Famke Janssen on Turn the River and her filmography

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There's plenty of high speed big thrill activity now playing at the multiplex but if you want an actress to get your heart racing this summer, you're going to have to look for counter-programming. Look no further than Famke Janssen's film elevating, career expanding work in Chris Eigeman's directorial debut Turn the River. The year is young but Janssen's work is arguably the best lead performance so far this year. The low key drama about a pool shark playing high stakes life games, opens in limited release May 9th. Janssen plays Kailey, an estranged mom looking to make a risky break for Canada with her son (wonderfully played by Jaymie Dorman) in tow. The trouble is this: she doesn't have custody, not even have visitation rights. But Kailey isn't the sort of woman to think too far beyond the current game and what balls (and bills) she's pocketing.

I had a chance to sit down with the actress (still best known for glamazon spins in action films like GoldenEye and the X-Men franchise though the career holds more variety than that) at the Indianapolis International Film Festival recently. She had just completed a Q & A with an audience who were clearly fond of her frazzled character work in Turn the River. We sat in the corner of a noisy nearby lounge to talk. Though interrupted frequently by well wishers and festival goers, the actress was patient, frank and generous with her time.

Her director Chris Eigeman, the charming actor you'll remember for those 90s Whit Stillman films (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco) also stopped by for a brief chat and very welcome compliments about the Film Experience blog. All in all, the night was the highlight of the festival. [Please Note: What follows is the actual conversation with Famke only, minus personal asides with minor edits for clarity, big spoilers or omissions due to noise levels on the recording.]

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