Original-Cin Q&A: Disappearance at Clifton Hill's Hannah Gross and Tuppence Middleton talk Niagara Falls, plus a vid-chat with Albert Shin
Disappearance at Clifton Hill is a new psychological thriller directed by Albert Shin. (In Her Place) and written by Shin and James Schultz.
The film, which takes place on location in Niagara Falls, recently garnered four Canadian Screen Awards nominations. It centers around two sisters played by Tuppence Middleton (Sense8) and Hannah Gross (Mindhunter) and their tense relationship.
When Abby (Middleton) returns home following the death of her mother she becomes obsessed with fragmented memories of a kidnapping she claims to have witnessed as a child. Abby’s younger sister Laure (Gross) has a tense relationship with her sibling that is tested as Abby’s obsession grows out of control.
Tuppence Middleton and Hannah Gross are sisters torn by a mystery in Disappearance at Clifton Hill
Read Linda Barnard’s review of Disappearance at Clifton Hill HERE.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Tuppence Middleton and Hannah Gross about the allure of the Falls and why they wanted to be a part of this project.
Click HERE to watch Bonnie’s interview with writer and Director Albert Shin:
ORIGINAL-CIN: Hannah, I want to start with you because. being a Canadian gal, I would think your parents (actors Paul Gross and Martha Burns) took you to The Falls as a kid.
HANNAH GROSS: “You are not going to believe this but I don't think I went to Niagara Falls till I was 16.”
OC: Are you kidding me? Mom and Dad never took you to Niagara Falls?
GROSS: “Yeah, unless I’ve just got selective memory. (Laughs) I went for day trips when I was older multiple times, but just spent a few hours there. Working on this film I spent a longer period of time there, and trust me, you really get to know the place in a totally different way.”
OC: Tuppence, not being Canadian, this had to have been a whole new experience. When you first arrived did you go straight to The Falls?
TUPPENCE MIDDLETON: “I checked into my hotel and then went for a stroll down to The Falls and just sort of stared at it for a while. And I thought, ‘This is smaller than I thought it was going to be.’ I wasn't underwhelmed, it was amazing. But I didn't know what I had in my head. I think it's because the rest of the town is so huge. It kind of makes this amazing thing seem so small.”
OC: It is quite striking, but I totally get you what you mean.
MIDDLETON: “One of the most amazing things I do remember was that - because we were there during the low season in winter - it was stunning. I went down one weekend on a break and it was snowing and everything was frozen around the Falls. It was so beautiful and there was a rainbow over it and it just looked unreal. It was moments like that where you can kind of tune out all of the tourists and you think, ‘Yeah, this is something really special.’”
OC: Being set in and around Clifton Hill, named after the carnival-like tourist trap main street opposite the Falls, we get to see this area in a different light. What was it about the story that brought you on board?
GROSS: “Definitely the location and the idea of getting to know this place. It's not only the hotspot of Canada's tourist industry, but it’s also the honeymoon capital of the world.
“I love the idea of setting a film in a vacation spot in the off-season. It gives it such a particular tone. We actually had a fake production name so that people wouldn’t think that it’s too much about the actual location. As for the script, I loved that it was a mystery/comedy that could be set in this place and it really gets into the underbelly and the politics behind the city.”
MIDDLETON: “I found the script fascinating and I was intrigued by my character Abby, because she had so many layers to her personality.
“I got into researching pathological liars and how their minds work. There's so much information about it, but actually not a lot of definitive explanations for it. So it was something that I found so fascinating because it's really misunderstood. I loved the script. I thought it was so weird and surreal and I loved Albert's first film. So I was really excited to get the opportunity to come to Canada and to be a part of it.”
OC: You play sisters, but there’s definitely some friction between your characters. What was your chemistry like and did you immediately hit it off when you first met?
MIDDLETON: “We became immediate friends! We actually had to dial it back because we realized quite quickly that our characters aren't supposed to get on so well. Hannah is quite a bit like my real sister, which helped. So it was really lovely getting to work with her. You never know what’s going to happen when you walk on to a set and meet your co-star for the first time. I’ll admit that I have admired Hannah and her work so it was amazing getting to know and work with her on this.”
GROSS: “I felt the same but I’ll admit that at first I was incredibly intimidated.”
OC: Really? Canadians and Brits are like cousins, We’re all so nice!
GROSS: “Yeah, but you know the Brits are the cooler cousins!” (Both laugh).
MIDDLETON: “We both have the same levels of self-deprecation and constant daily questioning about why are we actors. (Laughs). So we bonded over that.”
OC : So now having spent such a significant amount of time in the city, other than The Falls themselves, what do you think is the allure?
MIDDLETON: “ I think, partly, it’s all about the anonymity that you can get there. Although there are always so many people around, you can still feel very isolated and alone there. Plus, whatever vice you may have, there is something for you there.”
GROSS: “I think it presents like a very crazy binary between that sets up the human experience, this natural phenomenon that’s The Falls and then this really strange over-the-top grotesque commercialization that I'm down with. ( laughs)
“So you have those two things bumped up beside each other which is a very jarring but kind of intoxicating experience.”