After the recent release of a very sexy trailer, there’s been a lot of buzz about new film Below Her Mouth. The story of a passionate love affair that consumes two women over a weekend lives up to that hype, and we’ll get into all of that when we release our review later this week. This weekend, however, we got the chance to meet with the film’s stars, Natalie Krill (Wynonna Earp) and out model Erika Linder. The two spoke with us about what attracted them to their roles, how their film differs from Blue is the Warmest Color, what working with an all-female crew was like and more.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
AfterEllen.com: Natalie, many queer women have watched you on Wynonna Earp and lot of us aren’t necessarily fans of Willa because she was bad to Nicole.
Natalie Krill: To WayHaught?
AE: To WayHaught. But they’re going to love you as Jasmine in Below Her Mouth. So how aware were you of the show’s lesbian fan base and are you ready to receive some of that same love?
NK: How could I not be? I had so many people tweeting at me being like, “How dare you? How dare you treat Waverly like that?!” I’m so aware, and I’m excited that they’re going to like me now.
AE: Purgatory is obviously one weird little town. Is there any chance we’ll see you back on Wynonna Earp next season?
NK: I mean anything is possible when it’s a show about people who come back from the dead. So who knows? I have no idea.
AE: But you’re open to it?
NK: Absolutely. Yeah. It was an amazing show to work on.
AE: Erika, have you watched Wynonna Earp?
Erika Linder: No, no.
NK: What?!
AE: Horrible girlfriend.
EK: But I get these comments on Twitter. And they’re like hilarious about like, “Oh yeah, I didn’t know you were a gay.”
NK: Oh yeah because it’s a line.
EL: Oh that’s what I figured because everyone keeps saying that!
AE: “A gay.”
NK: First of all, Willa’s been in a cult. But I remember shooting that and obviously, knowing the film that I had just shot months before.
AE: Did Emily Andras know about the film?
NK: I think she might have had an idea about it, but maybe not.
AE: I don’t know how you kept that to yourself. You should’ve been like, “You guys, this is cute, but what’s coming…”
NK: I don’t like to talk about, “Oh guess what I did.”
EL: She does.
NK: No I don’t!
EL: I’m kidding.
AE: I always thought all the Earp sisters were a little gay.
EL: I have to watch that now.
AE: So Erika, you’re known for modeling, but this is your first acting role, right?
EL: Yes, correct.
AE: So what about the script and the character of Dallas made you think this was the right first step for you?
EL: Well when I read the script and when I met the producers it just like, you kind of just feel it immediately I guess. It was so authentic. It was just like very solid. It was just the perfect first experience for me.
AE: And the character herself, do you see yourself in her?
EL: It’s funny. As we’re shooting, I’m like, “Oh, this is totally me.” And as I’m watching it right now, I’m like, “I would never do that.”
AE: Do you think she’s a little dickish?
EL: I mean, I think she’s more kind of like brooding and like damaged in a way. Kind of frustrated and doesn’t really let people in.
AE: And for the record, that’s not you?
EL: Oh not at all.
NK: She’s a little puppy.
EL: I am a little puppy. Am I?
NK: Yeah, you are.
EL: Yeah.
AE: Natalie, I’ve read you’ve been looking for a role like this for awhile, but why Jasmine?
NK: I really connected with Jasmine’s tendencies towards perfectionism and towards living to please others. I didn’t go through the exact same thing as Jasmine, but I had a bit of a personal point of crisis where I was like, “I’m not actually living for myself,” and had to kind of like reevaluate the choices that I was making in my life. I feel like that is the biggest thing for Jasmine, is that she’s been living so long for other people and trying to please other people. And then when she meets Dallas it’s kind of that thing that just shifts something deep within her where she realizes that she can’t do that anymore.
AE: Did you have a conversation about labels before taking on the role? Because one thing that seems to become clear, as we go through this journey with Jasmine, is there’s a lot of repression there.
NK: We did talk a lot about labels actually. The fact that some people who are gay feel the need to identify as being gay and some people don’t. We talked about how a lot of people are probably going to ask me like, “Are you gay? Or are you this?” And me personally, I’m open. Like I don’t feel the need to label myself and I believe in like love is love. I think you fall in love with a person. But I respect both. If people feel they need to identify and label themselves as something, I think that’s important. But also if people don’t, I think that’s the way of the future, is no labels.
AE: Erika, do you have some thoughts on that?
EL: Yeah. I mean as we’re shooting it too like I didn’t feel like—obviously like I know you’re a girl, and you know that I’m a girl.
NK: What?
EL: No, but I feel like regardless of it being a love story between two women, I think that a lot of people can just relate to it. As I’m watching it, you don’t really think about gender. I don’t know. Like you do, but you don’t.
NK: I think it’s about being authentic. Everyone’s individuality is particular to that person. So coming back to what you said about labels, I don’t know, I think if people want to label themselves that’s fine. And if they don’t, that’s fine too.
AE: Erika, I read an interview of yours where you compare Below Her Mouth to Blue is the Warmest Color but where you also say it’s not exactly a fair comparison. Both films are pretty sexually graphic, so in what ways would you say Below Her Mouth is different?
EL: Well when I said that I think for me it’s almost like if you compare like this movie to Blue, it’s almost like comparing all the straight love stories to Romeo and Juliet, for example. It’s a completely different story. It’s shot differently.
NK: How many love stories are there about a man and a woman?
EL: Exactly. I mean, I get it. People are going to do that. But I mean, it’s just two completely different stories.
NK: And also what I think is unique about our story is that it’s a female story told by females. So it’s like who has the right to tell a female story? Females. Because it’s our experience.
EL: And what people have to understand too is that this is based over a weekend. It’s not like two months. It’s about that first instant connection and sort of like; I guess you could call it like love at first sight.
NK: Love at first sight, and really what happens when you fall in love is you don’t want to be apart from that person for like 48 hours.
AE: These comparisons are going to persist for years, never mind that Below Her Mouth was written before Blue is the Warmest Color came out. But let’s talk about the female gaze. A lot of the movie consists of sex scenes. Where does the female gaze play into those?
NK: When we were in rehearsals, and we were talking about those scenes, the intimate scenes, we talked a lot about the connection part, and that was what drove those scenes. It was about the eye contact and just being connected with each other. That’s what we talked about a lot, and that’s what fueled all those scenes, was the love, the love between them and the deep connection that they had. That’s what happens when you fall in love, is you just want to be part of that person.
EL: I agree.
AE: The all-female aspect, can you share what kind of impact having an all-female crew had on both of you?
EL: I think women understand you, like each other, on a very emotional level. I just feel like this instant falling in love could not be told from a man’s perspective. Especially in this like really beautiful and understandable and relatable way.
NK: Sensitive way. And also too, women are very intuitive and very emotional. Not to say that men can’t be, but having all women on set and the nature of our scenes, we felt so supported and so comfortable. There was a point where we were just like, “Why would we put clothes on?”
EL: Yeah, “Come to set naked.” No, but I also feel like, okay, this might sound a little weird but like, we were all in it together. It was everyone’s love story. We were all like falling in love with each other.
NK: Yeah. I think too because having an all-female crew; it’s a hot topic in film now. Like creating more work for women. I think everyone on the crew felt like they were a part of something special creating work for women. So there was this real feeling of pride and support.
AE: So are you both interested in taking on more queer roles in the future?
NK: I’m open to definitely playing more. I mean I’m open to all roles.
EL: I’ve said this before too, but it’s like if something doesn’t scare the shit out of me, I don’t want to do it. If it’s a good story or whatever, of course you’re going to take it on. But yeah, of course.
AE: Does potentially getting pigeonholed scare you? From maybe taking another role like that on too soon? Or Erika, given that this is your first role and you’re a queer woman—
EL: I think you have to have some kind of like strategy.
NK: I think also though for me, and I think you’re like this too, it’s like if you connect with a story, like you’ve got to follow your heart.
EL: It’s all about the story.
NK: And trusting your gut. I don’t worry about being pigeonholed too much if it feels right.
EL: Yeah. And if you know that you can take it on, because it’s not just so much about like, “What am I going to do?” It’s more like, “What can I do for the role and what can I bring to it?” Because you don’t want to fuck anything up. Let’s say the next role, if it’s really something that speaks to me, of course I’m going to do it.
AE: It was interesting at the world premiere to see a couple of elderly people leaving at almost every sex scene. At first I was kind of wondering if they were grandparents of yours.
NK: My grandparents weren’t there.
AE: I was wondering why they were so bothered.
EL: I love it, though. I love that they leave.
AE: Most stayed!
NK: You know what? I remember the first time I read the script before I auditioned. Then there was a new draft of the script and before our chemistry read I had to do a Skype call with April [Mullen] to just talk about their vision and give myself a little bit more info into what they wanted. And I remember saying to her, “Just reading the script made me feel so many different things.” Like made me feel aroused, made me feel emotional, made me feel like all different things. And I think that’s a great film. It makes you think; it makes you feel. So if people are walking out, they’re feeling something.
Below Her Mouth plays at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 15 and 16. Visit the movie’s website for future release news.
