Italia Ricci Teases Going Dark, Getting Bloody, and a Dream Collaboration in The Boy with My Son’s Face

Lifetime excels at giving us twisty, shocking films that we can’t turn away from.

And tonight’s move, The Son with My Son’s Face, certainly fits the bill. It’s such a fascinating tale, you won’t be able to turn away from the screen, and much of that is thanks to the strong performances by the cast.

We caught up with star Italia Ricci to talk about this exciting story, the many layers of her character, and the magic of collaborating with Gigi Saul Guerrero on and off screen. Check out our interview below!

This is an absolutely bonkers movie. It had me from the first moments. What made you sign up for that one? It’s such a fun role.

If you just read the three-line synopsis, you’re like, “What?”

But when they told me that Gigi was directing it, I watched some of her work and became an instant fan. And I just loved her style, her edginess, and the way she could tell a crazy story but make it feel so real and gritty.

I just wanted to work with her, and I thought we could do something cool with the story. Anyway, we went.

And it’s your second Lifetime movie, isn’t it?

I did one like a million years ago.

So what is it about, like, Lifetime movies that you love, or that feels different from other projects?

These are really nice, especially as a mom now, to be able to shoot in like two and a half to three weeks, start to finish, and you’re all done.

And then you can get back to not pretending your son has been murdered, slash not murdered. And so I really like that.

I also just love how densely they can tell a story because they’re shorter than your typical movie. So it’s constantly moving. There’s no fast-forwarding the scene or whatever. I’m a fan.

Of course, you’re a mom, and you have to tap into what must be a parent’s worst fear. How do you get into that mindset and balance that darkness?

You just kind of pretend it’s happening to you and react as honestly as you think you would in that situation, while also pretending that all of these other things are happening to you, which I won’t spoil.

But I tried not to make it so real, because I just didn’t want to have to go through therapy for twice as long as it took to shoot the movie. But yeah, it would have been a nightmare.

It also helped me get those sorts of reactions that … the nicer scenes with my family feel more natural now that I actually know what the dynamic is. Since becoming a mom, I’ve done a couple of movies with my characters having sons.

I don’t know if I would have been as comfortable with the child if I hadn’t had a baby, because I don’t know what a day-to-day repertoire is.

Maybe I would have been a little too baby talky, or too gentle, or too, you know, patient, instead of really knowing that sometimes you just want to throw them out the window. And so, yeah, I think it helps.

And it also hurts. I definitely had some nightmares while shooting this and had to call my husband to make sure everything was okay.

The film explores some really important themes like the stigmatization of mental health and postpartum depression. What was it like taking that on, playing a character like Susan?

I mean, it was dark, but I kind of got a ‘get out of jail free’ card because I won’t spoil it, but it’s not exactly what it seems. So I didn’t have to really go into all of those crazy feelings.

I was never diagnosed with postpartum, but I definitely remember feeling very different and uncomfortable. I’m glad I didn’t have to dive into that end of the pool from my own experience.

One of the core dynamics that really makes this film is Susan and Cassie, which is just such a great dynamic. Can you talk a bit about that? And it’s important.

Well, I mean, having support and having someone who believes you, when you feel like you’re going crazy, and everyone’s telling you you’re going crazy, is so important.

And Gigi, who is the director who also plays Cassie, did such a great job. And she’s so good at bringing levity to some of the darker or more disgusting scenes.

And she really just brought such great energy to the screen and the story; it could have been very heavy, very stressful, and very tense.

And I think she just did such a great job of peppering that with laughter, cynicism, and sarcasm. And I think it really lifts the movie up.

So you were able to kind of pull from that and pour it directly into the film, just having that dynamic with her off-screen as well.

Yeah.

What was the most challenging part of playing this role?

We had pretty big aspirations for the movie. And so shooting all of that in such a short time period was just putting out one fire after the other to get through it. But I think there were so many different things.

The scenes that are all high energy and screaming, and that was at like 4:30 in the morning, five o’clock in the morning, keeping your energy up, that’s always difficult, just on the technical standpoint, not the whole like, you know, psychological nightmare situation.

Gigi and I were having so much fun together. And we kept having these great big ideas, but you have to sort of fit it into the box of the machine that makes these. And so that was the toughest part. But I still think that what we did was pretty great.

It was a very fun movie. I think people are gonna really enjoy it. So I’m excited for them to see it. I loved your performance in it.

Susan is just such a very layered character. It’s almost like we see two different versions of her. Was it difficult capturing all of that in a condensed timeframe?

Yeah, I had my script pasted on my hotel wall. And I had to break it up into this is how many days this has been going on. And now this is day five, this is day six. And now this is post-prison.

And then so because you don’t shoot them in order, right? So I’d have to, like, cross-reference which vibe I’m in at any point in the movie.

What three words would you use to describe this film?

Dark, satisfying, and bloody.

Thank you! I think this is a really great film.

I hope people enjoy it. And I had so much fun making it. So I hope that the love Gigi and I put into it is felt. However, weirdly, that sounds through this movie.

It translates. It translates. It comes through when you cut through all the other craziness.

You can catch Italia Ricci in The Boy with My Son’s Face tonight at 8/7c on Lifetime.

If you plan on watching, sound off below and let us know!

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