Daisy Ridleyand Shazad Latif star as a couple in a floundering marriage inMagpie. Based on an idea from Ridley, and written by her real-life husband, Tom Bateman,Magpietells the story of Anette and Ben (Ridley and Latif, respectively), whose already-stale marriage is thrown into disarray when their actress daughter, Matilda (Hiba Ahmed) is cast in a movie alongside Alicia (Matilda Lutz). Alicia and Ben immediately have a friendly chemistry, which evolves to a point that becomes tremendously stressful for Anette, a long-suffering wife who has already had to deal with her husband’s poor behavior in the past.
Magpiemarks the directorial debut of Sam Yates, a theater and television veteran who treats the minimalist aesthetic and intimate script with a cinematic grandeur that elevates the story to grandiose levels. Despite running a sparse and quick 90 minutes,Magpiegives all of its characters a beating heart and tells a story that’s exciting, upsetting, triumphant, and even quite funny at times.
Magpie Review: Daisy Ridley Stuns In Compelling, Intoxicating Psychological Thriller
The thriller is engrossing, its slow-burn buildup feeding the fire that burns brightly towards an immensely satisfying final act.
Screen Rantinterviewed Shazad Latif about his role as a philandering husband. He talks about the film’s script allowing him to empathize with his character; people who do bad things seldom see themselves as mustache-twirling villains, and while Ben is clearly the villain of the piece, he’s more than just an object for viewers to hate… Though he’s certainly that, as well. Latif also talks about his roles in programs as varied asNautilus,Star Trek: Discovery, Profile, andToast of London.
“All he needs to do is look inwards. His wife is yearning for connection, but he just doesn’t go there.”
Screen Rant: I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I’m in the United States, so I haven’t been able to seeNautilusyet. But I can’t wait.
Shazad Latif: Yes. I think you’re getting that mid-next year on AMC. But it’s Amazon here, next Friday. It’s confusing, the different territories.
When it comes to something like Nautilus, you’re an actor, you do the job. But do you have a stake, or do you bother with the politics of a network picking up shows and dropping them, or is that just extra stress you don’t need?
Shazad Latif: It’s so out of our hands, those business affairs. That’s something I don’t have any control over. You have to just let it go and see where it falls and how it plays out. For me, I do this for the process and enjoyment of acting. If we make a good show, that’s a beautiful bonus. If I was the producer, then I’m more involved.
Okay,Magpie. I don’t want to be too hard on him, but your character is easy to hate. But also, I suppose, he comes from a real place. There are better ways to do the things Ben does, but everyone feels trapped sometimes. Tell me about putting some humanity into this guy who could be such a mustache-twirler in a different movie.
Shazad Latif: That’s the whole point. The justification has to be, in his head, he’s so desperate to get out of his marriage. He thinks this new woman is the solution to all his problems. When he does go out to see her, he does become a bit lighter. He becomes a better father! you’re able to see what was once there. Unfortunately, as soon as he goes back home, he turns back, he reverts into being this horrible husband. He’s sort of lost. And he thinks she’s the solution. He feels like he’s been trapped for a while. The thing is, he doesn’t blame himself. He puts the blame outwards. I think all he needs to do is look inwards. His wife is yearning for connection, but he just doesn’t go there.
The acting in this film, across the board, is fantastic. For your character, you almost wish that Daisy wasn’t so good, wasn’t so empathetic. Because the better she is, and the sadder and more upset she gets, the more everyone dislikes your guy!
Shazad Latif: That’s the thing, isn’t it? (Laughs) In ways, he’s a pathetic character. He ends up being this pathetic “dude.” It’s trying to balance that comedy, some humanity, a bit of laughter, and then you feel, “you’re a piece of s*** and I want to watch the worst things happen to you.” It’s sort of that journey, as a villain. But yes, with humanity in there.
The logline is that it’s a film noir, and that’s definitely a major vibe to it, but there is a lot of humor, nervous humor, dark humor, there’s this domestic unrest, I guess you can call it.
Shazad Latif: You want to make the audience like you a little bit, just enough, and then suddenly, he’s a bad guy.
There are periods where it’s almost a rom-com, if you twist your perspective just a little bit.
Shazad Latif: When you see him with Matilda Lutz’s character, yeah, you’re suddenly in this weird little love story, and you’re sort of enjoying what’s happening! But then, of course…
“I initially didn’t think the long hair worked, but then Tom was like, “Keep the beard, keep the hair, it works.”
I asked Sam, and he didn’t know because you were attached very early on, before him, but I was wondering if there was ever an Inkling that Tom might play the husband, or would that be too meta?
Shazad Latif: I’m not sure. I don’t know… I’m sure he might have mentioned that at some point, and there were some other people mentioned. I’m sure they had a whole bunch of people in their heads. Then they got to me, they sent the script over. I think it was before I went to Australia. It was a long while… We were supposed to shoot it one year, but then I think we did it the following year.
But I read it in an afternoon and was just, “Yeah, I want to do this.” I talked to my agent and we figured it out. It was a four-week shoot, so it wasn’t hard to fit in. I wanted to do it to work with my friend, who was the writer, and to work with Daisy, who is now my friend, and work with Sam Yates, who is this unbelievable director doing his first feature. So I wanted to be involved in that. Sam is such a great guy to work with. It was a good team.
I love clothes. I love fashion. Tell me about your guy’s fashion. I love his buttoned-up look, it’s so… Nervous. The beard is great, and the hair, it’s not really a man-bun, but that tight ponytail, what’s that called?
Shazad Latif: I think it’s just called a tight ponytail. But I had long hair from a job previous, and I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to cut it, and the beard was really long, we trimmed that down… But then we realized, this is really good for his character. When he’s external, when he’s out with Matilda, he starts dolling himself up a little bit, he can manicure himself and make himself look nice.
But when he’s home, he lets his hair down, he’s more rough. He’s a scraggy writer-dude. For me, it was almost an homage to The Shining, just for me personally, as a little movie buff. He’s a writer in the country, and there’s a shot of him looking out the window when he’s holding the baby. That sort of reminded me of that. He’s Jesus-like, he thinks he’s a martyr. He thinks so highly of himself. It was quite funny to keep that. I initially didn’t think the long hair worked, but then Tom was like, “Keep the beard, keep the hair, it works.”
Seeing who he’s dressed up for, and who he’s not. That extra storytelling, wherever you’re able to squeeze it, I love it. Related to that, were the clothes your clothes, or was there a department for that? Sometimes it’s hard to tell when the setting is the real world.
Shazad Latif: It was a full costume. I had just finished a job where I played an adventuring, swashbuckling dude, and I was in good shape, and then… You know, you let yourself go a little bit because you want a bit of the “dad bod.” And the clothes were quite tight, so you could see that. It was brilliant costuming. They set it all up. Ben is a writer, so we had that, but there’s something strange about him, something a bit dull, but then when he gets excited, he meets Matilda, we were able to tell that story through his clothes.
“If I get to work with Michelle Yeoh again, then I’d do anything.”
I’ve got the dad bod, too. I just don’t have the kids. Or the wife. Or the girlfriend. But that’s not important right now. I want you to shout-out something you’re particularly proud of in your career that maybe hasn’t gotten the views, something people might not know about.
Shazad Latif: I did a film called Profile, by Timur Bekmambetov, and it was a film we shot in nine days, and it was all on computer screens, and we won a couple of awards at film festivals, SXSW. It was such a great project to work on as an actor. We got to write scenes and improvise and collaborate with the director. It was such an enjoyable process and the film turned out so great, that’s one I really liked. And I did a series called Toast of London, it’s built a cult following by now, it’s such a crazy, absurd comedy, I love that show and loved being part of it.
I’m really excited for people to see Nautilus, that was a 210 day shoot, such an intense shoot, and it took so much out of it. We all fell in love with each other, and everyone’s so great in it. Georgia Flood, she’s amazing, and all of the other actors. I’m excited for people to see that, because we put a lot of effort in. It was, like, a year of my life. That was a lot.
I just got back from New York Comic Con, where I got to chat with the gangs fromLower Decksand the movie.Section 31is your cornerof the Star Trek timeline, that era. I’m sure I can’t wrestle anything out of you, but would you like for Ash Tyler to return in some capacity? Would you like to see his story continue, or have you closed the book on him?
Shazad Latif: If I get to work with Michelle Yeoh again, then I’d do anything. I’d do anything for that woman. She’s the greatest woman alive, and I love her. But that’s all down to timings and producers and all that stuff, schedules and stuff. But yeah, I love Michelle, and I miss all those guys, it was such a great time, to be part of Star Trek in anyway. And the way I was, with that character and his storyline, it was great.
Wait, you said schedules and stuff. I know the movie’s been in development for years and years now. Was there talk of having Ash show up in an earlier version of this project?
Shazad Latif: I think, years ago. But that was before they’d even come up with stuff for it. I have no idea. I’m on a need-to-know. I’m a lowly actor.
Learn More About Magpie (2024)
When Ben and Anette’s daughter is cast in a film alongside glamorous movie star, Alicia, Ben is quickly drawn into Alicia’s world. As he becomes more intoxicated with Alicia and their affair intensifies, Anette is left at home with the baby, pushed to her emotional limits and psychologically on the brink.
Check out our otherMagpieinterviews here:
Shout! Studios’Magpieopens at Village East in New York, Laemmle Glendale and Lumiere Cinema in Los Angeles, and other select U.S. cities on October 25.
