HEIGHTENED: Writer, Director And Star SARA FRIEDMAN Discusses Her Anxiety-Riddled Comedy

Synopsis

In Heightened, following a mental breakdown, social anxiety and OCD-riddled Nora (Sara Friedman) returns to Maine to live with her emotionally distant parents (Sarah Clarke and Xander Berkeley). While she undergoes court-ordered psychiatric treatment, Nora’s world is further upended when she is assigned to volunteer at a local state park. Her awkward assignment shows promise when her anxiety subsides in the company of her new supervisor Dusty (Dave Register, Fallout), who is dealing with crippling issues of his own. Maybe Nora and Dusty can help each other overcome obstacles that their socially complicated world presents.

Interview

Cinema Scholars’ own Glen Dower sat down with writer/director/star Sara Friedman to discuss her new feature film, Heightened. They discussed the autobiographical nature of her film, portraying obsessive-compulsive disorder accurately on film, and the strong supporting cast Sara assembled for her feature film debut, among other topics.

Interview

Glen Dower:

Ms. Friedman, how are you, ma’am?

Sara Friedman:

I’m good, how are you?

Glen Dower:

I’m really good, thank you so much. So, Heightened, you’re a quadruple threat in this movie. I’m good, ma’am. Writer, director, producer, star. I’m interested to know, which role came first. Did you think, I want to write something for myself to direct, I want something to write to star in, or I want to lead this? Because you’ve done plenty of shorts to get your acting and directing chops together, but this is your first feature film. What was your journey to this point?

Sara Friedman:

The intention with this one was always to direct and act. I do love writing, but it is usually sort of a vehicle for a project for myself to direct or be in. And I made Heightened as a short film in 2015. And that was before I had directed anything. I was an actor by training. And so, I wrote that to try my hand at directing while casting myself in it. And so, when it came time for the feature, I always knew I just was going to do the same thing.

Glen Dower:

That makes a lot of sense. Let’s talk about the movie…I was all in after the first five minutes. It goes with my theory on people. A person can be nice and great…and people are awful.

Sara Friedman:

I love it!

Glen Dower:

And that’s just how I live. My favorite movie quote of all time is Men in Black with Tommy Lee Jones, when he says ‘A person is smart, people are dumb.’ And I think that’s so true. But of course, everyone has a story as well. So, I’m interested in Nora’s story. Is Nora a side of you or someone you’ve encountered? Is it autobiographical? Based on research? Or just a hybrid of what you experienced?

Sara Friedman:

Yeah, definitely a hybrid. It’s not autobiographical, but I have struggled with anxiety and OCD my whole life. Mine manifests differently than Nora’s in some ways and the same in others. I have struggled with misophonia, which is the sensitivity to noises. But I like to think of Nora as myself if I hadn’t had supportive parents and gone into therapy when I was young. She could be a version of me if I had to put up all this protective armor.

Glen Dower:

A heightened version, you could say…

Sara Friedman:

Oh, God, there it is! Yeah, exactly.

Glen Dower:

I don’t want to go too much into myself. But two years ago, I finally saw someone about the abandonment trauma that I’ve suffered since childhood and subsequent events. And it explained so much. Just an hour with this guy he revealed so much about feelings and actions. And then he just talked us through it. ‘You’re not alone, but feel you are. But you are not.’ And those words, wow. And without that session, I wouldn’t be here. Not saying I would have harmed myself, but he said to lean into what you love and fill that hole inside you. So I joined Cinema Scholars, became a personal trainer and I started my own movie and health awareness podcasts, because of just those 60 minutes where he said this is how you’re feeling and why.

Sara Friedman:

That’s amazing.

Glen Dower:

So why are you so committed to telling Nora’s story about her struggles? And the other characters get their moment too to tell their story.

Sara Friedman:

Yeah. I wanted to show it to people who might seem like villains. Of course, there are bad people in the world. There are many bad people in the world. But people who might seem like villains, or they’re bullying, or it’s your mother and she’s being overbearing. What is going on with them that is making them this way? So I just wanted to…It was important to me to use this to maybe show that we could all have a little bit more empathy for each other. And then for me, I do think media in the last several years has gotten a lot better about portrayals of mental health.

But when I was younger, I found everything was sort of the same. OCD was portrayed as you had to be washing your hands all the time. I do wash my hands a lot, but I think a normal hygienic amount, right? That’s not my compulsion. There are different manifestations of… And living with anxiety, or OCD, or whatever you’re living with, is different from person to person. So I just really wanted to explore that and show that and also maybe bring the audience in on the actual visceral sensation of what a panic attack could feel like.

Glen Dower:

Definitely. And there are so many little triggers that are funny due to their relatability. Just a fly buzzing when she’s trying to go to sleep, that noise. Or like watching the guy eat – those disgusting closeups. Oh no, why is that guy eating when people are doing an exam?!

Sara Friedman:

Shout out to that poor man who had to eat the grossest concoction that our team put together so that it would be extra gooey. So thank you to him.

Glen Dower:

Your supporting characters, I was so excited about the cast when I saw people appear on screen. I was so excited to see Mike Mitchell because I loved him in Brooklyn 99. And I thought he was so great in that. And he’s so good in this because, in 99, he plays a lovable idiot. Here he’s just a mean idiot until you get a little slice of his story. And then we have Xander Berkeley, who’s in everything.

Sara Friedman:

Everything!

Glen Dower:

And of course, we have to talk about Dusty himself. Dave Register who is doing well in Fallout. So how involved were you in the casting process? Were these guys handpicked because they’re just so suited to those roles?

Sara Friedman:

Yeah. Almost everyone was handpicked even a friend of mine or someone I had a connection to. Dave and I grew up in the same hometown. We’ve known each other forever. So he was always my Dusty. Mike Mitchell, I met several years ago when I used to work for a comedy TV network and he had a sketch show so we met just that way. I always thought it would be so fun to have him play against his type because he is so nice and so lovable. And then Xander and Sarah Clarke, live in Maine, which is where we were filming. They were put forth as an idea by my casting director. And I had no idea that they lived in Maine at the time. So I was like, we have to try. That would be so incredible. And they signed on almost immediately.

Glen Dower:

Oh, that’s so cool. Let’s talk about some of the moments in the writing. Nora is hilarious. She made me laugh out loud so many times. And I think you definitely should get some copyrights and merchandise for my favorite line: I’m fucking meditating! I want that as my ringtone. But you kept so restrained as Nora, mostly. But did that lead to an extra edge to cracking and corpsing? Because what you were doing was so funny. Some reactions and just like look to people when they’re doing things that annoy her.

Sara Friedman:

You know, that is kind of the part of Nora that’s very within me. I loved when we all were wearing masks during COVID because no one could see the faces I was making. I love making faces. And I just love that side of Nora so much that that all to me, that’s what’s so fun about her too, is she these these truly incredulous things are sort of always happening around her. I just wanted to put, you know, the audience in there with her, like my, my wonderful actor who plays Jim, the group therapy leader, when he just writes his name so massive in chalk, and it’s like, why is this happening? And so, you know, Nora doesn’t talk that much, because she also has social anxiety. So much about her is those reactions, those faces, just that kind of like, what? So it was, it was very fun for me.

Glen Dower

That’s great. And during the writing process, how important was it for you to nail that opening scene when Nora meets Dusty for the first time? And those little interactions were again, so funny. ‘Your name isn’t a name, it’s an adjective.’ And Nora doesn’t eat orange food. And Dusty calls Nora ‘fiiiiine’ by accident.

Sara Friedman:

Oh my god, his delivery of that fine kills me. So what’s fun and interesting is those scenes, not the fun ones, but the very first, the adjective, all that, are pretty much word for word from the short film. They worked so well in the short. They’re probably the only scenes that are truly brought from the short into the feature and not changed. The audience’s reaction to them years ago was just to get such great laughs and the way that Dave would deliver some of them. So those were just kind of like, I didn’t have to do any work on those. Those were already there. And so much too comes from, you know, Dave’s delivery and his sort of, his wonderful way that he plays this character.

Glen Dower:

Oh yeah, he’s just so earnest. And the way, the impact on Nora is pretty much instantaneous. You know, she starts to let her hair done, starts to dress all pretty. Then as the audience, do we want them to get together or not? Or just be friends? Was there ever a time that you went back and forth going, do I want them to get together? As they are so good as a double-act?

Sara Friedman:

Well, you know what, honestly, what ended up pushing me towards a, you know, more of a romance or a little bit more of a rom-com element too, was when I was writing this during COVID and everything, everything just felt so sad and so heavy. I was like, I’m a very cynical person. I write a lot of dark stuff. And in that time I found myself leaning into the joy and, maybe a little bit at a tiniest little bit of fluff and a little, just like, I was like, you know what, I think people are going to want to see them get together. So that was very much a product of the times we were going through.

Glen Dower:

I think a bit of fluff is always good. So why not? At Cinema Scholars, we know we have lots of readers and viewers who are interested in getting into film, and like I said at the start of our time, you’re a quadruple threat with this. What would you advise someone who has this idea, who wants to make a short film, and of course, wants to direct a feature film one day? Do you have any words of inspiration or advice for them?

Sara Friedman:

Yeah. I think that the most important thing that you can do, and this is easier said than done, but it’s just start making things. I think you can read about movies or, you know, study films as much as you want. But once you get on a set and start making things, that’s like the real learning. And so, you know, we all have little amazing cameras in our pockets now. Just get some friends, make a short film, and make a little web series. You don’t even have to put it anywhere, but just see what happens and see, you just have to have that determination to just keep making things.

And the only way you can get better at anything is by doing. And of course, for filmmaking, that’s so hard because it does require tremendous resources. But that’s why, you know, grab your cell phone and the sun, use your, you know, natural light, and go see what you can do. Again, you don’t have to put it anywhere. It doesn’t have to go on YouTube or anything, but just like start composing shots, and see what happens.

Glen Dower:

Perfect words of advice. And also within the message of the film, as we are recording we did have World Mental Health Day just a few short days ago. If anyone is reading this or watching this, do you think, what would you advise those people? Because you say you talked about your background. I briefly talked about mine. My advice would be just to talk to someone that you’re not alone. But from your point of view, what would you like to add to that?

Sara Friedman:

Absolutely the same thing. You are not alone. So many people around the globe have the same struggles you do. And talking to a therapist or a professional is so important. Also, be open with your family and friends if you can, if they are supportive, just getting the weight off of your back. And you’re not a burden to anybody if you need to share what’s going on.

Watch the video interview on our YouTube channel, and don’t forget to like and subscribe!

Glen Dower:

Another fantastic set of words of advice. Ms. Friedman, thank you so much for your time. I really enjoyed the movie, and can you just scream it for me one more time…I’m fucking meditating…just for me?

Sara Friedman:

I’M FUCKING MEDITATING!!!

Glen Dower:

You’ve made my day. Well, I will make sure our readers know your film is most definitely worth their time. And thank you for yours!

Sara Friedman:

Thank you, Glen. I appreciate it.

Heightened is available to rent/own on all North American digital HD internet, cable, and satellite platforms now.

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