VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Justine Bateman & Luke Bracey On Working With Olivia Munn On ‘Violet’

Director Justine Bateman and actor Luke Bracey discuss working with Olivia Munn on Violet.

Bateman told uInterview founder Erik Meers that the new film is “a map to get from a life that has a foundation of fear-based decisions to a life that has a foundation of instinct-based decisions.”

“And it’s something I went through years ago,” she said. “I didn’t know it was possible to get from one to the other. And once I realized you could, then I wanted to share that information with others because it stole time from me where I could’ve been myself back then.”

“The character of Violet is similar state to where I was,” she said, “and the character of Red that Luke plays was like what I wanted to become.”

Bracey’s role Red was one of the last roles to be cast, according to Bateman, because she “couldn’t find somebody who exemplified this sort of way of living and then when [she] met Luke [she] was like ‘Thank God.’ He was it.”

“I think the lovely thing about Red and his relationship with Violet is that he ultimately cares about her being able to take control of her life and do what she wants,” Bracey said. “He’s known her for a long time, they’re kind of childhood friends in a way. Him seeing his friend not owning their life in a way that they could, he really finds a good balance between, you know, not telling someone what to do, but just kind of like opening a door or a window and being like ‘You should look out there. There might be something interesting out there.’

“Finally, at the end of the movie, I think he’s so relieved and so happy that this person he cares about has been able to take the reins of their life finally,” he said, “and for the first time, and to express themselves and to live their life without fear and with instinct and with control. Without the fear of pain involved.”

“As a character I really admire him and there’s parts of him that I’ve really wanted to take into my own life,” the actor said. “His honesty and his ability to love and care, but also make sure that’s not washed in ingenuous platitudes.”

Bateman and Bracey gushed over working with Munn, who plays Violet.

“Olivia, you know, she had, you know, qualities I can see in other projects that I knew I needed for this role of Violet,” the director said, “and I knew the more subtle qualities I could tease out of her and expand.”

“I really enjoyed finding the simple, some would say kind of mundane, parts of like making a coffee with someone in the room or like chatting about that,” Bracey said.

Violet is playing in select theaters starting on Oct. 29. Check out the trailer below.