Pearl Star Mia Goth Says That Eerie End Credits Smile Wasn't In The Script
If you're a fan of Ti West's "Pearl," then Mia Goth's terrifying smile is etched into your memory. But did you know that the smile wasn't even in the script originally? The idea to extend the smile didn't come til after production began, but it helped the actress access a new dimension of her character.
"Pearl" is the second entry into West's horror trilogy, which also included the 2022 film "X" and the upcoming 2023 film "MaXXXine." Goth plays two iterations of Pearl in the film series — a younger version of the character in "Pearl," set during World War I, and an older version of her in "X," set in the 1970s. She also plays Maxine, the namesake of the third film, who first appears in "X."
Goth's involvement in the project doesn't stop at playing several distinct roles — she actually co-wrote the script for "Pearl" with West. "I would write in the kind of stream style [of] consciousness, and then I would send that out to [West]," the actress told MovieMaker. "[H]e 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 actress was intimately familiar with the script, so she was surprised when West had a last-minute addition — her creepy, frozen smile that haunts the film's end credits.
"That actually wasn't written in the script," she revealed to Total Film Magazine in their latest issue, coming February 2, 2023. "It was something that Ti [West] thought of on the day before we shot it. He came up to me and said, Listen, I have this idea, rather than freezeframe we'll just keep going and see what happens. And if nothing comes of it, fine, we'll just stick with the freezeframe."
This allowed Goth to be in the moment
The "Pearl" star was a fan of West's idea but didn't want to over-intellectualize this last-minute decision.
"I really didn't think it through at all, because I'd say that my body always has better ideas than my head," Goth explained. "If I start thinking things through too much, I'm going to get in the way of my intuition, and your instincts are always what's going to lead you in the right direction."
The actress may not have had a lot of time to prepare for this scene, but that ended up working to her advantage. Goth prefers to be "in the moment" as a performer, rather than over-rehearse and deprive a scene of spontaneity. The quasi-improvisational nature of the smile allowed her to really let loose emotionally, which resulted in an incredibly impactful performance.
"[T]hat scene proved to be an incredibly cathartic experience for me," she admitted. "A really poignant experience. It's like a purging."
Goth's highly emotional on-screen moment proved to be extremely evocative not just for the actress but the viewer as well. Goth's aim as an actress is to always "be vulnerable and brave" and to "ground" her performances "in truth and honesty" in hopes that "someone else will watch that and might not feel so alone."
Director Ti West places a lot of trust in Goth
West gave Goth a lot of creative power and freedom in the "X" trilogy, which the actress is incredibly grateful for. In turn, she too places a lot of trust in West's direction.
"I'm very director-oriented," Goth told Collider. "[If] you don't trust the director who's leading the ship, then nothing of any value I think is going to be made."
Equally important to the actress is the director's trust in his cast and crew. "I think the best directors aren't afraid to give up control," she explained, saying:
"The best directors don't try to micromanage or control their actors or anyone on set. In some ways, the director's job is everything leading up to set. The director is the one bringing everyone together and picking costume designers and makeup artists and production designers and so on, and then trusting them to do their job. And if the director has faith in these people, I think that's where real magic can happen."
If West had not put his faith in Goth, we would never have seen Pearl's now-infamous tearful smile. That shot is an epitomic example of the magic that can happen when a filmmaker trusts his actors to do what they do best. Goth used the liberty that West gave her to access some very real emotions that resonated deeply with the film's audience. That smile is perhaps more memorable than any other image in "Pearl," and it's all thanks to West's hands-off approach — and, of course, Goth's incredible performance.