Naomi Watts Says “Two Mothers” Director ‘Could Get Me to Do Anything’

Sundance 2013: Naomi Watts Says ‘Two Mothers’ Director ‘Could Get Me to Do Anything’

To hear Naomi Watts tell it, Two Mothers director Anne Fontaine can be quite persuasive.

The Aussie actress stars in the new indie, premiering at Sundance this year, as a mother who falls in love with her best friend’s son (James Frecheville). Further complicating matters, said best friend (Robin Wright) also falls for Watts’ son (Xavier Samuel) as the two mothers struggle to mend their relationship.

“It’s a complicated story and not conventional at all, but very real and very intense,” Watts said during a visit to The Hollywood Reporter’s video lounge. “One of the beautiful things I could say that drew me into the project is the relationship between the two women, because it’s so rare that you get a story that celebrates women in such a powerful way… in the face of adversity they are able to forgive and love.”

The storyline calls for some steamy scenes between Watts and her younger co-star, but the thesp reveals that the French director could have pushed her even further.

“Yes there is sex in the movie, but it’s not about that. It’s a symptom of what’s going on,” said Watts. “[Fontaine] could get me to do anything, I think. You trust much more. You feel safer.”

Adding with a laugh, “and this whole thing — she can’t speak English? She knows how to get what she wants.”

- hollywoodreporter.com