Fashion
Mackenzie Davis on “Happiest Season,” Working With Clea DuVall, and That One “Black Mirror” Episode
“Now is the time for a Christmas romantic comedy, and this movie is one dependable thing that hasn’t been thrown out of whack.”…
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a not-too-distant time when genuinely moving films and TV shows made about and for queer people were few and far between; before Lena Waithe and Céline Sciamma were household names, many of us had to content ourselves with rewatching The L Word on a loop. Even now, many of the films that center on LGBTQ+ couples tend to be period pieces, which makes the new, Clea DuVall-directed Hulu film Happiest Season—a romantic comedy featuring a lesbian couple going home for Christmas—all the more exciting.
Vogue recently Zoomed with Happiest Season star Mackenzie Davis, whom you might recognize from her roles in Tully, Halt and Catch Fire and Terminator: Dark Fate, about the experience of bringing an overtly queer holiday film firmly into the mainstream. Read on for the details:
Where are you based right now?
I’m in London, in a pretty small Airbnb. I moved out of Los Angeles this year, and got to London just in time for the lockdown!
What has that been like for you?
It’s been mostly fine; I moved here October 1, so I knew what I was doing. L.A. was a relatively great place to be this year, because I had a garden and it didn’t feel unhealthy, so this feels…a lot lonelier. I had one of my best friends living with me in March and April and May, so it almost felt like camp or something fun. Now, I’m not in my own house, so there’s a lot of newness to this version of lockdown.
What is it like to have Happiest Season coming out into this bizarre new world?
We wrapped at the end of February, just when everything started changing; we were just starting to use hand sanitizer, and there were these really crystallized moments of awareness and denial. I’m so glad I have this movie coming out, and not something destructive or dour or really depressing; it’s a lovely thing, to think about people watching this in their home. I watched it a little while ago, and it feels cozy and normal—now is the time for a Christmas romantic comedy, and this movie is one dependable thing that hasn’t been thrown out of whack.
What was it like working with Clea DuVall as a director?
Stay updated! Click the Google News follow button for more news and updates.
Follow on Google News