Directed by Sean Price Williams, “The Sweet East” follows the journey of a young high school runaway in a fractured America. Meeting with the actors Simon Rex and Talia Ryder around this film with acid humor.
Sean Price Williams’ first feature film, The Sweet East deserves the prize for the most rock’n’roll film of the year. A true cinematic experience, with multiple references and stunning creativity, this tangy trip offers a dive into today’s America through the eyes of a teenager, Lilian (Talia Ryder).
On a school trip with her class to Washington, the student gets lost and runs away. She is still unaware that her journey will be made up of encounters, each one crazier than the last, crossing paths with punks, a group of Nazis, terrorists, and movie stars.
Modern rereading of Lewis Carroll’s tale, Alice in Wonderland, The Sweet East is above all a satire of American society which spares no one, from conspiracy theorists to a connected and connected upper echelon. All this, with politically incorrect humor that stands out from the current era.
At the Filmmakers’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, AlloCiné met lead actress Talia Ryder and actor Simon Rex, who plays a Nazi sympathizing professor, to ask them a few questions about this cinematic UFO.
AlloCiné: The Sweet East is a completely crazy film, very original. What was your reaction to reading the script?
Talia Ryder: I was a little lost to be honest, but it was a good thing. Once I finished reading it, I found myself going back and rereading parts to try to understand Lillian better, because the character really intrigued me and I like things that make me think.
Simon Rex: I was very intimidated because my character is racist, homophobic and I’m none of those things, but it’s fun to play something very different. Many things present in the script were also cut from the film because the dialogues went very far, particularly on America.
AlloCiné: Simon, you play an extreme character, in every sense of the word. How did you work on this role?
Simon Rex: It wasn’t difficult because I live in America and here, but like in France I think, we are as much surrounded by ignorance as intelligence. My character is an educated man but he has no emotional intelligence.
I’m Jewish, so I don’t know much about Nazi gatherings. I went online and did several searches to learn more, which was, as you can imagine, quite unsettling for me to read all this.
It’s up to the public to think, to take hold of this film and to understand it with their sensitivity.
AlloCiné: When you see the film, you imagine a crazy, very extreme shoot. Was this the case?
Talia Ryder: It was crazy. We had a real rhythm. Sean, the director, and I had a real language on set. He would yell the lines during the takes and it was really funny. He knows how to listen to everyone’s suggestions and advice. He knows how to listen to others, which allows him to create the best possible environment to make such a crazy film.
Simon Rex: It was chaos, but controlled chaos. It’s a small independent film so we didn’t have much time. We don’t get to do a lot of takes. You had to know your text like the back of your hand and it was a real challenge.
The Sweet East is a very critical film about the United States. How do you think the film will be received by Americans?
Simon Rex: Those who are part of the problem – the haters, the racists – may not be self-aware enough to understand, but that’s okay. For others, a large part of Americans have a lot of second degree. I hope this film can open some people’s minds. It’s up to the public to think, to take hold of this film and to understand it with their sensitivity. That’s a good film, isn’t it?
Talia Ryder: I sure hope some people are annoyed by this movie. That’s what is best. As Sean and Nick – Nick Pinkerton, the screenwriter – often say: “We love haters!”
Comments collected by Thomas Desroches, in Cannes, in May 2023.
The Sweet East is currently in cinemas.