Synopsis
Elizabeth Hurley and Georgia Lock star in a sensual thriller with a devilish twist. On the anniversary of Rebecca’s (Lauren McQueen) death, Mia (Lock) returns to the Caribbean paradise where she and her best friend shared her final days. As Mia sets out to unravel the mysterious events of her passing, old passions rise, new secrets are uncovered and Mia is pulled into a seductive world of sex, betrayal, and murder.
Interview
Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower sat down with director Damian Hurley and star Elizabeth Hurley to discuss their new feature film Strictly Confidential. They spoke about Ms. Hurley dropping everything to star in her son’s first feature, Damian’s love of making movies since he was eight, and how to make a movie in eighteen days, among other topics.
(Edited for content and clarity)
Glen Dower:
The Hurleys, how are we doing today?
Elizabeth Hurley:
Not bad!
Damian Hurley:
Thank you for having us, Glen!
Glen Dower:
Thank you for joining me at this very exciting time for you both. Now, we have conflicting reports, I want to know the true story. Ms. Hurley, did you have to be begged…or did you drop everything to be part of the film?
Elizabeth Hurley:
Oh, I dropped everything to be part of the movie! As soon as the studio said they wanted to make this, Damian was like, will you be on board to produce? I was like, of course. Then he was like…will you be in it? You did say you would be in my first movie. And I was like, yeah, of course! So actually, I welcomed it. It was really nice as a parent to be with your child on their first really big, professional job. So actually, it’s a parent’s dream, isn’t it? To be there with your child controlling all that stuff. It was great, really good.
Glen Dower:
Great. So, Damian, your first feature film. But you’ve been making movies since you were very little, right?
Damian Hurley:
I got my first camcorder when I was, I think I just turned eight. And ever since, I’ve been torturing every friend, long-suffering family member, and everyone I could get my hands on to be in my desperate, self-written, self-directed films. I was normally in them. I definitely edited them all. And then I made a short film just coming out of lockdown, which one of the head executives of Lionsgate saw. And I got a call out of the blue when I just turned 20. It’s like, hey, we’ve seen your short film. We love it. Would you be interested in writing and directing a feature for us? And I was like, hmm, for a little bit. And then I was thrilled! It was obviously the most exciting news anyone could ever have said in the world! And I had scripts that I’d written when I was 17. And I updated it. I’d gone through a lot in the years in between. And Strictly Confidential was born.
Glen Dower:
There it was. So you had confidence derived from experience to do some amazing shots. One of my favorites was that the first sweeping aerial shot introduces your mother’s character. You watch and go, wow, that is impressive!
Elizabeth Hurley:
That’s one of my favorite shots of the movie too, actually. That was one of the first drone shots you shot in this film. It was take one.
Glen Dower:
The film was shot in 18 days. So I imagine lots of those takes were just ‘done in one’?
Damian Hurley:
I have to say, I am a perfectionist in every sense of the word. But you did have to sort of get on board with the second you feel you’ve got it. Do not do it 70 more times for safety, which is always my instinct. I’d normally do it once more for safety. I couldn’t do that. And then move on. But it was a terrifying thing to do and not have the time or the luxury to just keep going and going and going.
Glen Dower:
Luckily, you got it!
Damian Hurley:
I got it!
Glen Dower:
And it was your script as well. I also made some notes as I was watching the film. I came up with the idea of that this is Agatha Christie meets a dark Mamma Mia.
Damian Hurley:
That’s my favorite thing I’ve ever heard Glen! That’s very similar to something my lead actress, Georgia Lock, who’s one of my favorite people, said. She came up with something incredibly similar to that. Great minds think alike! I’ve been describing it as a sensual mystery with a pulse. You know, I think I always get scared when I compare it to things.
You know, all of my earlier work, I used to try and say, oh, it’s like X meets X. And then it would just give people totally the wrong idea. And I haven’t really found one that I feel quite sums this film up yet. But I think sensual mystery with a pulse gets people for what they’re in for. You know, it’s not a hardcore, gritty, nasty thriller, which I’ve seen a lot of people say is an erotic thriller, which I find quite sexy. I’m afraid it’s not. I love erotic thrillers. I haven’t made one.
Glen Dower:
Yes, let’s talk about Georgia. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few hours ago. And she’s wonderful. She’s so talented.
Damian Hurley:
I love her, she’s one of my very best friends!
Glen Dower:
And she said the same. The film really rests on her shoulders, right? She is in the majority of scenes, she’s the beating heart, and you’re with her every step of the way. With regards to Georgia’s casting, did you find Georgia straight away?
Damian Hurley:
I really struggled to find the right person for Mia. We had so many auditions, so many tapes. And I just didn’t feel it with anyone until finally my wonderful French producer, Philippe, said, I made a movie with this wonderful girl a year or two ago. You’re just going to love her. Just sit down and watch her. And I sat down and I watched the movie.
I think maybe less than two weeks away from when we were meant to start shooting. And we were in a panic. And within seconds of Georgia on screen, it was like she was stepping into a warm bath. I went, oh my God, I found my Mia! I found my muse! It’s sorted. It’s brilliant. And thank God, thank God the stars aligned. As I said, not only has she made my movie so, just any bigger than I could have ever dreamed it’d be, but she has also become one of my very best friends in the world. I’m in awe of her. And I think she’s a phenomenal actress and an even better person.
Glen Dower:
I think she’s great. So, Ms. Hurley, let’s talk about your character, Lily. Now, I do like it when I get to speak to a writer/director and actor at the same time and they get to answer separately. Did Lily (spoiler)? Ms. Hurley let’s hear from you first.
Elizabeth Hurley:
I think that even though, you know, it was a (spoiler), I think even when these things happen to good people. Knowing that there was speculation about her husband’s state of mind, I’m sure that was really tough for her not to be able to put her children out of their agony, even though it was not her fault at all. I think probably when good, innocent people carry around their guilt with them, maybe they do want to get caught too. So, I think maybe at the end when she says, maybe it’s what I deserve, I think she probably did think that.
Damian Hurley:
I think it’s also, I mean, less getting caught and more the secret has ended. I think that secrets are so all-consuming, that it feels like you’re being drowned. And I think the tagline I wrote for this film, right at the top was, ‘Are some secrets meant to stay buried?’ And I believe that wholeheartedly, even though it’s an awful thing to say, there are some truths we’d rather not know that can just stay hidden in the darkness. And I think if you’re the harborer of one of those secrets like Lily is, it can kill you.
There’s a part of her that knows her life, even though she has a horrific life, you know, her husband’s dead, her daughter’s killed herself, her other daughter, they are just grief-stricken and it’s awful. Even though she knows all of that, she also knows her life could go a hell of a lot worse if people were to find out the truth. But when they do, the worst has happened, of course, many things happened in the film that we won’t spoil now, and all of that becomes second place.
Even if she didn’t actively want to get caught, I think there’s a part of her that was relieved when the truth came out. When Mia finally says to her, it must be all for you keeping a secret like this, you really said that you played so beautifully. It is like a weight on her shoulders, even though it’s an appalling thing and it’s paining her more and more to say. It’s the first time she’s ever said it out loud to anyone. I think with a secret like that you don’t share with anyone, that’s it.
Glen Dower:
That makes a lot of sense. Before my time is up, Damian, the script came from a dark place for you. You lost a friend and you put your grief and energy into that. And I’ve done something similar myself. I started a mental health podcast after I lost a friend. Would you advise someone experiencing grief to put the energy that is released into something positive and creative as you have done?
Damian Hurley:
It was very cathartic. I don’t know how functional it was, but it was very cathartic and I enjoyed it. I like to ostrich myself from anything that could consume me, because, again, I only really like to work and I want to focus on work as much as I physically can. So anything that could do that, anything that could take me to a dark place that I didn’t necessarily want to go, to be able to go there through work and to do this simultaneously is great. I think, yes, I think it’s an outlet that can be, it can also be draining though.
I think one’s got to be careful. You know, I wrote this. It was an idea I came up with when I was 17 and I adapted it to now. But I think if I’d been coming up with it from scratch, it might’ve been too overwhelming. We’ll never know about that. But I found it cathartic. Exclamations to anyone who does it and doesn’t work for them.
Glen Dower:
Fantastic. And on the other end of the scale, Ms. Hurley, I would regret it if I didn’t ask, can you please tell me to…behave?
Elizabeth Hurley:
…Oh behave.
Glen Dower:
Well..! But honestly, thank you so much for your time folks, it has been a real pleasure and I wish you the best of luck with the film’s release.
Damian Hurley:
Thank you so much!
Strictly Confidential, the feature directorial debut of Damian Hurley, from Lionsgate, is in theatres and available on Digital On Demand now.
