Florence Pugh on writing songs for 'Good Person' and mental health challenges

You wrote two songs for the film, I Hate Myself and The Best Part. Which of those is the one we hear in the third act when Allison is in the recovery home? I Hate Myself. Okay, great. I thought that was a really terrific number. Tell me a little bit about crafting that song. In the script, Zach had always wanted Allison to be good at something or be able to perform or write piano and sing. I didn't quite know what I was going to sing or what it was going to be, but when I first read the script, I understood who she was, I understood what I needed to do. I just, I needed to get into her head. I didn't know how, what someone like that would be feeling about themselves. And so, like with any role, I always put myself in that situation just so that you are aware, so that you are completely present of what it is that they're feeling. And I just started writing this song and to me, these were the things that would have screamed out after reading the script, that this is obviously who she is and these are the things that she thinks about. And if I was her, what would I be wanting to do to myself? What would I be wanting to say? Why would I be wanting to be in pain? And so I wrote that and then I played it for Zach and Zach was like, yes, this is exactly the mindset that she is in and it's wonderful and it's going to be at the end of the movie. So then I finished the song and then really it was kind of like creating her sound and creating how this person feels and what does she sound like when she's in rehab and she's playing on a creaky piano with a creaky voice and probably feeling a bit worse for wear and who is she and what is this kind of like unveiling of truth for her? And I didn't want it to sound glossy or glitzy or glittery. It just needed to be raw and honest and broken. And then the final song, the best part was something that I wrote for Chinaza, actually, who plays my fiancé. The scene before we meet up in rehab, I actually hadn't worked with Chinaza for like a month or so because we'd done all of our stuff at the beginning and then we never hang out again until the end. And I'd been writing this song for him, for both of our characters, just trying to, again, figure out like, what is it that she wants to say? Why is it that they can't be together? What is it that is holding her back? And if she were to just give him a piece, like if she were to give her a piece of her heart, what is it that she'd be wanting to say to him? And so I wrote that song and I sent it to Chinaza the night before we met up to do our rehab scene. And it was kind of for that, really. It was just, it was supposed to be for us. And again, Zac was like, I love it. We're putting it at the end. This is what she's going to be singing when she hasn't sang and she's performing for the first time. And so, yeah, I feel very lucky that I was able to put myself in like that. And also then I got to record the songs outside of the movie as Florence. How do I want them to sound? How do I want this to be? And that was really cool. So to kind of do both, perform as her and perform as me was really lovely. Now, I was actually going to ask if you consider them Florence Pugh songs or Alison songs, because you were so much in your head that way. I think I performed them in the movie as Alison. And I'm really, I'm really happy with the fact that they are the recordings that we made on the day. They are like as tired as they need to be. And as honest as they need to be. And then I got to do them the way that I want them to be away from the movie. So are you volunteering to write the Marvel musical? Will you be writing some of the songs for that? Absolutely not. If I do, I'm sure David will be giving me a call. Is there a song you have in mind for Yelena? Do you think there's a... Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I'm just tinkering away, tinkering away and writing that as we speak. I was asking about Chris Huvane, who is, who the film is dedicated to. And I wonder, he's a very close friend of Zach's. I know Zach has written about him and the impact on his life. And I wonder for you, if you knew Chris, and if any of his life impacted you as you made this movie? Yeah, I definitely knew Chris. And he lived really close to us. And, you know, watching all of that unfold was absolutely heartbreaking. And I think it was a reminder to lots of people what everybody has, I think, turned a blind eye to after the pandemic and the mental state of people and coming out of this weird patch of time and just how delicate everything actually should be and is. But also, you know, he was writing the script and we were creating the script whilst we were going through the loss of our friend Nick, which was a huge reason why this was coming out of Zach. You know, he was, he's, Zach has dealt with a lot of grief. His father, his sister, and Nick, they all passed in a short window of time. And I think while the world was aching, and while the world was dealing with this really strange time and losing an immense amount of loved ones, this is what he was needing to do and write about. So yeah, I think this movie is a love letter to all those who have lost, to all those who are trying to come back from loss. It's a window to maybe just releasing yourself, letting go, allowing yourself to be affected by the things that we have all been affected by for the last three years. And I suppose it's a story about those who can come back from that and to step back up, which is what we as people, as humans, tend to do accidentally really well. We know how to come back from things. Obviously, through the support of friends and family and whoever it is that's near and dear to you. But yeah, I'd say this film, hopefully, will affect people in the right ways, especially after this weird few years that we've all lived through.