Romance is messy; sibling relationships can be too.
In “Untogether,” Jemima Kirke plays a successful author who’s working her way through recovery from addiction all while finding herself mixed up in the romantic happenings of her younger sister’s affair.
In the drama, out Friday, Kirke appears alongside her biological sister Lola, (“Mozart in the Jungle”), adding another level of complexity to an already intense plot.
"I haven’t seen a movie that has a perfect relationship in it and this is no different," Kirke says.
Below, the former “Girls” actress, a Brooklyn resident, delves into the mind of her character who’s on her search to find a meaningful connection — with whomever she can.
“Untogether” isn’t a typical love story by any stretch. What attracted you to the role?
I mean, [director Emma Forrest] is such a good writer and the details of the narrative and the characters that she laid out were really specific. I felt that they felt fun to work with. We’ve got a writer who dresses up in costume every day, a sister who’s a facialist who’s in love with a rabbi. These were things you could only really write as they were, they’re so true, just so odd. And there’s nothing really general about this, which I guess is what you’re saying, that this was not a generic love story. And then no one in this story is a generic person, or prototype, in ethics or any stretch.
Your character clearly does not have it all together — but she’s not supposed to.
Yeah, Andrea was successful. She had a book and then got clean and couldn’t write another one. Now she’s trying to figure out how to keep her life magical, pretend and, yeah, ultimately she does.
What was it like working alongside your sister, while portraying sisters?
It was nice. It’s nice to have someone on set who you’re friends with or who you’re close with. But as far as her being my sister, in terms of work, it doesn’t really make a difference because I look at her and she’s my sister, you know, of course that comes out inherently, but I’m not really conscious of it. Although there is that relationship, we still have a job to do. I don’t know if the fact that we are sisters made it feel more like we were sisters.
Following the story’s unconventional path, should we not expect a happy ending?
I like to think that the couples don’t stay together, because I don’t think they’re very well matched for each other. I think what we have is a good story, a good love story. But I don’t think that these are like marriage material [relationship].
If you go: "Untogether" opens at Village East Cinemas on Second Avenue, Friday.
