“Grow,” which opens on October 17, is a charming story about a girl named Charlie (newcomer Priya-Rose Brookwell) with a gift for communicating with plants. She was abandoned at an orphanage by her feckless mother, but when the staff locates her aunt Dinah (Golda Rosheuvel). Charlie joins her on her struggling farm in a small community where the most important event of the year is the annual pumpkin competition.
In an interview, Glaswegian director John McPhail talked about finding the right cast and setting and making a movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
The setting you found for the film really invites us into the world of the story. It’s so charming.
It is a made-up town, but we shot it at a place called Culross. It’s a beautiful little town. There’s loads of history to it. It’s like a British town, and it’s almost got this little touch of Scandinavian architecture to it, which I thought would lean into the fantasy element. It has a big orange building from when they used to tan, and I thought, “Ah, like pumpkins.” And it’s right on the coast as well, so I thought it would just make a really lovely little setting.
You said you wanted to make this a family film rather than a film for children. What does that mean?
I wanted to create that shared experience, where the kids are laughing and the adults are laughing. It’s trying to find that happy balance. I make films for audiences. I am here to tell stories.
The edit was so brisk that it taught us not to take it all too seriously because it is fun and not too tense.
My editor is incredible. David Arthur is a filmmaker himself as well. He’s not a yes guy. He tells you his opinions and fights for every frame as well. That relationship starts even before we start shooting. Dave’s cutting while I’m filming so I’ll get a phone call from him saying, “Oh, this is great,” or “Can you can you pick up a shot?” And he’s a father. So,
having him there next to me through all this was brilliant.
You have an outstanding cast, though it took me a minute to get used to seeing Queen Charlotte on a farm! Tell me about the casting process, starting with Priya in her first screen role.
Priya was nine. She is in practically every frame of the film, and she just knocked it out of the park all the time. She never cried. She was never huffy. She never stopped. It’s like she came in every day as a bundle of energy and a joy to work with. And I would talk to her the same way I would talk to Nick and Golda. I can’t praise her enough, one incredible kid. She just loves acting.
The magic trick you accomplished in this movie is combining a lot of different tones and genres while keeping it very organic.
Balancing the tone overall is something that I’m thinking about all the time. It’s a British film, a British cast, but I want it to be international. When you’ve got like American financiers and UK financiers, and the Americans want to make it bigger, and the UK is like, “Bring it back down.” I have to make sure that I’m looking after and servicing both those audiences. I’d get my cast to do other takes to be a bit bigger, and then other times dial it back. That meant in the edit, I got to have fun playing with things. I can either really push it or pull it back as well. And that allows a little bit more fluidity. It just creates this nice little push and pull. It meant we could find that sweet spot.
I sit down with all my department heads, tell them what I’m looking for, and then they feed into it. But film is such a collaborative process. I get to work with incredible talent, and they’re just building on everything that I’m doing. When you’re collaborative and open like that, it creates a more harmonious set. People feel like they can talk.
And I like to have fun. We’re making entertainment. This is my dream job. Why would I be grumpy? Why would I be fighting with folk? I just want us all to finish the day and make something that’s great, but I want us to have fun while we do it.
I’m very selective, particularly with my heads of departments and my crew, because I want people who are going to be like that. Not everyone will know me on the first day, but by the end of the film, everyone will know me, from the security guards to the execs, because I talk to everyone. It’s about appreciating each other.
And honestly, I had the best cast. None of them had any egos. They just wanted to come in. They wanted to have a lot of fun. Golda and Nick [Frost] were never in their trailers. They were always on set. They just wanted to hang out with the crew. When you’ve got a cast and crew who feel listened to and appreciated, the audience can sense that kind of joy.
I always told her to go with her gut. If it feels right in the moment, go. You get some of the best stuff that way. You may get absolute nonsense, but we go again.
Something unusual in the movie, especially in a film for young people, is having two villains.
Even with the score, we loved writing that villain theme. I love a villain, and like I love a villain that turns around as well. Jeremy Swift was so funny. And Jane Horrocks and Tim McInnerny are those posh weirdos. I didn’t want them to be posh idiots. I wanted them to be weird.
