How do you come up with the idea for an absurdist dramedy about cabbage smuggling? For Evan Twohy, the writer-director of “Bubble & Squeak,” it began with a writing exercise.
“It was sort of a writer’s exercise, I think, of finding a character who does something incomprehensible, and then sort of punishing them with the worst punishment possible,” Twohy said at TheWrap’s Sundance Studio presented by World of Hyatt. “And then from there, it’s been this long journey over the last decade and a half of sort of trying to make that character and her husband make sense, and sort of locating them in an emotional place, given that it starts from this place of pure absurdity.”
Taking its name from a British dish made from frying leftovers like cabbage, “Bubble & Squeak” stars Himesh Patel and Sarah Goldberg as a couple who smuggles cabbages into a fictional country where they are banned. Along the way, their relationship is severely tested as they are chased by a border agent played by Matt Berry.
The film also stars Dave Franco, who said that Twohy’s direction played directly into the deadpan sense of humor he has a soft spot for.
“I feel like there’s a version of this movie that in the wrong hands could be very over the top and very silly. But what I loved in my first conversations with Evan was like, ‘No matter how crazy the things that my character are is saying, play it as real as possible,’” he said. “I want you to spout out stuff about … cocaine and linseed oils and whatever, but make this as grounded as you possibly can.”
Goldberg said that what she enjoyed most about the film was exploring the relationship between the couple as well as what happens when loving someone else isn’t enough for a long-term relationship.
“There’s something in this relationship where there’s truly so much love there, but ultimately, perhaps they’re not right for each other in what they want out of life, and they’re at the beginning of their marriage, and they’re having these realizations of how different they are,” she said.
Watch the full interview with Twohy and the cast of “Bubble & Squeak” in the video above.
