Sidney Flanigan is a musician from Buffalo, New York, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always marks her acting debut. For her first role, Flanigan really dived into the deep end of the pool, landing the lead role in an intimate coming-of-age drama about a small town Pennsylvania teen who travels to New York City with her best friend in an attempt to besieged on all sides by a society that seeks to oppress her, suppress her rights, and prey on her fears.
Written and directed by Eliza Hittman, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is an unflinching portrayal of what it's like to be a girl trapped in young people finding their way in a modern America that is more real than older generations might be willing to it.
While promoting the release of Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Sidney Flanigan spoke to Screen Rant about working on the film. She discusses how she, a teenage musician from Buffalo, wound up catching the eye of Hittman, and how she applied her musical training and knowledge to the medium of film and the craft of acting. She also talks about the themes of the piece, from her character's uncomfortable interactions with the men of the movie to the uncompromising realism of the film's portrayal of New York City.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always is out now in select theaters.
Could you talk a bit about how this role came to your attention?
I was about 14 years old. Eliza's partner, Scott Cummings, was making a film in Buffalo, called Buffalo Juggalos. And he was mainly filming at this house in South Buffalo, where I grew up. Where all these juggalo people lived. I was seeing someone at the time who was crashing at this house, and I would be there, hanging out. I was kind of on the fringes, because they were filming there a lot. I wasn't in it, but I was there. And there was a backyard wedding there, one day, at this house, and Eliza was there, and I guess she spotted me and thought I was really, (laughs), really in over my head. She and Scott followed me on Facebook over the years, and they would watch the videos I posted of me playing music. And they reached out to me to audition for this film last year. At first I was kind of hesitant because I had never acted before, hadn't considered it. But after talking to Eliza and reading the script, I was really drawn to how powerful the story was. I consulted with my friends and family, and they all told me I should go for it and give it a shot.
Wow. I had assumed you were, like, a theater kid or something, because of how good you are in it!
Thanks, that means a lot!
Could you talk a bit about Eliza? There was obviously a degree of faith from her, since she got you to try out, but do you think she had you in mind even before then, when she was writing it?
She said, when they were casting, she kept telling her producers and stuff, "We're kind of looking for someone like this girl, Sidney." And they were all just, like, "Well, none of these girls are Sidney." And she was like, "You know what? I'm just gonna get Sidney." I think, yeah, she did have me in mind to some extent. It's very strange to me, because she's a person who, all these years, I didn't realize was watching me!
It's one of those things, like, even if you don't know what "it" is, you've got it, and she saw it.
Right. I entirely put my faith in that, and as much into myself as possible, and dived in.
Was there a learning curve? Were you on needles and pins on the first day?
Yeah. I definitely learned a lot as it went on. To some extent, I felt like... I'm already a performer. I'm a musician, and I've been playing shows since I was about 17. I'm not afraid of performing in front of other people. I didn't have stage freight. I grew more and more comfortable with it as the days went on. With the acting itself, I feel, as a musician, I don't know, I've taken on personas or had to climb into certain emotional head spaces in order to deliver a song a certain way. So I feel like they kind of go hand-in-hand in that way. I just try my best to apply that method I use for music, to acting.
A big part of this movie is having that sisterhood. In this case, it's the cousin, the best friend. Do you have someone like that in real life?
Yes! I'd say I have a few. Most of them are women, but there's a good handful of friends I have who are men who can be that person for me. I'm lucky to have a really good system in my life. But not everybody is so lucky.
I'm a cis guy, so a lot of stuff kinda goes over my head. Guys, I think, don't realize how intimidating and scary they can be. Obliviously menacing. I mean, I'd like to think we don't realize, because if we do realize it, and do it anyway, then that's much worse. This movie does an amazing job at making people see how scary it can be to be a woman in the city, and how every guy is potentially super dangerous.
It is a very intimidating way to grow up. It's very much a coming of age story in the sense that these girls are learning about the hostile environment they're really in, and how men have, whether it's intentional or not, there's going to be these situations you're going to run into, whether they're microaggressions or really strong aggression. It's something you're always going to run into. At the same time, I think it's a good representation of what that's like, and I also hope that, you know, maybe it can give men an insight, to let them know what it's like to be in our shoes and to have sort of an understanding of our perception of the world.
There's a whole sequence near the end of the film that's completely masterful where the characters have to deal with Théodore Pellerin's character, a boy who can help them, but who also wants certain things from them. I don't want to spoil too much for the Screen Rant reader, but it's harrowing and profound.
I think, in my opinion, his character... At first, I don't think he's specifically predatory. But at the same time, he's a little... I think he has a smugness about him and thinks he's so charming. I think he doesn't realize that he's being a little intrusive. I think there's parts of him where it's unintentional because he's so up in his own head. But at the same time, it gets to the point where he's very persistent.
Yeah, that persistence can muddle the line between consent and enthusiastic consent, right?
Right.
I've got little nieces and cousins, and they're definitely going to see this movie. You know, I can tell them things and give them advice, but there's always going to be an element of, "Yeah, whatever, you're almost 30, you're old, you're a boy, who cares." But movies have the power to really transcend that and get the message across. Even if it's rated R or whatever, teen girls are totally the target audience, right?
It is actually PG-13.
Oh, that's fantastic!
We only had to voiceover replace a couple of f****. It's really great.
Can you talk a bit about some of your favorite movies, maybe some that inspired you while you were working on this character? Maybe some movies you'd also recommend to young girls?
There weren't any specific movies that I've watched that I'd say informed the character. I watched Eliza's other movies to understand her style. I would very much recommend Eliza's other movies. Beach Rats and It Felt Like Love. I think she has a really amazing way of telling these coming-of-age stories about struggling with this inner turmoil you experience in adolescence. Like, she's really good at that. It's the type of stuff I would show teenagers, because I feel like it's more realistic than Hollywood movies that make kids think high school is a certain way that's completely unrealistic. I think it gives people certain false expectations of the world. I really like movies that are more grounded in reality. I was really into John Hughes movies growing up, and I was really sad that detention was nothing like The Breakfast Club!
Never Rarely Sometimes Always is out now in select theaters.
