Parker Posey sat curled on the oatmeal-colored corduroy sofa in her penthouse suite at the Sutton Place Hotel. As she pulled on her purple woolen sweater, its flowing sleeves pooling around her slender arms, she gazed out the window, which offered a unobstructed view of Chicago’s skyline.
Posey, 34, rubbed olive butter on her hands, then grabbed for a plaid, woven blanket, extending it, saying, “this belonged to my shrink — she passed away. She was 81.” After the moment passed, Posey indulged a humorous conversation riffing on psychological stereotypes.
Affable and genuinely funny in person, Posey spoke about therapy, cineaste-themed strawberries dressed in white and dark chocolate tuxedos — which were brought up by room service mid-interview — in honor of the Chicago International Film Festival, and, of course, her film career.
Humor is Posey’s forte, and she has constructed a full career on awkward laughter, appearing in about 30 films in the past seven years.
Memorable roles include quirky, improvisational parts in Christopher Guest films such as “Best in Show” and “Waiting For Guffman.” Posey will next appear in Guest’s latest ensemble caper, “A Mighty Wind,” due out in next year. She has also appeared in comedic guest roles on television’s “Will and Grace” and the film “You’ve Got Mail,” among others.
Posey was in town in October to promote her latest film, the dramatic “Personal Velocity,” written and directed by author/filmmaker Rebecca Miller.
The film, which made its debut at the Chicago Film Festival, opens on Friday and tells three separate, but not entirely unrelated, tales of women struggling with personal crises. Posey’s character, the ambitious Greta, is an editor who scores the job of a lifetime: editing a novel for a critically lauded upstart. Greta must confront her personal desire for success and reconcile it with the demands of an aloof father and doting husband.
“One of the things I really love about (“Personal Velocity”) is the voice of the narrator and how the audience is in the character’s lives more than the characters themselves,” she said. “And they’re not very conscious of what they’re going though but they gain consciousness as each of them live and connect the dots.”
The film, shot on handheld cameras, captures emotion in intimate close-ups steeped in gauzy realism.
“Most American films are dialogue-based, so it’s about a repartee and a lot of tone,” said Posey, contrasting the more arty elements of “Personal Velocity” with other mainstream films.
Posey said she jumped at the chance to join the cast of this film, eager for the freedom Miller provided her actors and crew members. Though she is an established actress, Posey says she still finds the Hollywood lifestyle to be arduous.
“The year I did ‘Personal Velocity’ (I did it) in two weeks, but it’s not that much considering the audition, the parts that I don’t get, the scripts that don’t get made,” she said. “Something like this comes along, but it’s really competitive.” Examples of parts Posey auditioned for but was not offered include, interestingly enough, a television pilot called “The Parker Posey Show,” which, after Posey herself was not offered the lead role (and, yes, she still had to audition), was scrapped.
A mainstay in contemporary American independent films, Posey has mastered the oddball and displays a droll affection for non-mainstream characters, but her motivation for work often comes from a need to make a living. That situation has often upset Posey, who wished to stick to her artistic vision yet still survive.
“I’m just dying to work. And you have to pay the bills,” she said. “I’ve counted coins, you know, and worked. You gotta support yourself, and then you get these independent movies and you’re like, ‘This isn’t paying anything. How about that? Guess what? Integrity doesn’t pay anything. Integrity pays integrity.’
“And that’s what you can think about when you’re 80 years old.” nyou
