In Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut, Hot Milk, Emma Mackey is a far cry from the rebellious Maeve Wiley in Netflix’s Sex Education, which became her breakthrough role. Here, as Sofia, she is more subdued and elusive, and we are never quite sure what’s going on in her mind. In an exclusive interaction with HT right after its Berlin premiere earlier this year, Emma opened up about the experience of taking on the role and the journey of making the film.

Emma says that she saw the film for the second time at the Berlin Film Festival, where it played in Competition. “It was different to my first experience. Seeing it at the film festival with a full room of people is very different to just seeing it in a screening room! (smiles) I had Rebecca to my left and Vicky [Krieps] to my right, who had never seen it, and she was in tears at the end of the film. It was such a beautiful thing to see, and she was really emotional.”

‘The script is very different to the book’

She adds, “To share that moment together and for the film to be out in the world is a very specific kind of feeling, especially for Rebecca, who has been working on it for so long. That the film now exists, so yeah!”

Hot Milk is adapted from the Booker Prize-shortlisted work by Devorah Levy. Emma says she read the book after she was done with the script. “The character of Sofia was so different from what I have done so far, and that’s probably the reason I went with it,” she says. “That’s quite fortunate because the script is very different to the book and Rebecca always told me from the beginning, ‘If you haven’t read the book, just know, this is its own thing.’ Of course, it is very much based on the book, but it’s also its own piece. As we know, even when we are adapting a real character or a real person or a real story, it’s fiction at the end.”

The psychological drama revolves around Sofia and her ailing mother, Rose (played by Fiona Shaw), who travel to the Spanish seaside town of Almería to seek help for her paralysis. There, Sofia embarks on an affair with the mysterious Ingrid (Vicky Krieps).

Emma adds that she was the last one to get cast, as Fiona [Shaw] and Vicky were already attached to it when she joined the film. “I was sort of the baby! (smiles) I knew that there were these great people who had said yes. I read the script at one sitting and then met Rebecca the day after. It was so compelling and poetic, and I had not done anything like this before. I was pleasantly surprised to have been considered, and Rebecca was so wonderful and welcoming. She was sure, and I really trusted her and said, ‘Let’s go on this heated adventure together, and I will try and do this justice!’”

‘I love films that don’t necessarily have a formula of expression’

She goes on to describe the film as a sort of ‘biblical, Greek tragedy.’ “I try to make sense of it as well because it is not a clear-cut thing where you go, ‘Oh, these people do this!’ There’s so much subtext and so much at stake, and I love that!” quips the actor. “I love films that don’t necessarily have a formula of expression, pinpointing people’s choices. These are ordinary people who are in extraordinary situations that they have put themselves into. They have chosen to be there. It is about how to make sense of their new circumstances. So it is quite theatrical as well. It is a great exercise, I have to say.”

The actor goes on to say that she does not choose her roles thinking about how they will be perceived, especially by the younger generation. “Stories are stories. I am different to the characters I play, obviously, so if I can show up and do the work and try to take on different characters, but keep myself protected in that process… make sure that there is enough mystery. A lot of that is lost today, and we see too much. When I go to the movies, I want to believe what I see. I want to have mystery. That’s important to me,” she asserts.

“I think there is a responsibility to the story and doing a good job and trying. I definitely don’t want to be someone who half does something. That’s out of the question. I seek variety, I seek to do things that are interesting. But when it’s the real me, hopefully I show up and not be a rude person, and that’s a good enough example!” she concludes.

Hot Milk is available to watch on Mubi in India.