Connelly was especially drawn to Walter Salles’ stylish and psychological approach to the film. “He has such an elegant way of coming at the terror of the story,” she observes. “He gives the story a lot of grace and mystery. What’s great about it is that with almost everything that happens in the film, you question whether it’s happening in Dahlia’s mind or in reality. Is she simply unraveling under all the stress of the divorce, of moving, of trying to be a good mother? Is she succumbing to her own old fears of abandonment from her own complicated childhood? Or is she truly in danger from some powerful supernatural force that wants something from her? It’s up to you to decide.”
In addition to the high-wire tension and emotional challenges of playing Dahlia, Connelly also had to spend a good portion of the climactic scenes drenched in the gruesome, brackish water that overtakes Dahlia’s apartment. This required fortitude. “It was wintertime and we were shooting in this cold building in wet clothing—and I would have to run from the set to the hot tub to warm up,” recalls Connelly. “But along with the story and the sets and the photography, even this seemed to contribute to the atmosphere of being chilled to the bone.”
For Walter Salles, Connelly’s performance went a long way towards realizing his genre-transcending vision for the film. “Jennifer is one of the most talented and sensitive actors I have ever worked with. She offered us a character that is not only complex and layered but also filled with integrity and honesty,” he says. “I’m not a big fan of the larger-than-life in acting and Jennifer is precisely the opposite of that; she can produce a very large impact with the most subtle of actions. It is something that unites all her work and, I think, is also a part of Dahlia—but here she was, very courageous and willing to jump into areas that are painful to explore. There were so many things that she did that were so tender and so delicate, I didn’t even notice them in the moment but only later when we were putting the film together.”
With Connelly cast, the hunt began for a young actress to play Ceci, Dahlia’s five-year-old daughter who, at first, takes in stride the strange apparitions she sees as her mother becomes unhinged in their eerie new apartment. Casting director Mali Finn mounted an extensive search for a five-year-old actress capable of taking on both the physical and emotional demands of the role, looking at over 1,000 young hopefuls on tape and in person. Eventually, the search was narrowed down to two equally mature and intriguing young girls, Ariel Gade and Perla Haney-Jardine. They both ended up in the movie: Gade was cast in the role of Ceci, and Haney-Jardine as the ghostly Natasha, who mysteriously disappears from the apartment above.
For six-year-old Ariel Gade, the character of Ceci was just the kind of person she admires— strong and fearless. “I like Ceci a lot because she is really a brave little girl,” says the young actress. “She isn’t afraid of anything even though what’s happening to her is very scary. At least, I think it’s scary—but Ceci is used to scary things.”
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