would be so popular?Â
Nooooo. [Laughs.] I didn’t expect it at all, but it was so cool. I loved it. It was super-cool. It was a pleasure personally to play that and also for Sabine, because Aurora was basically the first person since she had her disabled child, that she could create a friendship with. Because basically, she didn’t have friends for years. So, for her, Aurora was a very, very special person, the first person she could open up to, because between the Fabers, they don’t really open up—well, they do at the end—but they don’t really talk about their feelings. They hide them from each other. So Aurora was the first person in a very long time that Sabine could open up to.
Did you have fun shooting those scenes with Évelyne Brochu?
Yeah, we did. We were all in Budapest, so it was like a school trip with work, because we all didn’t live there, and so we became a film family. We only had each other. We would help each other learning lines before really large or difficult scenes, we would meet the night before together and help out each other with all the accents. We would try them out and help each other, so it was really fun. And I think also because the topic of X Company is so heavy and sad and full of fear and tears that, I guess, you need another extreme to balance it, you know? So we all had a lot of fun, and I think that was necessary to keep the balance because the psychology was very heavy.
The Fabers’ marriage has been a very difficult one, but Sabine has been making an effort to get closer to Franz after finding the bullet holes in that dress a few episodes ago. What is the state of their relationship going into Episode 309?
Right now, the relationship between them is starting to get really interesting because, since the death of Ulli, there’s been an invisible wall [between them]. I think Sabine couldn’t forgive Faber for killing him, or for not trying to do something else before killing him, so she erected a wall between him and her heart. And right now, coming into the final episodes, now that she’s emancipated herself from Faber and from her father, from just everyone, they open up in the relationship. Faber couldn’t tell her what he’s up to in order to save her and thinking she wouldn’t understand what he’s doing, but now they’re together in the same boat. Now that she’s discovered the atrocities of the Nazis, and she’s decided that she wants to help as well, I think he tries to see her with different eyes, and their relationship starts to get interesting.
What was it like working with Torben Liebrecht?
Torben is really cool. He’s like an acting monster. He’s a really great actor. In real life, he’s super nice, and he’s one of the funniest people I know. Even right before the take, we’d joke about stuff and then all of the sudden it’s ‘Action!’ and we both become those very different characters. It was really fun, and it was a big jaunt to act with him because it’s really intense to act with him. Then when they yell ‘Cut!’ it’s all jokes again. It was really quite a strong contrast. I really enjoyed it.
Sabine has been very close to her father, but in last week’s episode, he threatened to ‘dispose’ of Ania and revealed that he thought Ulli was a ‘parasite’ and an ‘aberration.’ Where does that leave Sabine?
It’s horrible for her because he was basically the last person in the world she could trust. She can’t trust Aurora anymore, she can’t trust her husband anymore, and right now she’s getting to know who her dad really is. Of course, he’s a loving father, but she’s emancipating herself and becoming her own woman and having her own brain and starting to think about herself, instead of only taking the opinions of her father figure or Faber’s opinions. And now she sees who he really is, and it’s the closest person in her life, so it’s horrible for her. It’s horrible to know what he thinks. And after that conversation, there’s just really no one left she can trust anymore, and basically, she has nothing to lose anymore. So she will take her life into her own hands and just do what she feels is right and follow her own heart because everyone around her, through her eyes, is just crazy.
Can you give any hints about what will happen with Sabine in the final two episodes?Â
No, I can’t! [Laughs.] But what I can say is really what I just said. She will follow her heart, her instincts, and she will do what she thinks is right no matter what.
Did you learn anything new about the war from playing Sabine?Â
For me, what was personally very interesting is to get into the head of a German person at that time. Because Berlin is a super international city now, I grew up amongst people from all around the world, and it was the most normal thing. So to enter into the head of a person who lived during that time, the big personal question is, ‘How could the Nazis and the Third Reich even happen?’ And if you enter the head of, let’s say, a typical person who is not very political at the time and try to see it through her eyes, it changed my view a bit. Because it’s easy to say nowadays, ‘Ah, you should have done something straight away.’ But back in the day, the whole Nazi machine is everywhere. It’s the neighbours, it’s the people you work with, it’s the pregnant women [in Episode 307] who only talk about babies [for the Reich], it’s throughout your family, it’s everywhere. The whole Nazi machine is so present. And in Sabine’s case, she’s not politically active, she doesn’t have political knowledge. Where would she start to do something against it without risking her own life? It changed my view on how hard it was to be a resistance fighter or to do something against the Nazi machine.
What did you enjoy most about working on X Company?
I don’t know if there would be just one thing. It’s all a mix because it really was a trip. For me, shooting those very emotional scenes. It was hardcore, but it was also the best acting school I could have. So playing Sabine, but also being with that crew. Everyone was so passionate about what they do. We worked together in one boat and worked together for the same bigger goal, and we would help each other, help each other running lines. It was that mix of a very emotional Sabine character put together with that incredible crew in beautiful, beautiful Budapest.
X Company airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
Images courtesy of CBC.
