Rani DeMuth Talks Life and Death in “And Now I Lay Me Down”
We’ve all had those days when the world feels like it’s out to get us. When everything that can will and does go horribly wrong. Ironically, bad days can also be a source for creative inspiration. That was the case with writer/director Rani DeMuth’s And Now I Lay Me Down. DeMuth had the idea for the short film during a self-described low point in her life when she had to have part of her nose cut off due to skin cancer. On top of the reconstructive surgeries she now needed, DeMuth was emotionally struggling when it came to her career, feeling like she wasn’t where she wanted to be. All these feelings brought her to meditate and in that peace, the vision for the film came to DeMuth.
courtesy of Film Independent
“I think of that Joseph Campbell quote where he says, ‘the dark night of the soul is followed by revelation,’” DeMuth quotes. “There’s so much to draw from pain. That definitely is what happened to me.”
And Now I Lay Me Down is about a day in the life of an aging actress, Celia, played by Malcolm in the Middle’s Jane Kaczmarek. She attempts to plan her perfect day, but everything keeps going wrong, which leads to one of her worst days. It’s a dark comedy about the existential dread that comes with growing old. DeMuth’s filmography is a blend of magical realism and heavier topics. It’s this blend that unlocks the ability for DeMuth to explore more of the spectrum of human emotions and fears.
“I’ve always been fascinated/obsessed with death. It happens to all of us, but we don’t talk about it a whole lot, and no one knows for sure what happens. I find that so, so intriguing,” says DeMuth. “My parents followed an Indian guru for the first 15 years of my life, which is why I have an Indian name. Reincarnation was talked about all the time. It was normal for me to think about what happens when you die. I think because we don’t know what happens, magical realism and fantasy are a great way into this subject.”
“You can’t say it’s a documentary when you start talking about what happens after you die, you know?” jokes DeMuth. “I was raised on the study of all religions and I would hear myths from all over the world, like once a week. You almost see them in Marvel movies today. We just have a different word for them.They’re kind of a myth in their own right. They have their origin stories and they’re all sort of fantastical. I think it’s a fun way to deal with the unknown.”
A certain generation grew up with Kaczmarek as their TV mom on Malcolm in the Middle. She earned three Golden Globe and seven Emmy nominations for her role as Lois. Now, as Celia in And Now I Lay Me Down, she can flex her comedic chops, but also be vulnerable in a way many roles for older females don’t allow. Celia is not the butt of the joke, but she’s got plenty of laughs up her sleeve. The real heart of And Now I Lay Me Down is when we stop laughing with her.
“The funny thing is, I hadn’t even watched Malcolm in the Middle very much,” DeMuth smiles. “I ended up getting to Zoom with her and we had an immediate connection. The first time I met her in her house, we just talked all day long and, by the end of the day, I was like, I love this woman. She’s just eating, standing by the refrigerator like you do when you’re alone. She’s just fantastic.”
An added layer to the film is the fact that And Now I Lay Me Down was shot in Kaczmarek’s own home, an experience DeMuth describes as “so funny and so unusual, but she was so cool. Talk about making it close to home, right?”
Knowing that the film was shot in Kaczmarek’s house adds another layer to the production design. The look of the film is a bit like a pastel Edward Scissorhands. We are clearly in reality, but something is slightly off. There are elements of Wes Anderson in the look and the composition of the shots, but how much of this is true to Kaczmarek’s home?
“First of all, shout out to my production designer Vanessa Lipsky, who was incredible,” effuses DeMuth. “It was about half and half. Sometimes more brought in, sometimes less. All the ridiculous, over-the-top design is not really her house, but the bones of the house are there. There’s one room in particular, the pink room, when there’s this long scene of giving them gifts. That really was like that except for some of the flowers in the middle. That’s my favorite scene.”
The pink room is not the only instance of the color in the film. In fact, the film is decked out in shades of pink. It’s like a Barbie dreamhouse before Greta Gerwig’s Barbie came on the screen. DeMuth was drawn to pink to chart Celia’s emotional journey throughout the film.
“I was thinking of the candy hearts at Valentine’s Day and I really ran with that. The production designer and my wardrobe girl, Flora Ronzone, had a great time with that,” says DeMuth. “When I think about color symbolism, I think of pink as innocent, girly, maybe naive, and playful. She starts out in pink, and by the end she’s in blood red. That’s passion, fire, love.”
courtesy of And Now I Lay Me Down
At the end of the film, when Celia is in a flowy, blood-red dress, there’s a beautiful moment of her falling through the air. The rich red against the pale blue sky is a striking image, as are the moments that led up to this. For a short film, it’s quite the stunt to pull off.
“There are a number of ways of doing something like this, and some are more expensive than others. I probably would have preferred doing it slightly differently, but I’m not a Marvel movie. It’s a short indie, so we had a stuntwoman wear a wig. She did jump off the balcony onto some padding.
“We shot her with the phantom camera and in slow motion on a regular camera. For people who don’t know, a phantom camera is the slowest motion you can possibly get. If you go like this,” DeMuth waves her arms, “it’ll take like five minutes to see the full action. The shot was a combination of a stunt woman, Jane with the blue screen, and then in post, we ended up putting Jane’s face on the stunt woman for a hot minute. It was a lot, but it was really fun.”
Despite all our advancements and understanding of the human brain, mental health still has a stigma around it. We’re terrified of being sad. One could argue that this has only grown through the years because of the dominance of social media and the way it encourages people to only post about the great things in their life. Sadness is part of life, and trying to smother it only makes it fester. That’s part of the thematic goal of DeMuth in And Now I Lay Me Down.
courtesy of And Now I Lay Me Down
“Unfortunately, I think people feel like they need to show their highlight reel. It’s hard for people to openly reveal that they’re not doing well. I think people do that in private, but they’re afraid to do that in public. Maybe that’s why we have artists,” muses DeMuth. “I feel like it’s our job to be truthful to the human condition and to mirror people’s experiences back to them. We should change that, though. We can all be emotional.”
When emotions take hold, most people turn to the junk food of their choosing. We all have our vices. For the sole writer of this website, it’s Rold Gold Tiny Twists Cheddar. For Celia, it’s Cheetos. In her home, she has a glass cabinet of Cheetos that’s locked with a key that is entrusted to one of her employees. The Cheetos sit there, visible and taunting, and it’s on this very bad day that Celia unlocks that cabinet. As for DeMuth?
“I never buy Cheetos because they have red number 40 and all these evil things, but it would probably be the natural, more organic version, like Barbara’s Jalapeno Cheese Puffs,” smiles DeMuth.
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