“Late Bloomers” is a dark comedy from writer Anna Greenfield, director Lisa Steen, starring Karen Gillan, Margaret Sophie Stein, Jermaine Fowler, Kevin Nealon, and Talia Balsam. In the film, Louise (Gillan), a 28-year-old Brooklynite adrift in life, finds herself suddenly single and grappling with her identity as a musician. Meanwhile, her mother’s dementia is rapidly progressing (Balsam). Louise crosses paths with Antonina (Stein), a cantankerous elderly Polish woman who speaks no English. Reluctantly, Louise takes on the role of Antonina's caregiver. As they navigate their begrudging relationship, they confront the realities of aging, forcing Louise to consider her own journey into adulthood.
We sat down with Anna, Lisa and Karen to discuss the film and the themes of caregiving, humor, and connections between those impacted by dementia.
Anna, the film is in part based on some of your own personal experiences. Receiving a diagnosis in a family is never easy. What was receiving that news like for you?
Anna: I was living in New York when my mom was diagnosed with “aphasia,” which “might lead to dementia” at a hospital in California. To be perfectly honest, I either didn’t understand or didn’t want to understand the severity of the news. At the time, I didn’t know that she also had received a prognosis of three to five years to live. I’ll always look back on that phone call and wonder whether it was my mom’s desire to keep the disease a secret or my own unwillingness to listen that prevented the full truth from coming out. I think my dad was trying to protect me, not burden me, but at the same time, I suspect he didn’t think I was grown up enough to deal with that kind of news. I felt very alone, scared and in denial.
At what point did you feel it was time to start sharing your dementia experience through your writing? Was it difficult? Was it cathartic? How was that process for you?
Anna: I think it is a really hard disease to open up about. My family was incredibly private when my mom was diagnosed. I found that to be pretty hard. I felt like my family wasn't getting the support they could have. There was a certain shame around it, too. I think once there was enough distance and enough time had gone by, I was able to write about it. Getting the blessing of my family to deal with it in the way I needed to, was important. So, I wrote a movie!
Lisa and Anna, you previously worked together on the short film “Sundowners,” which tackled similar themes but in a different way. Tell us about the use of humor in “Late Bloomers” to address topics that can be difficult to explore.
Anna: I think anybody who has experienced Alzheimer's with a family member has noticed there are a lot of funny things that can happen. That's the way that we can get through really hard times sometimes. Just because you're going through something, doesn't mean you've lost your sense of humor or lost your sense of absurdity. You can do it without making fun of it.
Lisa: Anna's also the funniest person I know.
Karen: I mean, she's just the most incredible writer. It feels so relatable and real. I thought the story was just incredibly beautiful. It's not something I've dealt with firsthand, but it was something I really wanted to explore and understand more about.
Talk a little bit about the importance of authenticity when it comes to portraying the disease on screen.
Anna: Talia who plays the mother, who has frontotemporal dementia, took it really seriously. I talked to her about my mom, sent her pictures, and she did her own research. Talking about humor, I do think a lot of the stuff we see in entertainment about Alzheimer's and dementia can be very serious and very tragic. And it is. But if you're playing that part, I think you can't get too wrapped up in how sad it is because for that person, you don't know what they're experiencing. You (to Lisa) had to tackle stuff about my family, and you did it so well.
Lisa: I feel like I filtered a lot of stuff through you (Anna). I wanted to know what the authentic experience was like. My grandmother had Alzheimer's so I saw a little bit of it.
Karen: Anna was just the most incredible resource. There's nothing better than speaking to somebody who's actually lived through it in terms of trying to be authentic in your own performance.
Karen, can you talk about preparing for the role of someone who has suddenly found themselves in the role of a caregiver?
Karen: A lot of speaking to Anna and hearing a lot about her experiences. I use a lot of imagination in my job. I imagined myself being thrown into a caregiving role and how inept I would be. You have to make sacrifices, and I'm sure there’s a bit of guilt that you're wrestling with at the same time, but ultimately, you're going to do what's right.
Studies have shown that as we age, it's important to have healthy habits like eating well, exercise and trying new things. Some of that is shown in the film. Are there things that you do to unwind? A healthy habit?
Karen: I played the piano when I was younger, from the age of 7. I gave up when I was 16 and I can't remember very much. But recently, I had some downtime. I was like, I'm going to take up piano lessons again. I felt like the younger version of me again. Reconnecting with something. It just felt really good. I got a lot of endorphins from that.
Anna: I think it's really good for your brain. Piano especially, I mean, my mom was playing and doing that as she was declining. And you (Karen) sing in this movie.
Karen: There’s a cheeky song.
Anna: That was a big connection for my mom and I. That originated because she'd lost her voice, but I had these mix CDs she would make, because she was a DJ. She had these Sandy Denny songs on the CD. When she would play it I'd be like, “Oh this is embarrassing folk music.” But hearing it as an adult, I was like,” This is so good, so sad.” Music connected us when I was having a hard time actually connecting to her.
In the film, there are various communication barriers between characters, including of course the literal language barrier between Louise and Antonina. We’ve discussed music being a way to connect, but talk more about creating connections that go beyond traditional language.
Lisa: We had a lot of rehearsal time with Karen and Margaret before shooting, which was amazing, and so that they could get to know each other. And I think it helped with creating kind of a rapport so that when they're in these scenes, where they're not actually talking to each other there, you can feel the chemistry between them. And you can kind of see the dynamic between them. Because it is a lot about being able to communicate without language because of Anna’s mom and, and how her disease manifested.
Anna: Because her disease manifested that way, I became kind of obsessed with what you do when you can't talk to somebody. You do all sorts of things to try to connect to them. Music was a huge one. Sometimes it just looks and glances and you take meaning where you find it.
Karen: I mean, most of the communication, I would say is not verbal. The words are a small percentage of communication and I'm acutely aware of that from an actor's standpoint
Anna, what did you learn about yourself from being touched by dementia so personally?
Anna: I learned that it’s really hard to ask for help. There’s a certain social shame around dementia that I realized existed when I was out in public with my mom.Others seemed to be uncomfortable by some of her behavior. I had to get over my own ego in order to be a good caregiver for my mom. I also had to realize the limits of my skills. I’m not a professional caregiver and my mom deserved to be safe. Sometimes, family can make the worst caregivers — it’s hard to forget who this person used to be. We might expect them to one day wake up again as themselves and find the truth that they never will, too hard to bear. I had to learn to put aside my own fears of the unknown in order to see more clearly what was actually best for my mom.
What are you hoping that audiences take away from watching this film?
Lisa: In terms of the caregiving aspect of it, the movie’s not about being a professional nurse. Sometimes you make mistakes, and then you recover from those mistakes. That doesn't make you a bad person. I think that's the main thing that we want people to take away.
What message do you have for families impacted by dementia?
Anna: Reach out for help. Share what’s going on with you. You might be disappointed by the lack of support from some in your community, you might be very surprised by the people who step up to the plate in your life. It’s cliché but all cliché stuff exists because we need to hear what we have in common — you’re not alone.
About: “Late Bloomers” is produced by Alexandra Barreto, Taylor Feltner, and Sam Bisbee. The film was released on June 7, 2024 by Vertical. It is available on streaming platforms and VOD, including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.