Elliot Page on Finding Happiness, and Working With Dominic Savage
Elliot Page is happy and more comfortable in his skin than he has ever been and that translates into his work in front of the camera.
The 37-year-old actor, director, and LGBTQ+ activist came out as transgender in 2020 and now stars in his first movie role, Close To You, since his transition. The movie is sensitively made, beautifully shot in capturing the raw and authentic moments — it’s clear that now, Page feels at home in his real (and reel) life.
Close To You, which premiered at TIFF in 2023 and is releasing in theatres this Friday, follows Sam (Elliot Page), who hasn’t been home since his transition and decides to visit his family for his dad’s birthday. On his journey, he has a chance encounter with a friend from high school (Hillary Baack) that sparks old feelings. It is on this trip that Sam confronts long-buried feelings, his relationship with his family, a first love, and discovers a newfound confidence.
“I’d seen Dominic’s work. I was so moved by it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t stop feeling it. Then I met him and he was just absolutely lovely. We hit it off and connected and seemed like we were similar — in just what we liked to watch, which films moved us, and why we wanted to make things — and [the project] just really did line up.”
Elliot Page on working with director Dominic Savage.
This is a personal story for Page, and audiences can see why. There are clear parallels between Page’s journey and Sam’s, as they both are finally finding acceptance and joy in their lives. In a virtual interview, Page tells me he’s experiencing happiness that he didn’t think was possible in the past. “For me, it’s the simple, quiet moments where I’m experiencing so much happiness, because that was something that I didn’t think was possible in the past.”
“Right now, happiness filters into so much of my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t have difficult days, or pain, or stress, or anxiety about all kinds of things — [I’m] having a full human experience — but now, I just have this undercurrent of happiness, which I honestly feel like I can just tap into by going like, ‘My God, I feel comfortable with myself?! This is insane!’ Just that that little tune in is enough for me; that will make me happy,” he says with a bright smile. The joy and energy radiating in this moment is palpable, even through the Zoom screen.
Director and writer Dominic Savage opted for an unconventional approach for the film — he wrote the script with no dialogue, and much was improvised the day of filming, including a 53-minute take. This approach, which allowed his actors to be fully present in a scene, was cathartic. The collaboration and approach excited Page, too.
I spoke with Page and Savage about making a raw, moving film in an unconventional style and learned what their future in filmmaking and acting looks like.
To showcase such a raw and authentic portrayal of Sam’s journey means that there had to have been an unwavering sense of trust between director and actor. What about each other made you comfortable to get to that space?
Dominic: I think it’s just a feeling that you have. It’s surprising, isn’t it? Because the first meeting was on Zoom, so it’s not the most ideal way to meet… but if you’re a genuine person, you can pick up on that, and you can feel each other’s attentiveness. We spoke of things that really mattered — it was quite a deep and intense meeting and I just knew that something was going to come from this, and it did. We kept talking, kept exchanging ideas, and then, eventually, the story emerged from those discussions. So, it was almost a perfect way of starting a project.
Elliot: I feel the same way. I’d seen Dominic’s work. I was so moved by it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I couldn’t stop feeling it. Then I met him and he was just absolutely lovely. We hit it off and connected and seemed like we were similar — in just what we liked to watch, which films moved us, and why we wanted to make things — and [the project] just really did line up. I feel very lucky, because I am so grateful to be a part of this body of work.
Elliot, how would you describe the feeling of, finally, being your authentic self in front of the camera?
Elliot: Like, something that I definitely never thought possible. Working in this way, also, I would not have been able to do before transitioning — in terms of how present you need to be, [and having] a certain foundation you need to be coming from. So, to get to work in this way, to feel just… liberated, in that space, and to wake up every day, so stoked to go and do it again, was a dream come true.
“I’ve said this before, but it’s not often you can say it: when you make work with a sense of love for what you’re doing, there is a difference to it all. The whole thing matters. It really matters to me. It matters to everyone involved. It transcends the whole idea of it being a job.”
Dominic Savage
Dominic, having a script with no dialogue, that’s improvised the day of, is quite unconventional. Why were you drawn to that process?
Dominic: I think because it allows for so many things to happen that can’t happen normally. I mean, in a way, a sort of conventional script limits it. Obviously, there’s lots of potential in there, but it’s also limiting. Whereas with this, there’s lots of things that can come from it, [things] that are possible and are surprising when it happens. I really enjoy that aspect of it.
The important thing is to lay the ground out so that those things are possible. All the choices you make when you’re getting into production are really important choices. They’re about bringing everyone together. So, there’s a feeling that everyone wants to be very open to trying things, to be open about themselves as well.
A lot of the time, when films are made, they are performances — and they’re good performances, hopefully — but there’s still a degree of acting it out. With this, it’s about the actors being really present with themselves and with each other. That’s the point. So, when something happens in a scene, someone really feels it. I think that’s important. And the truth is, everyone feels very good about that. They feel like they’ve dealt with something as well, so it’s slightly cathartic.
Elliot, which moment or scene in the film felt deeply true and authentic, both to Sam and to you?
Elliot: I mean, there were plenty of moments like that. Sometimes, it would be purely authentic in terms of what’s happening. So much of it felt purely authentic to me, like the emotion coming out of me and what have you.
There’s a moment near the end where Catherine’s character and I are lying in bed together, and she says to me: ‘I’m so proud of you, and just like, how far you’ve come, and just, I know you’re just going to continue to,’ and I just started weeping. That was Sam, but it was also Elliot, and it was also my friend Hillary [Baack], whom I’ve known for a long time, telling me this. That just completely cut through the whole thing. That just kind of floored me.
That line, in that moment, and that level of those two seeing each other — in some ways, that’s all Sam wanted. He went home and they were like, ‘We love you, but we’re worried, and what’s your job, etc.’ He’s like, ‘Wait, but you weren’t worried when I actually wasn’t okay.’ Now, here’s this person saying: ‘Oh my God, I am so happy to see you fucking thriving’ — excuse me. That moment definitely slayed me.
“I’m feeling creatively inspired and excited in a way that I certainly haven’t in a long time.”
Elliot Page
When you two discussed this story, what was always at the heart of this, no matter how many takes or drafts came through?
Dominic: I think the ethos was always collaborative and trusting, knowing that this was going to be a journey with a lot of emotions involved. It was delicate, always very sensitive and sensitively made. I think that’s the other thing. I’ve said this before, but it’s not often you can say it: when you make work with a sense of love for what you’re doing, there is a difference to it all. The whole thing matters. It really matters to me. It matters to everyone involved. It transcends the whole idea of it being a job. It’s so much more than that. It’s just about exploring life, exploring ourselves, and exploring human themes. So, all of that is going on while we’re doing it. The film is a big part of my life and so it should be.
Elliot, with this having themes of self-discovery, what have you discovered about yourself as a person and an actor having made this film and gone through this journey? Perhaps a realization that hit while filming or after?
Elliot: I mean, while filming, it was very clear to me that [this film] just wouldn’t have been possible for me before, and that realization did mean something to me. Like, ‘Wow, I can be here and do this and feel this way.’ That sensation was so exhilarating, you know? I went in thinking, ‘How is this? How does he actually do this on the day? Like, how does this work?’ I suppose, if anything, it was just the joy of getting to create in that way. It was absolutely exhilarating.
Dominic, as a director, in what ways did Elliot surprise you with how far he was able to take and deliver the role?
Dominic: You hope that an actor is going to give everything. Elliot did — and does — because it really matters. The work that we do does matter, and that’s why we’re there. It was wonderful to be a part of that, to feel like I was allowing him the space and the freedom and the trust to go somewhere that he knew mattered to me as well.
I always remember, Elliot would often say at the end of a shooting day, ‘That was a really lovely day of work, lovely day of making stuff.’ And I thought that mattered, because that’s why we do it. We want to have days where we feel very creative and that we’ve done something really special and different. That was an amazing thing about our relationship. There were hard days, of course — making anything worthwhile is hard — but it’s worthwhile. I think that’s one thing to experience in the filmmaking context.
Elliot: I look forward to the day when we can do another one. I hope we get to do another one. I speak for all of the actors when I say everyone was, I think, blown away by just how sensational this experience was. [The] actors, all of them, were just wanting to work this way again and again and again. It’s pretty magical.
Elliot, what does your future look like, in terms of the art you want to make as an actor?
Elliot: Oh my gosh. You know, I’m feeling creatively inspired and excited in a way that I certainly haven’t in a long time. I feel fortunate to be in a position with the company I have, Pageboy Productions, where we’re getting to develop so many interesting different things. As an actor, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play all kinds of new roles — I hope, I’m so bad at knowing it. It’s usually about what comes and inspires you, and makes you feel like ‘Oh shit, this is the thing I should spend some time doing.’
Sam’s mom asks him: ‘Are you happy?’ It’s a simple but deeply profound, important question that I think we need to ask more often. So, I’d like to ask you: What makes you happy now?
Elliot: In the morning when I’m out with my dogs on a run, or [when] I’m lucky enough to be creating with people like Dominic. For me, it’s the simple, quiet moments where I’m experiencing so much happiness, because that was something that I didn’t think was possible in the past.
Right now, happiness filters into so much of my life. That doesn’t mean I don’t have difficult days, or pain, or stress, or anxiety about all kinds of things — [I’m] having a full human experience — but now, I just have this undercurrent of happiness, which I honestly feel like I can just tap into by going like, ‘My God, I feel comfortable with myself?! This is insane!’ Just that that little tune in is enough for me; that will make me happy.
Close To You is in theatres Friday, August 16.
