"A Slipping-Down Life" - Film Version of Anne Tyler Novel

"I pocketed every dime I ever made as an actress to option Anne Tyler's novel A Slipping Down Life," says actress Toni Kalem, best known for playing tough New York Italians. Kalem stole a copy of Tyler's novel when she was a secretary at Random House for less than a year. But she's far from being a tough Italian. She's just a tough 5'2" Jewish girl from the suburbs of New Jersey. And she's been fighting to make this film for almost twenty years against all odds. "People always told me it was time to quit," says Kalem, who played "Despie," the Bronx teen queen in The Wanderers, Phil Kaufman's cult classic, tough Private Gianelli in Private Benjamin and most recently "Angie Bonpensiero," "Big Pussy's" beleaguered widow on The Sopranos (for which she also came on to the writing staff for the fifth season).

Finally, Kalem's first film which she has written and directed, A Slipping Down Life, will be released by Lions Gate on May 14th. The film stars Guy Pearce and Lili Taylor as Evie, a timid woman who plays a rabbit in a small town amusement park and lives alone with her widowed father. Evie who deals with a myriad of psychological issues in the film (she exhibits bipolar disorder and obsessive behaviors). She listens repeatedly late at night to the radio to the voice of "Drumstrings Casey" (Guy Pearce), a local "rock poet," and an unexpected romance between rabbit and rock star ensues. Both actors are getting raves for their performances in Kalem's film.

The film also stars John Hawkes (Deadwood), Irma P. Hall (Ladykillers) and Bruno Kirby (Godfather II and When Harry Met Sally). Commotion Records will release the soundtrack of Slipping Down in June and will include Pearce singing songs from the film.

I spoke with Toni Kalem about A Slipping-Down Life and her obsession with making this film.

ANDY BEHRMAN: Were you obsessed with making this film?

TONI KALEM: Obsessed. Completely obsessed.

ANDY: How would you characterize Evie's psychological condition? Is this is a film about mental illness?

TONI: I wouldn't say it's a film about mental illness. It's a film about healing yourself from a mentally ill act (Evie carves "Drumstrings Casey's" name into her forehead backwards).

ANDY: Yikes. How does the audience respond?

TONI: They gasp. But there's a sense of humor that follows up with this act. But I'm not going to tell you what it is.

ANDY: Some people who see the film, think Evie is a manic depressive. In fact, I did.

TONI: I'm way too close to her to give her a diagnosis, but I suppose she does exhibit some symptoms. But I never wanted to label Evie.

ANDY: How do you feel Hollywood portrays mentally ill people?

TONI: They romanticize the mentally ill, and it completely angers me that every mentally ill guy is a hunk and every mentally woman is a hottie like Angelina Jolie.

ANDY: Well, I hope A Slipping-Down Life will help change that.

TONI: I'm confident that it will.

A Slipping-Down Life opened to widely mixed reviews - from rave to rotten - in New York and Los Angeles on May 14th, and opens in selected cities in June.

Andy Behrman is the author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania.

Guy Pearce Interview talking about his love for this film and telling why it took five years for the film to be released
Electroboy Website