Midori Francis stars as Hana in Natalie Erika James’ Saccharine, which is now playing in theaters. James’ third feature explores the toxic messaging around weight and appearance in our culture with a powerful lead performance from Francis. Please note: this discussion will contain major spoilers.
Hana (Midori Francis), a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
“I do, of course, have a love for horror inherently, but this story in particular felt very suited to the horror genre. I guess in terms of what surprised me was, I think, when you’re writing about a very personal subject, you kind of use yourself as a compass in terms of whether you’re being truthful in a way. We tried as much as possible to retain the emotional truth of that experience, but through these really heightened kind of horror set pieces and sometimes absurd kind of out there moments as well,” the writer/director explained. “I felt like Midori just understood it so well, and was so on board with all of the really out there situations that we were putting Hana through, but she really anchors it through her performance.”
The actress then shared, “I think the most surprising thing was how well horror fit this subject matter. When I read Nat’s script, it was interesting, because understanding and having experience with the mental anguish of addiction, eating disorders, all these things, I mean, we all have had that experience or love someone who has this internal battle that no one can really see. I was surprised by how this was actually the first time that I’ve ever read a script, or been part of a project that actually seemed to capture the depth of its horror and absurdity.”
“And so, I wouldn’t necessarily think that this is the genre, that wouldn’t have been my first thought, maybe I would have thought a drama or something. But in a way, this script was the most authentic to me and my understanding of having this type of internal battle that can be so isolating, it can be so horrifying, and it can be so absurd, and something about this script really seemed to capture it in a truthful way, despite it being an absurd horror film.”
We talked about the genre choice, what the ending represents, highlighting the larger conversation, and more.
Watch my full interview below:
