Maxime Giroux’s award-winning Félix and Meira tells the story of a very unconventional romance between two people from vastly different worlds even though they live only a few blocks from each another. Meira (Hadas Yaron) is a Hasidic Jewish woman with a young child. She is married to the devout Shulem (Luzer Twersky) who is horrified by his wife’s interest in “distractions” such as rock music. Félix (Martin Dubreuil) is a non-religious loner mourning the death of his estranged father. When Félix and Meira meet at a bakery in Montreal’s Mile End district, Meira resists any contact with the stranger since such a thing is strictly forbidden in her world. But, despite the barriers, a friendship eventually forms between the two that develops into something more. As Félix opens Meira’s eyes to the world outside her tight-knit Orthodox community, her desire for change becomes even harder for her to ignore, ultimately forcing her decide whether to give up the only life that she’s ever known. Giroux’s film is a moving tale of self-discovery made even more meaningful with the on-set presence and participation of actor Luzer Twersky, himself a Hasidic Jew who grew up as one of 11 children in the insular world of the Satmar Hasidism only to give it all up when he realized it was not for him. I spoke to the talented young actor about his role in this film and his own journey that in some ways mirrored Meira’s.
Danny Miller: It’s so interesting that you’re playing the character in this film who has the most to lose from Meira’s departure from the Hasidic community. Do you think that was more challenging than playing someone, like you, who had the desire to leave?
Luzer Twersky: You know, before I started acting I used to think that the closer a part is to you, the easier it would be to play. I don’t really think that’s true anymore. My personal experience was a lot more like Meira’s, but as I read the script, I could relate to Shulem and feel exactly what he was feeling. That’s what I love about acting!
Do you think playing Shulem helped you better understand what those around you might have been feeling when you left?
To be honest, at the time I didn’t spend a lot of time imagining what others were thinking because I was so angry that this life I was in robbed me of my childhood and my teenage years. But now that I think about it, playing this character did mellow my resentment toward the community a little bit. It also brought about some new real-life conflicts.
How so?
I got an email from someone in the community who’s seen the film — a Hasidic woman who’s married and watches movies and listens to music even though her husband is definitely not okay with it, just like with Shulem and Meira. She wrote me an email and said that she loved the film but that it made her feel bad for her husband. That was a total shock to me. I thought she was going to say that maybe she should leave, too, but instead she was thinking that she should stop doing those things because it hurt her husband too much.
Wow. And yet the way you play Shulem it’s quite easy to empathize his plight. Do you think Shulem comes across as such an interesting, complex character because of your own experience in that world?
I could definitely relate to Shulem. Those were things I used to believe in very strongly. But I think Maxime deserves a lot of the credit for setting a very specific tone for the film. I, myself, have very strong feelings about that community and, to be honest, I might have given a different kind of performance if it weren’t for Maxime steering me in that direction. I think he understood these characters and wrote them brilliantly.
I talked to Maxime and he said you were invaluable throughout the making of the film in terms of keeping things accurate and authentic. What kinds of changes did you make?
During pre-production there were some things in the script that I felt were just not realistic and that they would detract from the story, so Maxime changed those. And then once we were on set, I was often moving stuff around — “Put the challahs over here, the bookshelves over there, you have to kiss the mezuzah every time you walk in a room and it has to be on the correct side of the door” — all of these little details. I also helped with the extras, making sure their payos looked good and that all the clothes were right. I went on a lot of shopping trips!
I assume you were the main Yiddish consultant as well?
Yes, I translated the entire script into Yiddish and I taught Yiddish to Hadas. I mean, not enough that she could start conversing in real life, but enough that she sounded quite real in the film. So yeah, I guess I was the primary consultant on anything Hasidic.
Which makes a big difference. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of the shall we say “less than authentic” depictions of Hasidic communities in mainstream movies. A certain Melanie Griffith movie comes to mind.
Yeah, I have seen that film. Let’s say I have no public comment because I love Sidney Lumet too much! (Laughs.)
Despite your own personal feelings about that world, do you feel defensive when you see inaccurate depictions of Hasidic people?
Oh, yeah, when that stuff comes up, it usually sends me off the rails. When you do a film about the CIA, you get a CIA consultant. If you’re making a cop show, you get some cops to consult. John Grisham’s novels are successful because he’s a lawyer. The Wire is so good because those people knew their shit. So, yeah, it bothers me when I see Hasidic characters treated like monkeys in a zoo — exotic, mysterious, backwards people who are really weird and talk like this (Luzer imitates an extreme Jewish singsong accent). The truth is nobody talks like that anymore, it’s so annoying. And you need to hire someone who understands what the nuances of the hair is supposed to look like, and the clothes. Listen, I disagree with many parts of the Hasidic lifestyle as much as the next guy, probably much more, but that doesn’t mean you should treat these people as silly one-dimensional characters.
Which this movie certainly doesn’t. My own great-grandparents were Hasidic and even though I’d probably last of all ten minutes in that world, there are elements of that lifestyle that I find so appealing — such as the focus on family and community.
And when you’re making these films, you can’t ignore that part. You can’t ignore the beauty of the community. You can disagree with the rules, you can have negative feelings about many aspects of that life, as I do, but you can’t ignore the good things about it, either.
The scene in which Shulem attacks Félix is harrowing and tragic but also kind of funny when we see Shulem’s attempts at fighting him. Was the way he hits Félix your idea or was it in the script?
That was me. The truth is, I had no idea what Maxime wanted for that scene, he didn’t give me any details and we didn’t have a stunt coordinator or anything like that. I just did what felt right for that character. Look, Hasidic men are not exactly known for their fitness! Not that they’re all couch potatoes, but learning how to fight is not really part of that life. I felt that Shulem would have no idea how to beat someone up — he just wouldn’t know. His hitting is not so much violent as it is passionate and conveying his total frustration. He didn’t have a vocabularly in his head of knowing what he wanted to do with Félix, it just came out in that moment. When we were shooting that scene, I had no idea what it would look like on film. Now, when I see it with audiences, it’s kind of surprising and delightful to hear them laughing, but also a little embarrassing, to be honest. I hope people don’t walk away from the film thinking that all Hasidic people would be easy to take in a fight, I assure you that is not true!
It seemed just right to me. I mean, these are not Israeli paratroopers, they’re guys who have been hunched over the Talmud for half their lives. I also found that scene between Shulem and Félix in Félix’s apartment very beautiful and moving.
You know, it’s a film so we do take some liberties. I don’t think it would happen that I’d go and talk to the guy who was screwing my wife — but it worked for the film and I thought it was very well written.
I also wondered about Meira leaving with their daughter. It seemed to me that it usually doesn’t happen that way.
No. Usually the one who leaves would not be allowed to take the child, the community would fight tooth and nail to make sure that doesn’t happen. I mean, even legally, you can’t just walk away with a child like that. But the film ends on an ambiguous note. We don’t know what happens to these characters after the end of the film, which I like.
I know Hasidic people don’t go out to the movies, but, as you say, some watch them at home. Does it make you nervous to think of people from your former world watching this film?
No, not at all. I hope many people watch it. I think most of the people in the community who watch movies are going to be happy and relieved to find Hasidic people portrayed as human beings who look and sound the way that they really are. And whose apartments look like their apartments, not some set designer’s vision of what a pious home looks like. I mean, they may not like the story — I’ve already had some people tell me that the film promotes adultery and intermarriage — but overall, I think they will like it. Still, I expenct some hate mail and angry tweets.
Except then they’ll have to admit that they watched it!
Exactly.
Do you think there are many people in the Hasidic community who would like to leave but just don’t have the courage?
Absolutely. There are so many people who would like to leave. I get emails every week from people who tell me they wish they could do it, too. Of course, you have to remember that anyone who is over 25 and wants to leave already has kids. It’s very difficult to walk away from that.
And being completely cut off from all your family and friends.
On a practical level, it’s extremely difficult. I had no idea what I was facing when I left. Literally, I had no idea it was going to be so difficult, but you just do it. You do what you have to do. I don’t think I’m brave, I think I’m crazy, but I did what I felt I had to do. I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t think it was going to work out — I could never have dreamed that it was going to work out for me the way that it has. But I knew that this community was no place for me and that whatever was going to happen would happen.
Did you have secret acting ambitions when you were there?
I’ve always had a desire to perform. I used to sing at weddings and speak publicly — I’ve always been a performer. I think I was just born that way, it’s a birth defect! (Laughs.) I can’t see myself doing anything else. I don’t know how good I am at this, but trust me, I’m even worse at everything else!
And now that you’ve been out for several years, you do have some contact with your family?
We talk. We don’t agree, but we talk. Me and my siblings are pretty close, and it’s coming around a little bit with my parents.
Do you think they’re worried that you’ll influence your siblings and others to do what you did?
If they’re afraid I’m going to help bring other people around, they have very good reason to be afraid. I’m very proud of every email, every exchange I have with people in the Hasidic community who I’ve inspired to leave. They’ve been told their whole lives that if you leave you’re going to end up a drug addict or in jail or with a horrible life and I have proven them wrong. I’m incredibly proud of that and I hope more people leave because of me. I am not happy that families are going to be broken up and I know that’s part of the deal, unfortunately. I know the heartbreak that causes, but I am happy and proud that I inspire people to live the life that they want to live. We live in America and we have freedom to live as we choose and it’s not right that there are hundreds of thousands of Hasidic Jews who have the right to a self-determined life taken away from them — that is just not okay. If my legacy is to inspire people to go out and live the life they want to live, I’m very happy with that.