‘SHE CAME TO ME’ interview: Rebecca Miller directs film about creative struggles, breakthroughs

Preston Barta // Features Editor

Who hasn’t suffered from creative blockage? Sometimes, the beacons are lit, and you’re ready to pen fire, while other times, you question how you will ever achieve success. It’s a universal feeling for any artist; plenty of filmmakers have written about quests for inspiration. Whether it’s Nicolas Cage rewarding himself with coffee in Adaptation, James Caan avoiding torture in Misery, or Jack Nicholson trying not to be a dull boy in The Shining, it’s a narrative beat that has drummed up some excitement.

Rather than dip completely into madness to illustrate the frustrations accompanying writer’s block, writer-director Rebecca Miller (Maggie’s Plan) takes to a less surreal and less horrific adventure to productivity. (Think more Stranger Than Fiction or Ruby Sparks without the supernaturalism.) 

She Came to Me stars Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway in a romantic drama. It centers on a celebrated opera composer (Dinklage) who’s married to a therapist (Hathaway) but has a fling with a tugboat captain (Tomei). Does it lead to a creative breakthrough? Does the strangeness of these drastically different individuals create diamonds and healthier paths? All and more are examined in Miller’s layered film.

Fresh Fiction sat down virtually with Miller to peel back a few of them. In the below video interview, we discuss marinating on the characters and braiding multiple relationships, along with the difference between exploring the themes with drama versus sci-fi and horror.