“Waiting for Magic to Happen”: The Improvised Drama of Toronto Film “Matt and Mara”

TORONTO – As a child, Matt Johnson spent a lot of time trying to talk his way out of trouble.

“My mom said to me, ‘Oh, Matthew, I’m so worried that you’re going to say something rude to someone and they’re going to knock all your teeth out,'” the Toronto actor and director said on a video call.

But being a cheeky rascal not only taught him some valuable life skills, it also prepared him for his role in Toronto filmmaker Kazik Radwanski’s new romantic dramedy Matt and Mara.

The film is driven by free-flowing conversations, most of which are improvised by the actors.

“I think all that time being a jerk as a kid and trying to make people laugh gave me a good sense of how to verbally get out of a bad situation I got myself into “I brought myself,” added Johnson, who directed and starred in 2023’s “BlackBerry.”

“I do this in many of my scenes in Kazik’s films.”

The Toronto-set film, which begins its Canadian theatrical release on Friday, received widespread praise for its realistic performances and unique take on the rom-com archetype following its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film centers on Mara, a Toronto creative writing professor played by Deragh Campbell, who is going through a difficult period in her marriage when her iconoclastic ex – Johnson’s Matt – comes back into her life after becoming a successful novelist. As the two grow closer, an emotional affair of sorts ensues as they tiptoe around their unresolved feelings.

“It’s a romantic comedy that doesn’t quite understand how to be a romantic comedy,” Campbell said, adding that the film is about “a relationship that’s uncategorizable but also really important to one’s identity.”

In keeping with Radwanski’s style, “Matt and Mara” began with “the skeleton of a script,” with the actors free-forming dialogue, often while strolling through downtown Toronto and engaging with unsuspecting passers-by.

The writer-director said his inspiration for the film was the on-screen chemistry between Johnson and Campbell in his 2019 feature film “Anne at 13,000 Ft.”, which won the Toronto Film Critics Association award for best Canadian film 2020 won.

Radwanski said his method in filmmaking usually involves taking an idea “that feels really personal to him” and then filtering it through an actor’s voice and thoughts as they organically figure out the direction of the film.

“I was interested in Deragh and Matt’s different ideas about the characters and how they challenged those ideas in different ways,” he said. “They’re opposites in a lot of ways, but I think there’s also a lot of shared integrity and common interest.”

It’s no coincidence that Deragh rhymes with Mara and that Johnson’s character is also named Matt. Radwanski’s goal was to maintain a sense of realism throughout the film.

“A lot of the spark on set came from the way it impacted our lives,” he said.

“I think that’s partly why it’s so improvised. We wanted it to always feel real or floating or like a conversation that people would have. We are all friends too. That’s why we just wanted to keep shooting it.”

Campbell said she made a “personal investment” in portraying a difficult-to-define relationship in the film.

“I think it says something about the world we live in and how it’s structured so that there’s no room for that relationship and because of that a part of ourselves is lost,” she said.

The film challenges the definition of romantic love, Campbell added.

“It’s funny because I feel like Matt and Mara are romantic, but I don’t think it’s very full of sexual tension. It’s more like a dog chasing a squirrel.”

Perfecting this delicate dance is a bit like catching lightning in a bottle, and it takes many takes to get the perfect moment, Johnson said, adding that he did his best to “be inspired by the process “not to get frustrated.”

“What Kazik does is shoot things over and over again in an almost blurry way that makes you feel like he’s almost waiting for something magical to happen,” he said.

“And that can be very difficult to track because as soon as you chase it, it disappears.”

“Matt and Mara” opens Friday at the TIFF Lightbox in Toronto and will roll out to other Canadian cities including Winnipeg and Vancouver later this fall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press