Nocebo Star Eva Green Explains How Christine's Red Shoe Luck Ritual Is A Subtle Homage To A Fantasy Classic - Exclusive
Christine (Eva Green), a clothing designer with an unacknowledged dark past, gets an unexpected visitor in Diana (Chai Fonacier) in the film "Nocebo." Christine's been on the losing end of a mysterious affliction, and Diana arrives out of the blue. She's not only a perfect nanny, but Diana also happens to have a strong command of folk magic that provides Christine with surprising help for her inexplicable illness. While Christine doesn't have much by way of evident magical prowess, folk or otherwise, in "Nocebo" she does have a ritual that skirts that line regularly.
Every time Christine has a new professional endeavor, she puts on her favorite pair of red stilettos, centers herself, and repeats the phrase, "Lucky shoes, lucky shoes, make me win and never lose." The weirdest thing is that, while the movie never explicitly explains this, it seems to work. In a new exclusive interview, Green was asked about her character's unique magical professional habit. She reveals that, while the ultimate meaning isn't something she can directly divulge, it harkens back to a film that's a fantasy classic as well as one of the most revered films in Hollywood history.
A mysterious fantasy connection to Hollywood history
In "Nocebo," directed by Lorcan Finnegan ("Vivarium") from a script by Garret Shanley, Christine's charm has a deep but mysterious connection to one of Hollywood's most famous fantasy epics. That still doesn't keep it from being slightly mysterious, even to its most central stars. "It's Lorcan's idea!," Green clarifies. "It reminds us of Oz a bit, the red shoes," she explains, "It's an homage, a bit, to [that]." The curious charm has deep roots in one of the most important fantasy films in film history.
In the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," Dorothy Gale seeks to return home to Kansas from the magical land of Oz. She finds protection and a route home via a set of magical ruby-colored slippers. In "Nocebo," Christine's red shoes provide a curious sort of magical protection even when she's deepest in her frightening malady. While the homage is clear from the script itself, the red shoes' eclectic magic mythos was a little mysterious even to the film's stars.
"That's more like a Lorcan question, Green emphasizes. "I don't even know myself, to tell you the truth! It was weird," Green said about the film's Oz-influenced magic charm, "It's, as you said, eerie, or it was 'whoo-oo!'" She signifies that Christine's red shoe ritual may have odd esoteric effects. At the same time, the full story rests with the director. "It's always ambiguous," she said, "and it's a bit mad, which I like, but I don't have a clear answer."
Whatever the exact mystery, there's a deep fantasy connection in "Nocebo," and it's up to the viewer if the shoes' luck still persists after Christine's strange mystical assault.
"Nocebo" is available in select theaters.