Though it’s primarily a film about a dysfunctional family who are all “seekers of infinite love” in their own ways, the concept of cults — and ways these groups are capable of indoctrinating their members to potentially dangerous ideology — looms large over its story. The film’s cast is seemingly well-versed on the subject, mentioning the UFO-focused Heaven’s Gate, the murderous Manson family, self-help-group-turned-sex-slave-cult NXIVM, and Love Has Won, a group that followed a woman who referred to herself as “Mother God,” as cults they’re knowledgeable about.
But for Theroux, who plays deprogrammer Rick, his approach to building connections is a bit more… immediate.
“I think one of the keys to Rick was that he would get uncomfortably close to people when he would talk to them,” he said. “Just lots of eye contact and touch, like in that scene we were just describing, where we… find out a certain thing, I immediately go to Griffin [the former American Vandal star who plays family hot mess Wes] and start rubbing his back. And unwanted touch is one of my least favorite things in the world, so I knew that I could immediately key into anyone by just touching them gently.”
Whether or not his methods work on Scarlett is a question that only the film itself can answer, but, according to the man who plays him, Rick seems to have a family favorite already.
“There was a lot more of you touching me that got cut out of the movie,” Gluck adds. “It sounds crazy. But this was always a thing that you did anytime we were in a scene together. Cause I’m your…I think Rick sees me as his son.”
“When I was editing, I was like, ‘Wow, he does touch Wes a lot,” Strouse confirms. “But it ended up being one of my favorite unplanned throughlines.”
