Lori Stoll – The Movie Gourmet

Here’s an interview with the Lori Stoll, writer-director of Heaven’s Floor.

[NOTE: THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

The Movie Gourmet: The protagonist Julia is so restless, and the restlessness seems to drive her impulsiveness. Is she just naturally restless, or is there some deficit in her satisfaction that is filled by Malaya?

Lori Stoll: Both really. Her experience with Malaya forced her to grow up. When she says she just wants to be good, she sincerely means it, even when being good required her to take responsibility for her actions and take other people into consideration. Julia’s natural state is one of restlessness, always looking for an escape – a character flaw that clearly gets her in a heap of trouble.

Having said that, Julia sees the best of herself in Malaya, but she doesn’t realize it until Malaya rejects her and is about to leave. At that point Julia also realizes that her actions created unintended consequences. Julia chooses to take responsibility for her wanderlust, terminating her gallivanting around the globe. When she promises her son she is grounded she means it.

TMG: Do you think that Julia, once more satisfied, is still impulsive?

Lori Stoll: Julia grew up through the experience of blowing up her life- perhaps she would like to continue to act on her impulsivity, but has learned to consider the who she is hurting by her decisions. However Julia’s restlessness did create her family.

TMG: So the movie starts with “Based on a true story” and ends with stills of the real Malaya and the obligatory “Any resemblance to real persons” disclaimer. How much of this story really happened this way? The arctic rescue for example?

Lori Stoll: The arctic rescue happened. The emergency shelter happened. Actually most of what was filmed in the arctic really happened and it was much more treacherous in reality, which we were unable to capture on film. For example, the rescue took place in a blizzard, and we had to slide down a frozen waterfall in the middle of the night. When we finally made it to the lodge in Pang, I was as banged up as Julia is in the film. I did lose my film on the ice and I was stuck in Pang for 10 days. I gave Malaya and her friends my candy bars and my sled. And she did ask me if she could tell her friends that I was her mother. Both Malaya’s mother and grandmother died. I did go back up for the funeral, and I did bring her back to LA with me. US Immigration did inform us that for Malaya to stay in Los Angeles she had to be legally adopted, and she was given a visa good for a one month stay in the US.

TMG: Movies are not often kind to characters who resist someone’s “following their heart”, no matter how impractical or whatever the consequences to others. Yet your depiction of the husband Ed is very sympathetic, as someone reacting with understandable resistance to impulsive, unilateral and life-changing commitments. Will you share any of the real back story on that relationship?

Lori Stoll: It’s funny, I see Ed as you do, he’s married to this crazy woman, he really loves her, and his biggest fault is being overwhelmingly practical. It’s complicated – he loves her, he wants her to be happy, he tries to understand her.

Julia feels held down by Ed, and forced into a conventional relationship. She resents his practically. If you are asking about my husband and our real backstory, clearly spontaneously adopting an almost teenage child from another culture created a lot of conflict. Having said that, I’m happy to share with you that today my husband and I are together, Malaya is 27 and the executive producer of Heaven’s Floor, and our son Zach is 20 and a sophomore at the University of Chicago.

TMG: The Arctic scenes are really impressive. How did your background in photography inform the film’s cinematography for the Arctic scenes? You are a first time director, and I see that your first time DP for the Canadian locations is a veteran camera operator. How “hands on” were you in the cinematography?

Lori Stoll: Regarding the cinematography, I was very hands on. I’ve been a photographer for 30 years, and I’m most comfortable working in a visual medium. Having said that, both George Billinger (Arctic DP) and Danny Moder (LA DP) are both so talented. For a first time director, I truly had the A team for my crew.

Heaven’s Floor’s World Premiere is tonight at Cinequest with more screenings on March 6 and 11.

Heavens Floor official website

Restlessness, thy name is Woman. The absorbing and character-driven autobiographical drama Heaven’s Floor begins with photographer Julia (Clea Duvall) finishing a shoot, but then being reluctant to go home. Now Julia has built herself a comfortable West LA life – career, marriage, kid, friends, house. What is she missing?

Julia feeds her wanderlust by impulsively joining an arctic adventure led by Jack, a charming reprobate. This isn’t fair to Julia’s husband Ed, but he dutifully covers for her on the home front. The trip to the Canadian Arctic becomes more nightmare than adventure, and Julia is marooned in a small Inuit village where she meets an orphaned girl. Both Julia’s compassion and her impulsivity kick into high gear, and we are off on a journey that will indelibly change several lives.

Note that Heaven’s Floor is autobiographical. Indeed, what seem like the most improbable and extreme plot points in Heaven’s Floor really happened to writer-director Lori Stoll. Stoll’s real life background as a photographer also informed the film’s cinematography – and the scenes in the Arctic are particularly impressive.

There’s plenty of exciting, true life adventure in Heaven’s Floor. But, at its core, it is an evocatively crafted character study of Julia – her restlessness, impulsivity, compassion and emotional needs. Heaven’s Floor takes on a quest that may – or may not – satisfy those needs and complete the already complicated Julia.

Although it’s anything but a showy role, the part of Julia’s husband Ed is also remarkably written. Movies are not often kind to characters who resist someone’s “following their heart”, no matter how impractical or whatever the consequences to others. Yet Stoll’s depiction of the husband Ed is very sympathetic, as someone reacting with understandable resistance to impulsive, unilateral and life-changing commitments.

Clea DuVall has a knack for making small parts in good movies (21 Grams, Zodiac, Argo) memorable. Here, she gets her chance at a leading role and her Julia keeps us on the edge of our seats; we care about her, but have no idea what she’s going to jump into next. Toby Huss is very, very good as Julie’s loving but aggrieved husband Ed. Veteran Irish actor Timothy V. Murphy sparkles as the huckster adventurer Jack who could sell the proverbial ice to Eskimos.

Heaven’s Floor is one of the 129 Cinequest films directed by a woman. Heaven’s Floor’s World Premiere is at 6:45 PM on Friday, March 4 at Cinequest with more screenings on March 6 and 11.

Coming on Friday: an interview with Heaven’s Floor writer/director Lori Stoll.

Cinequest: HEAVEN’S FLOOR filmmaker interview

Cinequest: HEAVEN’S FLOOR