A literary classic gets a 21st century coat of paint with Young Wertherbased on the 1774 novel, Young Werther's Sorrows. The film loosely follows the plot of the book, but has been updated to reflect the sensibilities of 2024. Douglas Booth (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) plays the title character, a young aristocratic fop who falls in love with a young woman (Alison Pill, The writing). The only problem is that she's already engaged to a really nice guy (Patrick J. Adams, Suits). Thus, Werther embarks on a mission to win his beloved's heart, whether she is interested or not.
Although he is an inherently unpleasant figure on a less than fair mission, Young Werther It is still a captivating story thanks to the script by writer and director José Lourenço and Booth's winning performance, which gives the character an old charm, quick wit and good-natured harmlessness, even when he tries to steal a woman from her fiancé.
TelaRant interviewed Douglas Booth about his work on Young Werther. He talked about his process of finding the character in rehearsal, the anxiety that comes with the first day of filming and how he imagined a meeting between Werther and another character played by Booth: Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe in The dirt.
Douglas Booth plays the delightfully cheeky young Werther
“He makes mistakes and acts like a jerk. But he's so charming and wears his heart on his sleeve.”
Screen Rant: I'm a huge fan of the film. You are so fantastic at this. It must be really fun, but also really difficult to have your character's name in the movie, number one on the call sheet, you're in almost every scene. I know this isn't a huge, blockbuster-type movie, so how much rehearsal did you have? Were you able to absorb it before you started filming?
Douglas Booth: First of all, thank you very much. I'm very happy that you liked the film. I think we actually had, for a movie, a decent amount of time. I was in Toronto two weeks before, and Alison and I hung out together and developed this chemistry, which I think is important because I think our chemistry was great in the movie. I think we really hit it off and enjoyed playing these two characters. Yes, it was a lot of fun.
On the preparation side, José's writing was quite verbose. I had a lot of words. So I was always trying to balance myself. We were trying to come up with this tone that was very elevated but grounded in human emotion and at the same time letting it exist in this slightly elevated world. And so I wanted to be able to say all these complicated sentences that Werther loved to throw together so quickly and let them come out as easily as possible. So it took a little preparation.
The film is almost like a game of Jenga. Like, if there was one piece that didn't fit perfectly, then Werther would be a terribly unpleasant guy! I used the word the other day, he's like a “fop”. But then I learned that that's pejorative, it's not necessarily a nice word, but what else am I going to call it?
Douglas Booth: But he's a fop! You are right. He's a fop. And that's always been the challenge, right? You read a character on paper and you don't really like them. But the big challenge for me was making it adorable. He makes mistakes and acts like an idiot. But he's so charming and wears his heart on his sleeve. And I think he's ultimately well-intentioned, if sometimes a little naive and self-centered. But he really cares. He takes care of Charlotte. He truly believes he is in love with her. And I think it's partly a coming-of-age story in that sense. I think he learns a little more about himself than he knew when he arrived in Toronto on a mission to find the horse at the beginning of the film.
Have you read the book? Did you study this in school or something?
Douglas Booth: Actually, there wasn't. I had heard of it, but hadn't read it. José, our writer, was a great source of knowledge on this. But I think the film stands on its own. The script stood out as its own story, the adaptation. But I liked the fact that it was so popular, that it was the Twilight of its time. And Napoleon supposedly carried a copy of it into battle, over his heart, for Josephine. And there were many people, heartbroken teenagers all over Europe, who tragically copied Werther's ending from the book because they, too, felt heartbroken. That's why it caused some hysteria across Europe when it was released.
I don't know if this really qualifies as a spoiler, but luckily, there is a slightly different ending to the film.
Douglas Booth: Yes, it was a different ending, but also, classic José, he gave it a peculiar touch. But yes, I think if we had kept the same original ending as the book, it would have detracted a little from the romantic comedy element of the film.
The character has a great moment when he says: “I’m going to get a job”. Like, like this is a scam.
Douglas Booth: I love that moment. Yes, yes, that moment of realization that you think anyone else would have thought of before. He thinks he has the best idea on Earth. Can you believe it? (laughter)
Douglas Booth talks about young Werther's impeccable style and charm
“I just had to allow myself to be silly.”
You don't need me to tell you. You're cute. You are a handsome young man. But tell me about elevating that with Werther. The hair is so perfect. The clothes are incredible. Like I want to, I want to lose 40 pounds and then raid his closet.
Douglas Booth: I think clothes were a big part of his personality, the way he dressed. And all of that depended on our costume department. They were fantastic. It made me smile every morning when I walked into the trailer, and there was a new outfit ready. And Werther, he would get excited and I would dress him up and, you know, my colorful socks and gazelles and the jackets and all the different combos. It was completely part of his character. He was eccentric. He was an eccentric guy and loved to dress up. But I imagine that also on the other side, the clothes and the way he dressed were a kind of light armor for deeper insecurities below the surface.
Yes, he is a sympathetic character in that sense, because most of his flaws come from ignorance, from his upbringing. There isn't a malicious bone in his body, even when he's trying to steal…
Douglas Booth: Someone's fiancé!
Exactly. You mentioned the writing, but the nature of tap dancing to keep you on the positive side of yourself and your friends in the film and in the audience, a lot of that comes down to your acting.
Douglas Booth: Well, yes, it was a balancing act, I think. You have to trust the script to a certain extent, but as an actor, you also have to plot where it's going and where it's going to end up. But I feel, I think he's trying to do the right thing, even if he's making mistakes, he's always trying, he ends up trying to do the best. But I think you, as an actor, shouldn't judge your character.
I had to just imbue him with a sense of charm and a sense of childlike playfulness that allowed him to be viewed favorably by the audience. But it was always a question. I would always ask the director at the end of the day, “Am I going to hate you in this movie?” You know, but I hope you landed on the right side. It came from a childish place, which is why it was so fun to film. I just had to allow myself to be silly, ultimately.
Was there a learning curve to this? Were there times when you really had to work hard to find the guy?
Douglas Booth: Yes, 100%. You know, when I got there and had those two weeks before filming, I remember sitting in my apartment in Toronto thinking, how the hell am I going to play this character? I think with every character, you're always there, before you start.
Wow, that gave me anxiety just now!
Douglas Booth: Yes, especially… A lot of times you go through a long audition process and you've auditioned for something many times, you've worked out the character, you get there and there's this feeling that everyone knows what I'm doing. do on the first day. But in something like this, you arrive and in the first few moments the camera is turning, all the producers and all the other actors and the director, everyone is looking at the monitor and thinking, “Well, how is he going to play this?” So it's stressful, but that's part of the excitement.
I think it's part of the pressure that makes you be creative. And every job is like being pushed to the edge of a cliff. In the weeks leading up to this it feels like you are being pressured and there is nothing you can do, it will start and there will come a time when the movie will end. And between now and then, you're going to have to make a lot of decisions and do the best you can, but that's the fun. That's the fun of the job.
Werther lives a rock star lifestyle, and you, of course, acted in The dirt. I'm a huge fan of Motley Crue. What would a meeting between Nikki Sixx and Werther be like? Would Nikki just hit him over the head with the bass?
Douglas Booth: That's a very good question! You know, I think if Nikki met Werther and saw him acting around intellectuals like Charlotte, and trying to insinuate himself into their world, I don't think he would give Werther the slightest bit of attention. But I think Werther is the kind of person who has a great sense of fun and mischief, and would know exactly, or at least think he knows, exactly how to insinuate himself into Nikki's world. I'm sure he could keep up.
Do you know what he would do? He would probably try to drink Nikki under the table, and you never know, he might succeed. And obviously Nikki doesn't drink anymore, but Nikki at that time, I think Werther would just jump right in and by the end of the night, he'd be, you know, wearing eyeliner. I think he would just jump in head first. And I think he could adapt quickly to that world. But it would be really funny to see these two characters meet, for sure.
More about Young Werther (2024)
Young Werther hits theaters and streaming on December 13th
Patrick J. Adams, Douglas Booth and Alison Pill star in this romantic comedy based on the classic blockbuster tragic novel. During a simple trip to Toronto, a carefree and charming young writer named Werther runs into the love of his life only to discover that the young woman is engaged. Despite the pleas of his hypochondriac best friend, Werther turns his world upside down in a desperate, misguided and hilarious quest to win her heart.
Check back soon for our others Young Werther interviews with:
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Alison Pill
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José Avelino Gilles Corbett Lourenço
Young Werther is now playing in select theaters and available on Digital & On Demand.