THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND: Q&A with Jodie Markell

Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, and Ann Margret star in Jodie Markell's handsome production of a long "lost" Tennessee Williams screenplay, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, which opens tomorrow in New York City at the Quad Theater and in the Los Angeles area at the Laemmle 4 in Santa Monica and the Laemmle 5 in West Hollywood.

The story of a young, privileged and willful Southern woman (Howard) in love with a young man (Evans) whose family has seen better days, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond was written directly for the screen sometime in the late '50s. The film's title refers to the loss of one diamond earring given to the heroine by her aunt (Ann-Margret), which leads to various emotional and class-related conflicts at a house party. (Though nothing as tragic as what results from Madame De's earring loss in Max Ophüls' The Earrings of Madame De…).

According to the film's press release, Williams hoped that Elia Kazan — who'd done wonders with A Streetcar Named Desire both onstage and on film — would shoot the script and that Julie Harris, who had played opposite James Dean in Kazan's East of Eden, would star. But that was never to be.

Kazan got himself involved in a couple of others stories set in the rural South — Wild River (1960) and Splendor in the Grass (1961) — while Williams focused on co-writing screen adaptations of Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) and Orpheus Descending (rebaptized The Fugitive Kind in 1960).

More than half a century after Williams wrote The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, his screenplay has finally been transferred to the big screen by actress-director Jodie Markell (photo), who has kindly agreed to answer a few questions (via e-mail) for Alt Film Guide.

Also in the Loss of a Teardrop Diamond cast: Mamie Gummer, Jessica Collins (who does an excellent dramatic turn at the film's climax), and Will Patton.

See also Allan Ellenberger's q&a with Markell; a couple of our questions — and Markell's responses — overlap, but the Ellenberger-Markell q&a is well worth a read.

Photos: Courtesy of Paladin

Bryce Dallas Howard in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

How closely does The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond follow Tennessee Williams' original screenplay?

The film is extremely faithful to the original screenplay. The characters, the dialogue, the story are all the same. I tried to find a way to make everything work that Williams wrote. But, of course, I had to make cuts in the shooting script and in the editing process. I also expanded some visual sequences when necessary and illuminated some moments between scenes. But my overall goal was to retain WIlliams' original voice in the purest sense to inspire a whole new audience to hear WIlliams in a fresh way.

In your view, how does Fisher Willow compare to other Tennessee Williams heroines? What about Jimmy Dobyne and other Williams heroes?

Fisher Willow is a young woman struggling to find her voice and trying to understand how to connect with someone she loves in a genuine way. Williams was fascinated by the kind of woman who was too smart, too beautiful, too sensual, too romantic, too sensitive to survive in a traditional society. He wrote about witty, intellectual women trapped in a conventional culture that does not prize women for being smart or adventurous in spirit.

He allowed us to experience these women, but he did not judge them. His characters may initially seem too wild or abrasive, but after being in their company we begin to feel for them. Fisher is like a younger Carol Cutrere in Orpheus Descending (and in the film The Fugitive Kind). Carol is a rich, rebellious girl, who has a bad reputation in a small southern town. A bit older than Fisher, she is almost like what Fisher would have become if she didn’t find her Jimmy. She is so desperate, but she is brutally honest and she breaks our hearts.

When Williams introduces Jimmy Dobyne, he says he is like the hero of a romantic ballad. Jimmy fits right into the canon of the great Williams' heroes. Williams was often interested in young men who were enigmatic and had that special ability to smolder and be mysterious. And his strong heroines would often project their needs and illusions onto this enigmatic guy. We as the audience would often wonder, "What does he really feel about her?" — which only adds to the suspense of the romantic outcome. This kind of relationship also occurs in Sweet Bird of Youth, Orpheus Descending, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, just to name a few.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is your first feature film. What were the biggest challenges while filming?

Shooting a period film comes with its own challenges. For the levee sequence, for example, we selected a levee in the middle of nowhere — or so we thought. We soon discovered that even though we were shooting in the middle of the night, we were bombarded with interfering sound issues. It was like we were suddenly at the hub of all forms of modern transportation! Not great for a period film. We heard cars on an unforeseen highway nearby, planes, trains, and worst of all the slow moving but very loud barges and tugboats that went by on the river, ruining the scene we were shooting. We had to wait sometimes half an hour for a boat to go by.

That was frustrating because the actors were really in a great place emotionally and we kept having to cut for sound. I hated having to say CUT when the actors were so connected. But that comes with the territory. Before arriving in Louisiana, Giles Nuttgens, our cinematographer, said he thinks a period film usually requires a minimum of 4 months. But we worked very efficiently and faced the challenge of bringing scope to Williams' world despite the indie budget and our 28-day shooting schedule.