How the Directors of ‘Strawberry Mansion’ Made a Movie About Dreams Feel Like One
variety.comWilson Chapman editorTons of films have dreams in them, but few capture what a dream actually feels like better than “Strawberry Mansion,” the surrealist indie dramedy that premiered at Sundance Film Festival last year and opens in theaters Friday and on digital next week.Directed by Albert Birney and Kentucker Audley, the film tells the story of James Preble (Audley), an auditor who taxes people’s dreams for the U.S.
government. On assignment to review the VHS-recorded dreams of aging artist Arabella Isadora (Penny Fuller), he winds up falling for the version of her younger self (Grace Glowicki) he meets in her mind, taking him on a strange journey where he fights witches, crashes on a deserted island and commands a crew of mice sailors.
But even with all the creatures Preble encounters, it’s the hazy lighting, off-kilter tone and sense of wistfulness that makes the whole movie feel like a dream, even when the characters are awake. “Strawberry Mansion” is the second feature Audley and Birney wrote and directed together, following the 2017’s “Silvio,” a film about a gorilla who becomes a local TV star.
Variety spoke to Audley and Birney about directing “Strawberry Mansion” and how they wrote a story that follows the slippery logic of dreams.What was the initial inspiration for “Strawberry Mansion?”Birney: So initially, it was just an image of a house in a field filled with VHS tapes.
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