"A twisted thriller," is how director Nick Willing describes Close Your Eyes, which he also co-wrote.

In 1997 Willing collaborated with producer Michele Camarda on his award-winning debut feature Photographing Fairies, which starred Ben Kingsley and Toby Stephens. Soon after that film was completed Camarda and Willing optioned the film rights to the novel Close Your Eyes, written by American Madison Smartt Bell, and Willing began work on the script. Over the next four years, Willing directed two major mini-series for Hallmark, while Camarda produced three feature films, but they kept returning to Close Your Eyes. Says Willling, “The novel was based on interesting ideas and concepts, exploring a dark side of London, seen through the eyes of a gifted hypnotist, who is led into a labyrinth of events. Early drafts were faithful to the book, but gradually I moved on, re-interpreting the events, while staying true to the major themes of the book. I wanted to make a film that was frightening, and so I used all the various things that I find most frightening – needles, arcane surgery, child abduction, witchcraft and insanity.” Adds Camarda, “Luckily, when we sent the final draft to Madison, admitting we had done some freefall with his narrative, he responded well. In fact, we persuaded him to come over during filming and he appears in the film as one of Michael’s patients.”

Casting the leading role of hypnotist Doctor Michael Strother, an American who has relocated his family to London following an unfortunate professional misjudgement which has affected his reputation, and caused him to edge towards a breakdown, Willing and Camarda went to LA to meet with actors. Says Camarda, “We were looking for an actor with the weight to carry the white knuckle ride that the character undertakes, and we needed someone with international appeal. When we met with Goran Visnjic we were immediately struck by him. He is a talented actor and known internationally for his role in medical drama ER, which gets big ratings throughout the world. We made the decision to wait for him and film during his hiatus from ER.”

Visnjic himself was intrigued by the script, but, as he explains, he accepted the role only after meeting with director Nick Willing. “Because Nick wrote the script, so much of the movie was not on the page, but in his head. So when I met with him, and he explained his approach to filming, I was hooked. Then I watched his previous film, Photographing Fairies, and was convinced that I had to do the movie.”

Visnjic describes his character, Doctor Michael Strother. ”He is a talented hypnotist who left America because he committed a professional error of judgement – he convinced a patient he was invincible, not realising that the suggestion was so powerful the guy would ignore his own physical limitations, and kill himself attempting the impossible. Michael blames himself, and this has led to insomnia and perhaps a breakdown. So he has moved his family to London, where he is working at a much more low key level – helping smokers to give up their addiction. He feels frustrated, but when a policewoman asks him to help with the little girl who has been abducted he is reluctant to help in case he messes up again. Losey applies pressure to him and he becomes involved. As he digs deeper into the girl’s mind, he sees things no one else can, and his insomnia returns. His supernatural powers give him flashes of unpleasant insights, and he knows he is the only one who can help.”

Visnjic says that people should not dismiss the possibility of supernatural events. He says, “I would be happy to discover evidence of life after death, and I like the idea of reincarnation. It means that we all have a chance to improve ourselves. If everyone in the world believed in reincarnation then we would all try harder and the world would be a better place.”

Close Your Eyes is Visnjic’s first leading role in an English language film, but he explains that his working pattern at television drama ER, where he often takes a leading role in particular episodes, has prepared him for the pressures of heading a cast. Working in another language presents its own challenges. He explains, “Apart from gaining fluency in the language, so that, for instance, you understand all the slang that might be used in conversation, there is a physical difference between the muscles used to speak Croatian and English. Also, when we learn languages in Croatia, the emphasis is on understanding the written word and making ourselves understood, so the accent is not that important. Of course, as an actor you have to learn to lose most of your own accent. It becomes another skill you have – speaking English with slight Croatian accent, or speaking English with Croatian/ American accent.”

Co-starring with Visnjic, as Detective Inspector Janet Losey, is Scottish actress Shirley Henderson. Henderson had starred in Michelle Camarda’s production Wonderland, and the producer cites her as one of the most exciting young actresses in the UK today. Says Nick Willing, “After I had seen Shirley’s work, particularly in Wonderland, I wrote the subsequent drafts of the script with her in mind.” Henderson describes Janet Losey as a lonesome figure. “She works by her instincts and is seen as a bit of a maverick by her boss, with whom she has a kind of love/hate relationship. Because although she doesn’t do things by the book, sometimes it pays off. She’s not really a team player; she tends to run off and get into trouble, but at least she gets things moving.” Losey is convinced that Michael can help her gain some clues in this case. “Plus,” admits Henderson, “she is attracted to him. Who wouldn’t be? Tall, dark and interesting. But, of course he is happily married, so nothing can happen. It’s all in her mind. She spends her day surrounded by people and then goes home to nothing. As an actor you can relate to that – working in a big crowd all day, and then back to calm and quiet, especially when you’re away on location.” Working with Visnjic was a pleasure. “He is very easy to work with. We are both from a theatre background originally, so we approach things in a similar way.” She adds, “Although the film was mainly in Nick’s head, he was open to discussion, so a lot of things came out in rehearsal.”

When Paddy Considine originally read the role of Elliot, the owner of an obscure shop selling models used for re-enacting historical battles, whose knowledge of the occult provides vital clues in the search for the killer, he told director Nick Willing that he didn’t think he could play the part as an oddball. “Then I met with Nick and he explained that he wanted me to play the part straight, avoiding any type of obvious eccentricity, so I felt freed up to take on the role.” He explains. “Elliot is a loner, a bit of an outsider, who runs this mail order shop. He doesn’t practice the occult, but it seems to be included in his bedside reading.” Although he did no research on the occult, and jokes, ”the last time I read Latin must have been in a previous life”, Considine did attend a club where historical battles were fought out with toy models. “I thought I might find inspiration, a character to draw on, but they were all very ordinary blokes, enjoying a night away from the wife. So I was back where I started.” Considine has no formal drama training, entering acting when Shane Meadows cast him in his second film, A Room For Romeo Brass. “ I feel that actors can reach a point where all their expressions and gestures become engineered, and that’s what they are hired to do; whereas I struggle when things are stuck to the page and you can’t go anywhere with them. My best decision was to study photography, not acting, so I feel free to use my own resources to keep it fresh.”

Miranda Otto takes the role of Clara, Michael’s heavily pregnant wife who accompanies him to London with their young daughter. Says Camarda, “Michael’s old life was in America, so we wanted an American wife and child, but when we saw Miranda’s work we were convinced, even though she is Australian. She’s an actress who is gaining international attention, and her American accent is flawless.” The actress was attracted to the script and declares that thrillers are her own favourite genre of movies. “Like a lot of people, I’m attracted to being frightened by what’s on screen.” Now working a lot in America after establishing herself in her native Australia, she says she is surprised by the lack of range of roles available for actresses in the US. “Compared to Australia where there seems to be more scope for leading ladies, the American scripts I read fall into one of three categories – the girlfriend, the determined go-getter or the victim.” Says Miranda Otto, “This is the first time I’ve played a wife and the first time I felt adult enough to be seen as believable as a mother. I found I really enjoyed the energy that kids bring to the set. And the story sets up a fascinating contrast between the two little girls. Our daughter has the perfect fairy story childhood, while the abducted girl has been traumatised by the actions a serial killer.” As the wife of Michael Strother, she sees her character Clara as the strong capable partner in their relationship. “Michael is the creative gifted one who has had a sort of breakdown which Clara nursed him through. She kept the whole family together through the move to London to start over again. When Michael first becomes involved with the police helping with the traumatised girl he doesn’t tell her, but she senses something is wrong and is scared he might be regressing. When he tells her what he is doing she is annoyed. Is he strong enough to cope?”

She praises director Nick Willing. “This film is totally his original vision, which he has developed all the way. He has a strong sense of what he wants; he’s easy to get on with and has a very dry sense of humour.”

Willing explains that one of the themes of the film is possession, and he feels that modern London is itself possessed. Churches have become blocks of apartments; warehouses are theatres; an old pumping station is an office block; a station has become a hotel. He says, “Slice through London and you slice through its memory. Dig deep enough and you may come across the Rosicrucian alchemists of the sixteenth century.” London’s architecture hides important clues with nothing quite what it used to be.

To create an unsettling quality, Willing chose to reflect the city basking in a hot summer, deliberately shunning the rainy London featured in most thrillers. “For me, the most chilling threat is that which is hidden in plain view; the killer in the crowd; the ordinary made extraordinary. The real world of the police station and Michael’s home are shot in realistic fashion, so that the explosive and fantastical world of ancient alchemical magic seems even more unnerving. The everyday has been infected by the fantastical.”

In assembling the creative production team, cinematographer Pete Sova played a vital role. Says Nick Willing, “We were keen to find a director of photography who was not from London, so that he could see the city through Michael Strother’s eyes – a foreigner, a fish out of water. Pete is Czech and lives in New York, so, with our production designer Don Taylor, he was able to give it that edge we were looking for.”

Camarda is convinced that the time is right to make a British thriller. “There hasn’t been a truly British smart and stylish thriller for a very long time. Very few of the scripts I see as a producer attempt that genre.” Concludes Nick Willing, “My main goal is to make a terrifying movie.”.