{"id":934265,"date":"2026-10-15T18:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T18:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934265\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T18:50:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T18:50:11","slug":"love-of-your-life-director-on-margaret-qualley-covid-19-and-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/934265\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Love of Your Life’ Director on Margaret Qualley, COVID-19 and Ending"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for \u201cLove of Your Life<\/a>,\u201d now streaming on Prime Video. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Rachel Morrison<\/a> read the script for \u201cLove of Your Life,\u201d it stuck with her. <\/p>\n

\n\tPenned by \u201cNyad\u201d writer Julia Cox, the story follows Maya, a 20-something emergency room nurse living in Boston without much family to call her own. When she meets the nerdy but charming Charlie, the two start building a life together \u2014 until tragedy during the COVID-19 pandemic causes it to fall apart. Maya runs away from her pain by traveling the world, first to Portugal and then to London and Japan, but an unexpected romance forces her to confront her past and realize that there may be more than one love of her life.<\/p>\n

\n\tMorrison, who has already had an illustrious career as a director of photography \u2014 she was the first woman to be nominated for the best cinematography Oscar for her work on 2017\u2019s \u201cMudbound\u201d \u2014 made her directorial debut two years ago with the sports drama \u201cThe Fire Inside.\u201d For her follow-up, she\u2019d been thinking about the intersection of love and loss. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI obviously was drawn to the script, but didn\u2019t immediately think, \u2018This is my next project,’\u201d Morrison tells Variety over Zoom. \u201cIt really was just, this is good writing and I want to talk about it with this writer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMorrison and Cox really connected. \u201cThere was a deep sense of mutual respect, but also, for this script that was incredibly well received and jumped off the page, she was not precious about it,\u201d Morrison says. \u201cThe more I sat with it, the more it sort of got under my skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe same was true for the film\u2019s cast, an all-star ensemble led by Margaret Qualley<\/a> as Maya and including Gabriel Basso as Charlie; Aaron Pierre as Felix, a handsome stranger she meets abroad; Patrick Schwarzenegger as her best friend Jason; and Catherine Keener in a scene-stealing performance as Charlie\u2019s mother Ruth. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe have leading actors playing supporting roles, and I think that\u2019s because this really spoke to them,\u201d Morrison says. <\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, the director speaks more with Variety about working with Qualley, putting the COVID-19 pandemic on screen and why they didn\u2019t go with the obvious ending. <\/p>\n

\t\tWhat was it about the script that struck you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think there were two prominent things. One is that it\u2019s sadly rare to have features where particularly female characters are layered and complex and flawed and messy and aren\u2019t sort of reduced to just a plot engine, but actually have a lot of nuance and growth to do within the script. And I thought that was really exciting to see a character who could make some really questionable decisions, but you\u2019re still rooting for her. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd then I think the reason why I was interested in the cross-section between love and loss is because of how personal it is to me. I\u2019m somebody who was shaped from some pretty significant early loss that really transformed who I became. And I went through the same kind of messy tumult that Maya\u2019s character did, where you\u2019re trying to make sense of your life after something so devastating, and you\u2019re moving through the world without actually engaging in it. These guardrails come up because you don\u2019t ever want to be hurt again, and it\u2019s a real process to take those down. So I think I saw myself in Maya and in the script, and felt like I could be additive to it. The more I sat with it, the more I realized how personal it was and therefore how right I would be to tell it.<\/p>\n

\t\tTell me about finding your leading lady in Margaret Qualley.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMargaret had read the script \u2014 I mean, many actresses had read the script and kind of raised their hand. A few names stood out, Margaret\u2019s in particular, where I knew she could be a real ally and partner in this. As somebody who\u2019s going to have to anchor the entire thing, it\u2019s critical that your actress wants to be there and really understands the film that you\u2019re trying to make. We sat down and really talked about it, and it was clear we both wanted to make the same film. I\u2019ve been a big fan of hers for a long time, and part of what I\u2019m a fan of is this wild range she has. Her character choices are sometimes from one thing to the next, just these really bold characters. And I was excited that I don\u2019t feel like in a feature sense, I\u2019ve seen \u2014 maybe on \u201cMaid\u201d on TV \u2014 a really foot-on-the-ground, relatable performance that I knew she was capable of. And I was excited to see what the girl-next-door version could be.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow about the men in Maya\u2019s life: Gabriel Basso, Aaron Pierre and Patrick Schwarzenegger?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe biggest goal was for there to be variation between them. Each character had specificity as scripted, and actually as we cast the roles, they started to inform each other. Aaron is maybe a little more stoic than his character is written, which then allowed Gabe [to have] this kinetic, golden retriever energy. And then, obviously, doing chemistry reads with Margaret and Patrick too, and making sure that each of their chemistry was palpable but unique unto itself. And certainly Gabe brought out a different quality in Margaret than Aaron did and Patrick did, and you can feel it throughout the film.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow has your career as a cinematographer informed your directing style?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst and foremost was the desire to shoot on real locations. People have different methodologies, but for me it was almost a non-starter. I really wanted to go to the spaces where this film existed, and not try to create them in a soundstage. And there are other directors who probably would skew towards the soundstage version, and so I commend Amazon MGM for actually letting me do it that way, because that\u2019s not really how movies get made anymore. It\u2019s actually really unusual to go to two cities, let alone four. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd then, I can\u2019t turn off the DP in me, which I think is actually a real asset to my cinematographers because I\u2019m scouting from the beginning. Even before the DP comes on, I\u2019m looking at how the location interacts with light, how I can block a scene within a space to move the camera in such a way. So it\u2019s sort of ingrained in how I visualize things, even probably from the page. And then [cinematographer] Todd [Banhazi], we had such a lovely collaboration. He\u2019s amazing. But he kind of would light the world and then let me exist, which is how I like to work.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMargaret Qualley and Gabriel Basso in \u201cLove of Your Life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\tThe COVID-19 pandemic is a central part of the story. How did you go about portraying that and addressing our collective trauma from it, given that it wasn\u2019t that long ago? Not many films have attempted to put it on screen.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI think for us, the most important thing was to get it right. Because this isn\u2019t just the pandemic, it\u2019s the pandemic as experienced through a first responder. And so we did a lot of consulting, both myself and Margaret, with nurses and doctors and just the medical profession during that time and the different stages of it. And then the lasting effects of it, of course. But I think just looking for little things that we would all relate to, even like \u201cTiger King,\u201d wiping down the groceries with Clorox. The goal was really to recreate it in a way that feels both like yesterday and also like a lifetime ago, but that everyone would fully relate to. And not make it sensationalized. I think that\u2019s the thing about the whole movie \u2014 I\u2019m always trying to make it the grounded, relatable version of itself and not the cinema version of itself. So it\u2019s never the extreme, it\u2019s always the recognizable.<\/p>\n

\t\tMargaret has some very heavy emotional scenes. How did you work together to get her to that place?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tMargaret had really great instincts. You have this character who spends a lot of the movie not actively grieving \u2014 it\u2019s manifesting in these other ways, but she\u2019s not actually releasing the emotion. Obviously, she\u2019s feeling all the things and is traumatized, but she doesn\u2019t quite know how to express it. On the day, there are things that happen always with good actors where they\u2019re feeling the feel and there\u2019s a reaction that isn\u2019t even performative, it\u2019s so from the body and the heart and the soul. So like, Margaret heaving trying to get the words out to Ruth on the phone, it was actually scripted that she got it all out and then lost it \u2014 but she couldn\u2019t find the words. And I think she was right. It was a much more honest portrayal of what Maya would have been going through. I think my approach is you go in with a plan, but you\u2019re always looking to pivot or react to what\u2019s in front of you and not what you\u2019d imagine. You have to be open to that, otherwise I think you can really stifle the process.<\/p>\n

\t\tAt the end of the film when Maya flees the airport, I expected her to run back to Jason, but she actually goes to visit Ruth. Tell me about the decision for her not to end up with him.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYou just touched on the other thing that drew me to this script, which is that we\u2019re taking these genres that have a set of expectations and completely subverting them. It was very much by design that the audience thinks she\u2019s going back to Jason for a moment, and then realizes she\u2019s going to Ruth. And that\u2019s because this genre is set up for the happily ever after romantic ending. And I am just so profoundly grateful and thrilled that that\u2019s not how this film ends and that it really is so much more about finding her way back to life and to herself. The hope is now she will be open to all the possibilities in front of her \u2014 and will probably find the right person again someday and maybe still have kids and all the things \u2014 but we\u2019re not spelling it out or buttoning it up for people and know that just finding herself is enough. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tAaron Pierre and Margaret Qualley in \u201cLove of Your Life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9MGM\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

\t\t\u201cLove of Your Life\u201d got a one-week theatrical release before dropping on Prime. Why was this important for you?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI mean, I\u2019m somebody that came from a time when dramas were in theaters. I made this film knowing it was always destined for Prime, [but] I made it for the theatrical experience anyway. I don\u2019t know that I would ever shoot something differently because of the platform, but I\u2019ve definitely been encouraging anyone and everyone to see it in theaters while they can because I do think there\u2019s something so immersive about that experience for a number of reasons. There\u2019s something very special about an engaged audience sharing an emotional experience together too, which is something that we just don\u2019t get that much anymore because most movies in theaters these days are horror or action. The idea of all having a good cry together is quite rare. But, thankfully, I think it plays very well on Prime, too. And one thing that we learned just through the testing process is that \u2014 shocker \u2014 men feel more comfortable emoting at home. And so, it may actually play better for the male gender to just, in the comfort and privacy of their own home, really let it go.<\/p>\n

\t\tAny idea what your next film will be?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m interested in grounded sci-fi. I\u2019m always looking for a device to hide the drama because I do want to make movies for the theater if possible. Because unless you\u2019re Nolan or now maybe Coogler, we can\u2019t get audiences to dramas anymore. I mean, even when you look at most of these films, like an \u201cArrival\u201d or a \u201cBlade Runner\u201d or \u201cDune,\u201d often they\u2019re just simple [stories]. \u201cStar Wars\u201d is a father-son story, but it exists in space and therefore people are excited to go to the theater for the spectacle of it. So one bucket would be a big, world-building spectacle-y sci-fi drama. And I guess there\u2019s another version where I make something smaller in the A24\/Neon space where, by virtue of not making it for as much money, it gets a theatrical release because it can exist in a smaller space. But my goal right now would be to do something that\u2019s undeniably theatrical and to do something that I haven\u2019t done before. I\u2019m always trying to push myself and challenge myself, hence the pivot from cinematography at the top of my game to starting completely over as a director. It\u2019s to keep growing and evolving. So whatever\u2019s least expected of me, that\u2019s probably what I\u2019ll do next.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for \u201cLove of Your Life,\u201d now streaming on Prime Video. When Rachel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,75,310072,118348,337,210783],"class_list":["post-934265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-love-of-your-life","tag-margaret-qualley","tag-movies","tag-rachel-morrison"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}