Emma Westenberg and Vera Bulder Discuss Working With Real Life Father and Daughter Duo Clara and Ewan McGregor On Bleeding Love
Starring real life father and daughter duo Ewan and Clara McGregor, Bleeding Love takes you through an emotional ride with a father and daughter, both yearning for the connection they once had. After a life altering incident, a young woman, played by Clara McGregor, embarks on an impromptu road trip through the desert with her estranged father, played by Clara’s real-life father and esteemed actor, Ewan McGregor. En-route to their destination of Santa Fe, New Mexico, the two are forced to confront the issues that plague their past and have led to their now fragile relationship, all the while encountering an eccentric array of characters along the road.
Pop Culture Planet’s Danielle Forte sat down with the film’s director and executive producer Emma Westenberg and the multi-faceted Vera Bulder, who wore many hats on this film’s set, including the film’s writer, producer, co-founder of the film’s production company Deux Dames Entertainment, and lastly, but certainly not least, a character that brings a beautiful light to the story, the eccentric Tommy.
Clara McGregor created the story alongside Bulder and the film’s writer Ruby Cast. They found themselves drawing on her personal relationship with her father as well as her past with addiction to influence much of the film’s story. Westenberg explained that everyone on set had a shared experience within this story and found a “universal truth'‘ while filming each scene. Bulder added that she and Clara were “so lucky” in that they were able to tell the McGregor’s story in a truly authentic way, given that they were producing it, creating the story, and had Ewan McGregor on set for input as well. “It’s his story, and we needed his blessing on the way we were telling it,” Bulder shared.
Not many other films can gloat that there was a familial environment on set, the obvious being Clara and her dad being the main protagonists, but Bulder had a life long friendship with Clara as well as the film’s director Westenberg who gave Bulder one of her first acting roles. Bulder’s husband Jake Weary also played a small role in the film, as did his mother. The list continues with one of Bulder’s good friends from Holland being the film’s costume designer. This film is about familial bonds, on screen and off, and that’s what makes this film all the more special. Bulder called this film “such a unique and singular project where I don’t think I’ll ever get to make [another project] on that level again.”
Westenberg and Bulder candidly told me that they hope Bleeding Love can resonate with a large audience, as “it’s not just for people that have experience with trauma and addiction, but there’s also the family aspect.” Westenberg added on to Bulder’s sentiment, saying that she hopes she conveyed a “hopeful ending” in the film given the darker themes throughout it.
Westenberg’s hope came to fruition — Bleeding Love offers alluring, colorful cinematography that indicated that hope was always on the horizon for the father and daughter characters. Clara and Ewan McGregor offer heartfelt and spellbinding performances that gives viewers a glimpse into their relationship without feeling intrusive.
Bleeding Love is now in select theaters and VOD.
