Cinematical

Forgiving the Franklins is a unique parable about shame, inhibition, and religious intolerance. In the film, three members of a fundamentalist Christian family die in a car wreck and meet Jesus, who removes their original sin and sense of shame and sends them back to their bodies to live again free of inhibition. Cinematical had the opportunity to sit down with the cast of the film for an interview. Cast members interviewed were:

Teresa Willis – Betty Franklin
Robinson Dean – Frank Franklin
Vince Pavia – Brian Franklin
Aviva – Caroline Franklin
Mari Blackwell – Peggy
Andy Forrest – Preacher

We all sat down for a roundtable discussion to talk about the film, their parts in it, and the message the film has about shame, inhibition and religion.

Note: This interview contains spoilers.

Cinematical: Let’s start off with how each of you got involved with Forgiving the Franklins.

Teresa: I’ve known Jay (Floyd, the director) for 16 years – he always gets it wrong and says 20, but it’s 16. He called me to tell me he had finished a script and I was so happy for him, because he hadn’t finished a script in a long time. He said there was a role in it for me but it was tough because the character has to be naked. And I said, “Hey, I’ll do naked!” I trusted that if Jay had a naked female character, there was a reason for it.

The difference is that the point of nudity in a generic Hollywood film is gratuitous and sexually stimulating, and to give teenage boys naked tits to look at – (the room explodes in laughter) – Well, it’s true! That’s the demographic Hollywood shoots for, 18 to 24 year old guys. And my body, and the way my body is shot in this film, is not the kind of body you film naked for that reason. I have curves and meat on my bones and I’m proud of that.

Vince: What’s really attractive is your confidence and how you felt about it and how free you are.

Robinson: She’s not just parading around with her tits in the wind and offering herself to some man; she’s finally free of the veil of shame about her body. It’s hysterically funny as the story is moving forward. Women in that position in movies – if they are naked it’s usually because they are seducing someone. Which is not at all the case in this film.

Teresa: Jay has a very European sensibility about sex and nudity.

Cinematical: Aviva, as Caroline, you play the one family member who did not die and didn’t have shame removed, and your character has to deal with this shocking and sudden change in her family. Can you talk about the character of Caroline and how you developed her?

Aviva: As a person, I am very open-minded and I laugh a lot. To create Caroline, I really focused on her insecurity, and what drives that sense of shame.

Cinematical: Did Jay direct you as to what he wanted in that character?

Aviva: He cast us because he felt in some way we could each relate to our characters, and he guided us some but also gave us freedom to grow the characters.

Cinematical: Could you relate to Caroline? To the insecurity and self-loathing that drives her? I mean, here you have this beautiful young girl, and all she thinks and says about herself throughout the film is how she hates herself, that she sees herself as fat and stupid and ugly, and that she views herself as never good enough to please God.

Aviva: I think that Caroline reflects a lot of the audience, that they can relate to her need to fit in.

Cinematical: Vince, can you talk about the role of Brian, the closeted gay son, and how you got into that role?

Vince: Well, the scene where Brian seduces his coach, Khris (Scaramanga, who played Coach Caldwell) had a hard time getting into that scene as an actor and so I had to really come into it. As a straight man playing a gay character, I had to really feel that I wanted this man, that I wanted to seduce him and be with him. Part of the way I looked at it was it was all new.

Cinematical: Let’s talk about the dinner party scene, where Brian tells his parents casually that he’s just had his first sexual experience – with his football coach. Frank and Betty don’t condemn their son for having sex with his coach; their only concern is that Coach Caldwell might be fired.

Robinson: In that scene – here’s the remarkable thing about it. We (Teresa, Vince and himself) can play it totally pure because we have had our inhibitions removed. Caroline breaks the spell when she leaves the table; up until that point we are all one mind. In every other scene, we are dealing with someone else’s reaction to shame, and we don’t understand why they’re responding that way. Not only are we free, but someone else coming at us with their fear doesn’t affect us.

Andy: Your freedom from shame was like falling in love.

Cinematical: As the film progresses, Betty starts out going out to get the paper totally nude, then she wears slippers, and finally the robe. What’s the message?

Robinson: I keep getting asked that by audience members about the way Teresa (Betty) puts the robe on at the end, and last night I really saw it for the first time. I wonder what Jay would say about whether they are relearning shame.

Rob Houk (Producer): By the time she puts her robe on, you feel really sad about it.

Cinematical: Mari, you play Peggy, who is pretty much the “bad guy” of the film, but you are a Christian. Can you talk about your initial reaction to the script and the character of Peggy, and how you developed her?

Mari: Jay let me develop the character completely. I was careful to not just make her crazy. She really believed every word she said; she believed in scripture; she believes her best friend is going to hell. When the church community starts leaning on her she goes just a little bit crazy. The Bible doesn’t say kill people to save them.

Cinematical: Some people might ask: as a Christian why would you take this role?

Mari: It was a good role, she’s a good person. She is just misguided.

Teresa:  I believe Peggy is acting from the highest form of love – when it’s so engrained in you that Jesus is the only way to heaven, you believe that from the bottom of your soul. These pushy Christians who evangelize to other people, who witness about their faith -- that takes a lot of courage and is really hard to do. Those people are acting from the highest side of love.

Robinson: The whole issue around Caroline too – Peggy is mentally ill, she’s a murderer, everything is collapsing, she has a massive breakdown. She breaks down and cries, but it’s like, nobody can see my shame – it’s a psychic dislocation.

Mari:  It was very hard filming that last scene, to not play it over the top or too crazy.

Teresa:  When I see people living like orthodox jews at least they follow all the rules in the Old Testament all the way rather than picking and choosing. A lot of fundamentalists pick and choose from Leviticus, just the parts they want. And people forget that Jesus said judge not lest ye be judged. If we’re ever going to move past repression we have to find common ground.

Robinson: I don’t feel repressed at all. I see there are more and more ideas, everybody is just bringing it on. Ideas are colliding much faster than ever.  I just don’t see that this is a repressive time.

Cinematical: How do you think this film will play in more conservative areas?

Mari: My mom is very conservative. Some of the nudity bothered her, but she liked the film’s message. If my mom can get it, anyone can get it.

Andy: I think everyone who watches this film is going to relate to one of the family members, not to Peggy or the church ladies. Nobody likes to think of themselves as judgmental like that.

Teresa: I don’t think this movie will play well in the Midwest. I know there’s an audience for this film out there. The people I went to church with will not get it - but they likely won’t see it at all.

Vince: A lot of people I know are gay but won’t admit it. I think a lot of people will understand the film and relate to it but won’t admit it or express it.

Cinematical: Aviva,one of the questions buzzing around after the show the other night is the significance of Caroline discarding her crutches at the end of the film. What is the significance of that to you?

Aviva: To me it’s about her finding her strength – finding her own way and beliefs separate from what she’s been raised with.