From the Archives: Sarah Polley
"My parents [Michael Polley and the late Diane Polley] are both actors but were not at all enthusiastic about the idea of me doing it, and I think I just bugged them enough that they let me do it. They were not stage parents. For me at that point, I thought it would be fun and I never thought it would be what I did when I grew up." - Sarah Polley
It's not so unusual for child stars to cross over into adulthood (Christina Ricci, Natalie Portman, Christan Bale). What is unusual about twenty-year-old Sarah Polley is that, unlike the bevy of teens littering the screens, she is possessed of a genuine talent.
Showcased by The New Yorker as an actress who "seems to be hiding something powerful; finding out what it is should occupy moviegoers for years to come," she has also been named a Star of Tomorrow in Vanity Fair's most recent Hollywood issue and feted by Entertainment Weekly, Interview and Rolling Stone. Polley has also been christened the latest It Girl of the indie scene, a title merited by her praised turns in Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter and Doug Liman's Go.
Polley, however, is unfazed by her press. This is a girl on the verge of womanhood moving in her own fashioned way. Which is not unlike Harper Sloane, whom she deftly and gracefully portrays in Guinevere. The film, written and directed by Audrey Wells, focuses on the creative and sexual mentoring of Harper by Stephen Rea's Connie Fitzpatrick, a photographer with a history of molding Guineveres who end up leaving him. It is a film that not only confronts the age difference but explores it with lucidity and intelligence. Polley delivers her best performance thus far.
"It's about a very human, complicated relationship between two very human, complicated people. It's not about its exploitative quality and it's also not about how idyllic it is," Polley observes. "It's very dark in places and I think they both get a lot out of it. I think it's the kind of humanity you don't see in relationships in movies because it's a frightening thing to deal with."
The rare girlishness Polley displays onscreen is very much present offscreen. Petite and delicately boned, she blushes when she laughs and is quick to be self-deprecating. However, she contrasts this with an intelligence and maturity and an assessment of the Hollywood film industry that is as scathing as it is sound. "I think that it doesn't have to change your life if you don't want it to," she says of fame. "I think that it's a conscious choice some people make to embrace that and others don't. I'm not all that interested in the baggage that comes along with doing movies. I'm really interested in acting and the craft of it and learning more about myself through it. I don't really read things that are written about me, I don't go to any parties or premieres. I don't hang around in Hollywood with other emerging young actors. I'm a total loser, so it helps," she smiles.
Polley is adamant about staying true to her belief to "be involved in something that is, through telling a personal story, quite political and causes people to argue and causes people to think and reflect upon things in a serious way." These are the words of someone who is now as passionate about her acting as she is about her politics. Like Vanessa Redgrave, whom she much admires, Polley mixes acting with politics often considered radical.
She was already Canada's Sweetheart as Sara Stanley in the popular TV series Road to Avonlea when she ired Disney executives (Disney syndicated the show worldwide) by attending a children's television awards dinner in Washington wearing a peace symbol. This was in 1991 while the Gulf War was still going strong. She was 12, already a veteran of reading works by socialist activist and poet Pablo Neruda and accompanying her older brother on canvassing campaigns for the Canadian Peace Alliance.
Four years later, she retired from acting to devote herself to activism. She organized meetings for the International Socialists, a left-wing group, then allied herself with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. A member of the New Democratic Party, she was heavily involved in Peter Kormos' leadership campaign. Most infamously, she was part of the demonstration that protested the Harris Conservatives. A melee broke out and Polley ended up with two teeth knocked out. She found herself the focus of all the media coverage - the fact that her celebrity overshadowed the intent of the demonstration disgusted her. Not long thereafter, she decided to rededicate herself to acting. It was a move that delighted the skeptics who couldn't believe that someone so young, beautiful and an actress to boot could be sincerely involved in left-wing politics. Yet, it is no gimmick for Polley who is still very much the politically active, committed socialist. But she has also chosen to marry her two passions.
Aside from Guinevere, Polley will also be seen in Last Night, the debut feature by fellow Canadian Don McKellar. Scheduling conflicts prevented her from participating in Cameron Crowe's highly anticipated, currently untitled follow-up to Jerry Maguire but she will soon start work on two features. One is John Grayson's The Law of Enclosures, the other is Kathryn Bigelow's The Weight of Water starring the eternally iconoclastic Sean Penn. As anyone can tell, she is not interested in being the next Jennifer Love Hewitt.
"When I got an American agent," she explains, displaying the spine beneath her façade of ethereal fragility, "I was unbelievably clear about what I wanted to do and about the fact that I wasn't ever interested in doing what would be good for me and what would be good for my career. I've surrounded myself with people who are interested in telling good stories. So I think if you are really, really focused and really, really ruthless about creating that environment for yourself, you can stay away from those pressures and I think I have."
