After watching the movie “Lost and Delirious” many times, I desired to know more details about this masterpiece of a movie. And every time I watched the film this feeling grew more and more intense within me. So I decided to research the internet and discovered that the Canadian DVD includes a special feature that is not shown on any other DVDs published in the other countries. It is a “Behind the scenes” video, that includes interviews with the director, Lèa Pool and the lead actresses, Piper Perabo, Jessica Paré and Mischa Barton.
On the Canadian DVD, this special Lost and Delirious DVD feature is found in the bonus materials section. Select the menu-option “Bonus Material” then click the link called “Behind the scenes” to view this feature.
The video is 8:10 minutes and starts with how some scenes of the movie were filmed. In the beginning of the clip two camera men are shown, as they film “Paulie” (Piper Perabo) standing on the table in the library, where she tells “Tori “(Jessica Paré), I will make me a willow cabin at your gate…”, a scene that refers to the Shakespeare play “twelfth night”.
A few seconds later, we see “Mouse” also known as “Mary 'Mouse' Bedford” (Mischa Barton) running toward the school after the duel between Paulie and Jake shown in the end of the movie. After a short close-up shot of Jessica we see for the first time Léa Pool directing the movie.
As the first of the main actresses, Piper Perabo, who plays Pauline 'Paulie' Oster is interviewed:
Piper Perabo: “For me the film is about love and.. ehm about… kind of pushing on the boundaries of love.”
During the interview, part of the scene of Lost and Delirious where Faye Vaughn (Jackie Burroughs) stands in front of the classroom and lectures about Shakespeare is shown. She then writes on the blackboard what the Shakespeare passage is all about: LOVE.
Then Jessica Paré, who plays Victoria 'Tori' Moller is interviewed:
Jessica Paré: “It’s a coming of age story about… you know… first relationships and friendships. And I think that especially at that age its really the most intense relationship that can happen yeah, it is totally about loving somebody for who they are and like no matter what sex or gender or whatever.”
Various scenes of Lost and Delirious with Mary B. are shown as well as some love scenes between Tori and Paulie.
The interview with Jessica continues:
Jessica Paré: “The story of these two girls is a friendship that becomes more and more intense. And I don’t think that Tori is, or will necessarily be a lesbian or is a lesbian.”
A further scene, where Tori spoke to her sister Allison (Emily Vancamp) on the schoolyard is shown. (Allison caught Tori in bed naked with Paulie a short time before).
The interview with Jessica Paré continues while clips from the movie are shown.
Jessica Paré: “I think that she loves Paulie because she is her best friend and she totally is devoted to her”
Immediately after the interview with Jessica Paré, the interview with Piper Perabo is continues:
Piper Perabo: “You love who you love, you know, and especially when people love so strong…it’s like how can you deny them, that kind of… I mean…there is no denying, like that, that kind of fury…or fire.
If we look closely at Piper Perabo, we can see, that she got a little hurt at her right eye.
The following interview with Léa Pool is very interesting in my eyes; she talks about her intentions as the director of Lost and Delirious.
Léa Pool: “The story is of a friendship of 3 girls in a boarding school and how they begin their adult life in this very special place.”
Subsequent to the interview with Léa Pool a scene of the movie, where Tori and Mary meet Jake (Luke Kirby) and his friends John (Stephen Mwinga) and Phil (Peter Oldring) in the woods is shown.
Interview with Léa Pool continues:
Léa Pool: “They have to learn what life is, so they are very together and in the same time it's very painful and very joyful, and so a lot of emotions are in the film.”
The interview was interrupted by a scene where the girls are singing in the chapel. Mary B. watches Tori and Paulie holding hands, while singing the choral.
Mischa Barton’s interview begins:
Mischa Barton: “Yeah, I guess Mouse is the audience perspective, it’s her feelings and the emotions she is going through, while all the stuff that is happing to Tori and Paulie” (Mischa laughs).
During Mischa’s interview we discover the only scene we know that was deleted in l&d.
The scene that was shown was when Paulie and Mary meet for the very first time. As they sit on the sofa Paulie is smoking a cigarette. The dialog not shown in the movie is:
Mary B: "She just showed me the room"
Paulie: "Mhm. did she say anything?"
Mary B: " I'm sorry, about?"
Paulie: "Did she say anything about me? come on and tell me right away."
The continuation of the interview with Mischa Barton:
Mischa Barton: “She comes to the boarding school as a very shy girl and all over the period she is there, Pauli is… kind of… has a nervous breakdown and because of that, she develops and becomes stronger to help Paulie “
The continuation of the interview with Jessica Paré:
Jessica Paré: When I heard about the project. . .I heard that day I was shooting in English.. and I just asked everyone I could to get an audition. .and when I read . .uh ..the part of Tori, I just loved it ‘cause I was like. . .It’s me!!!..like, you know..’cause I think I’m very like that too.. ‘cause I want people to like me. . .and um, it’s kind of a bubbly character. . .so it’s fun and there’s a lot of intense emotions. . .so it’s good too.. .it’s like really tough stuff. . .
Some scenes of “the making of the movie” were shown.
Continuation of the interview with Piper Perabo:
Piper Perabo: “But often times this age woman isn’t written as you know neither super smart or almost never a leader and so i really like that about her.”
The interview is interrupted by the scene, where Paulie gives her beautiful love-speech:
"Liar, liar, liar, liar! You've all got your heads up your assholes because love IS. It just IS, and nothing you can say can make it go away! Because it IS the point of why we are here; It is the highest point and once you are up there, looking down on everyone else, you're there forever. Because if you move, right? You fall. You FALL."
Piper Perabo: “I like how passionate she is about her learning and her loves she is really like 3000 percent all the time she is always running like she is never tired I don’t know whatever when Paulie sleeps because she is always kind of fueled.”
Before the interview with Mischa Barton continues, a scene where Mouse thinks about what she would write in a letter to her mother is shown.
Mischa Barton: “I had a good idea of what I thought mouse would be like and some nervous reactions she might have and something she might do when she gets shy and I had a pretty good idea how to play a shy character and Léa also helped me.”
Refering to Mischas interview, a scene of Lost and Delirious is shown, where Mischa wakes up the first time and Tori and Paulie are in bed naked. Mouse stands up, is confused and goes to the wash basin.
Continuation of the interview with Léa Pool:
Léa Pool: “To go so quickly in a new scene with a completely different kind of emotions and jump to a next scene with another feeling and another emotion, so it is pretty hard but it’s... they are so good. I’m really amazed by their talents, they are so young, I just follow them, I just give them some marks and they know that I’m there, that I can see and if something isn't right, I can tell them so they just jump in there and the feel free to go as far as they can.
The interview is interrupted by a scene of Lost and Delirious where the last kiss between Paulie and Tori is shown. Tori tells Paulie, “.. this could never ever ever forever be, do you understand?” and Paulie breaks down right after this dialogue.
Léa Pool: “I think they trust each other, they trust me, so there is a collaboration between all the crew and it works well."
Continuation of the interview with Mischa Barton:
Mischa Barton: “Tori, Paulie and Mouse are totally different people. But I think that’s one of the things that makes the film so great.
The last scene shows the tea party in the beginning of the movie. The” Behind the scenes” video ends here suddenly and in an abrupt manner.
The End: 8 min 10 sec
by
Stef