In Watts' Shadow

Australian actor Naomi Watts’ fair hair, lithe figure and dazzling smile defy a fascination with the dark side of the human condition. On the eve of her latest film release, she discusses moral dilemmas of motherhood, loneliness and career fulfilment.

- Jan Janssen

It’s been said the purpose of art is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. It’s a credo Naomi Watts’ implicitly endorses through roles that welcome unsettling forays into the human psyche. Given the Aussie actor’s lithe profile and shy demeanour, it’s a twist as intriguing as the plot in her latest screen work, psychological thriller The Book of Henry. The film follows a single suburban mother and her two children – including child genius Henry – who are caught up in a terrifying mystery. “There are so many unexpected twists and turns in this film that really appealed to me. You think you’re relaxing into one genre and then the story takes a new direction and it’s suddenly a very different kind of drama.”

But while Watts admits that the dark side of storytelling is where she gets ‘the kick’ out of acting, that’s not the only parallel. The story of a woman forced by circumstances to overcome her self-doubts and evolve into an active and empowered mother resonated deeply.

“Every mum wants to do her absolute best as a parent. I often feel guilty if I don’t feel I’m properly on top of things, so I understood my character’s dilemma,” Watts says of her character Susan, mother to child genius Henry (11) and the younger brother he mentors (Peter).

While the specifics of the narrative amplify ordinary experience – the plotline orbits a dangerous secret kept by a classmate who lives next door – thematically it is a reassuring commentary on the human condition, in the Jungian sense. “The story had a very human quality to it when it comes to this mother who struggles with herself and how she tries to manage her family,” Watts says.