Pearl: Mia Goth on the scripting process, the monologue, and that smile

When our own JimmyO interviewed director Ti West and star Mia Goth about their X (watch it at THIS LINK) prequel Pearl (watch that one HERE), West said that he and Goth crafted the script for Pearl together while he was spending two weeks in quarantine before he could start working on X in New Zealand. They would discuss the story and the Pearl character over FaceTime, then work on the script. During an appearance at the Savannah College of Art and Design during the 25th SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Goth talked more about the scripting process – and revealed that the creepy smile Pearl gives at the end of the film was something West just thought of when they were on set that day.

If you have watched Pearl – and you should, as both JimmyO and Martin Scorsese recommend it – you’ll surely remember the moment where Goth delivers a monologue that goes on for roughly eight minutes (and she does an incredible, spellbinding job of it). Speaking to the Savannah College students, Goth said, “The writing process for that monologue reflects what the entire writing process for the script was, really. I would write in the kind of stream style [of] consciousness, and then I would send that out to [West]. I would often write in the mornings, I would get up very early, I would get my coffee, set my computer overlooking my apartment, and I just started writing. And I’d send it off to him, and he would incorporate that into the script format because I’ve never written a script, I’ve never studied screenwriting. So that was kind of how it worked. The same applies to the monologue. … A big source of inspiration for me for that monologue was, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Hunger by Steve McQueen? You know, there’s that incredible scene with Michael Fassbender and the cameras on him for however long, and I’ve always thought that was a great scene. You look at that as actors when you’re watching movies, and you’re like, ‘I’m gonna do that.’“

As for the moment where Pearl gives an unnerving smile for about two minutes while the end credits appear over her face: “(West) said, ‘Why don’t we just hold on your face for a while and see what happens?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, okay, Ti… leave it with me.’ I think he just said, ‘See what happens at the end of the film. If nothing comes, then we’ll just do a freeze frame and it’ll be great. We’ll just play around with it. Have fun.’“

X was set in 1979. Pearl turns the clock back to 1918 to tell the following story:

Trapped on her family’s isolated farm, Pearl must tend to her ailing father under the bitter and overbearing watch of her devout mother. Lusting for a glamorous life like she’s seen in the movies, Pearl’s ambitions, temptations, and repressions all collide, in the stunning, technicolor-inspired origin story of X’s iconic villain.

Goth, who was buried under old age makeup to play Pearl in X, ditches that makeup to reprise the role in this prequel. She is joined in the cast by David Corenswet (The Politician), Matthew Sunderland (The Nightingale), Tandi Wright (Alibi), and Emma Jenkins-Purro (The Brokenwood Mysteries).

Pearl was produced by A24, Jacob Jaffke, Harrison Kreiss and Kevin Turen, with Goth, Dennis Cummings, Sam Levinson, Ashley Levinson, Karina Manashil, Scott Mescudi, and Peter Phok serving as executive producers. 

Goth also played the final girl Maxine in X, and will be reprising that role in the sequel MaXXXine, which will be set in the ’80s.

Are you a fan of X and/or Pearl? Share your thoughts on these films – and Goth’s performances in them – by leaving a comment below.