by Connor Dalton
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 diverges from its preceding chapter. Aside from the subtitle, there is nothing dry about it.
The regional droughts surrounding Aaron Falk’s first investigation have made way for the wet and windy mountains. And gone are the cast of characters that we met in the town of Kiewarra. Their case is closed, meaning a new ensemble has entered the scene.
With a mystery revolving around five women, who lose their way on a hike in the bushlands, the new cast is a terrific mixture of rising and seasoned female talent.
Those new additions include Sisi Stringer, Robin McLeavy, and Lucy Ansell.
Stringer has made waves recently for her part as Milenna in the Mortal Kombat reboot, following her starring role in the American television series Vampire Academy.
McLeavy is best remembered domestically for her turn in the Australian horror The Loved Ones and internationally for her 50-episode stint on Hell on Wheels.
While for Ansell, Force of Nature marks her film debut after years in the theatre and a recent appearance in the Asher Keddie-starring series Strife.
As their characters descend into nature’s abyss, all three contribute sharply different dynamics to the group – fierceness, softness, and indignance.
Sisi, we spoke to your Carnifex director, Sean Lahiff, a couple of years ago, and he said that he could tell you were the right fit because he knew you would handle the physical requirements of Carnifex as you did on Mortal Kombat. This is another project that showcases your physicality as a performer. Is that a strength of yours that you’ve noticed?
Sisi Stringer: Oh, definitely! I got into all of this by starting dancing when I was a kid. Seven or eight years old, I went into ballet, and I loved it, and I was really, really good at it. Then I moved into musical theatre, which is dancing, acting, and singing, and then it kind of just naturally transitioned into acting. I’ve always been a physical person.
Robin McLeavy: What about your fight skills?
Sisi Stringer: That’s where my fight skills come from! Being a child and dancing for my whole life — like, my whole whole life! It’s kind of just in there. And I have to learn how to learn again when it’s [new] choreography, or it’s fighting, or whatever, but I just naturally have the physicality inside of me.
What would you say are each other’s best traits as performers?
Sisi Stringer: There are so many!
Robin McLeavy: I would say Sisi is just all-in from day one and ready to go. You don’t back down from your choices. I love watching your choices; I’m like, ‘Ooh! She’s here’. And Lucy, I love that you guys played sisters because there’s this beautiful contrast. Lucy brings this warmth, and tenderness, and vulnerability …
Sisi Stringer: Soft … gentle … not all the time but …
Lucy Ansell: (laughs)
Robin McLeavy: So complimentary to be working alongside you two … Okay, now you say what’s amazing about me!
Sisi Stringer: You’re another vessel of softness and generosity. You can be a bit mousy sometimes and speak quietly. You bring a calming presence. I think that’s something you both share, and it comes through in your acting. That generosity of spirit comes through. And, look, you’re smart, too, I’m smart, too, we’re all smart.
Lucy Ansell: Okay, my turn (laughs). Sisi, I admire your tenacity. I wish I had more of it, and it’s an on and off-screen thing.
Sisi Stringer: (laughs) Never back down, never give up!
Lucy Ansell: And your rigour …
Sisi Stringer: Damn! Okay! I really enjoyed [Lucy and I] doing scenes together because even just rehearsing our big scene together, which we did for a few days, turned out amazing. Even just when we were combing through the script, and you’d pull out things that I completely missed, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God! How did I not see that on the page?’ You’re so snappy and attentive. You see the smallest details, which always ends up being a much more specific performance. And as an actor, you have to be specific; otherwise, you’re just floating around.
Lucy Ansell: I’d say that for you, too, Robin. The specificity in what you do is so impressive. When I was watching it, I was like, ‘Wow, okay, that is how you do it. That’s how you be subtle and nuanced. It’s really cool.
Sisi Stringer: A lot of special talent in this film and behind the camera.
Robin McLeavy: Andy Commis was a hero with the camera. The cinematography is just divine.
Sisi Stringer: And these people are carrying this equipment.
Robin McLeavy: On a muddy, skinny trail, and it’s raining.
You really were in the depths of Mother Nature. What was it like working in that environment?
Robin McLeavy: It’s a very special experience. We keep talking about how the Welcome to Country is the most important thing before you start working in the Australian bush because it has a history.
Sisi Stringer: It’s sacred land, and we are visitors. You have to pay respect before you embark on the journey.
Robin McLeavy: Very privileged to work there, just having fresh air on your face every day and being in touch with the trees. I believe that trees are sentient beings and water holds memories, so working in this way with nature is a profound thing. We don’t just enter the environment, take advantage of it, and leave. I go in very grateful. It brings something to the performance that you won’t get in a studio or a swim tank. It’s once in a lifetime.
Sisi Stringer: Definitely. I’ve done it twice because of Carnifex (laughs). I learned a lot.
I figured that may have applied to you most, Robin. There are several times you’re falling in rivers and waterfalls. Your character made us very nervous. Could you tell us about your stunt work?
Robin McLeavy: Yeah, well, I do my own stunts.
Sisi Stringer: Yeah, you do! Yeah, she does!
Robin McLeavy: (laughs) I did have a stunt double for a little bit, but I was like, ‘I’ve got this’. I love to feel like Tom Cruise for a day because the safety team is so amazing.
Sisi Stringer: You are Tom Cruise!
Robin McLeavy: I’ve worked outside on a show, Hell on Wheels, for five years on AMC. I’m used to being outside. I find it invigorating and way less restrictive.
Sisi Stringer: We were talking about how you have to do a lot less. You don’t have to do as much when you get put into the environment that is the environment. If you’re acting in a studio, you have to pretend that you hear the tree and …
Robin McLeavy: You’re actually slipping over and trying to keep your balance.
Sisi Stringer: Exactly! Your boots are in the ground, so that takes away a lot of the stress of acting because we’re there and doing it.
Robin McLeavy: We’re responding to the environment.
Sisi Stringer: I can’t believe you both had to go underwater. Sorry, I just thought about it again (pretends to shiver). No, thank you.
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 is in cinemas 8 February 2024
