As Miranda attempts to decipher her cryptic encounters with the ghost of a mysterious teenage girl, she finds herself becoming increasingly sympathetic to a patient she had previously dismissed as psychotically delusional. The filmmakers offered internationally acclaimed actress Penélope Cruz the role of Miranda’s dangerously disturbed patient Chloe Sava, an opportunity Cruz says she "simply couldn’t resist. This is just the kind of material I look for – something that I haven’t done before and represents a risk for me as an actor.
"Chloe lives in her own hell, one that is very real to her, but nobody believes what she has to say, including Miranda," continues Cruz, the superstar of Spanish cinema who is best known to American audiences for her impressive performances in Vanilla Sky and Blow. "That’s my worst nightmare, to be in a situation where you’re telling the truth but everyone thinks you’re crazy. It is so horrible when people don’t believe that your pain is real."
Like Cruz, Kassovitz doesn’t believe that Chloe is actually crazy. "People who say they hear voices – it’s not that there’s something wrong with them; it’s just that they see things that we don’t," he suggests. "You would be paranoid too if nobody believed what you were saying was the truth."
As Gothika unfolds, Chloe is powerless against Miranda and the psych ward staff, who dismiss her claims of satanic torture as psychotic meanderings. But when her mistrustful doctor becomes an inmate herself, the hauntingly charismatic Chloe gradually draws Miranda into her own personal hell. "Chloe is a really colorful character, and Penélope goes for it," Silver says. "This movie gives American audiences the chance to see her in a way we never have before."
"Penélope only had a few scenes to bring this character alive," adds Kassovitz, "and she discovered what Chloe was all about in just six days on set. She put everything she had into this role, and she’s really remarkable in it."
"Chloe is the most intense character I’ve ever had to play," Cruz admits. "I would end up crying every day, thinking about how someone could be in a situation like
hers. There were times when I just didn’t want to go there. It brought too much pain. This kind of material is very attractive for an actor, but it also hurts."
Emmy-winning actor-director Charles S. Dutton (Against the Ropes, TV’s Roc) plays Dr. Douglas S. Grey, Miranda’s husband and chief administrator of the Woodward psychiatric hospital. "Doug Grey is highly respected in his field, a powerful presence who conveys a deep concern and sympathy for his patients," Dutton says. "He’s the envy of a lot of men in his profession to have wed this younger, beautiful, promising doctor. He genuinely appreciates the fact that Miranda loves him, but at the same time, he treats her a bit like a prize, like his toy. There’s a sense that Miranda longs for a deeper connection with him."
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