You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

The movie follows a pair of married couples, Alfie and Helena, and their daughter Sally and husband Roy, as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine, Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller. Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg, while Roy, a novelist nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia, a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window.

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Trivia and Fun Facts

• This project was announced the day after the 2009 Oscars for Freida Pinto.
• Nicole Kidman was cast in the lead role but dropped out. Lucy Punch would later accept the role.
• Anna Friel filmed her role in a day.
• Celia Imrie filmed her role in a day, and said that she accepted the part even though it was small because Woody Allen was such a “legend”. However, her scenes never made it into the final cut.

Production Notes and Cast Quotes

“I don‘t think that Dia went out with Roy with the intention of having an affair, but just for the prospect of meeting someone new and having a conversation. But she is a confused girl, trying to figure out what she wants in life, and when he gives her such flattering compliments, she is definitely lured into wanting to know what might be. And somehow she realizes that what she has is not what she wants.” (Freida Pinto on why her character Dia starts seeing Roy)

“It may not seem that important, but I felt like she needed a name that felt like the character. Dia didn’t come to me easily, I had to think about it. It means ‘day’ in Spanish and Portuguese, and in Hindi it means ‘light’, both having to do with lightness.” (Freida Pinto on changing her character’s name from Lalita to Dia)

“It allows you to have more freedom. Not many people will question you, saying, ‘you shouldn’t have done that, it’s out of character’. Still it was a bit of a challenge, as it was only my third film, and here I was working with Woody and Josh. Everyone was so encouraging, though, and I got over it in a few days.” (Freida Pinto on finding it liberating to play a mysterious character)

“The advice he gave me was to not act for the camera. He detests actors acting for the camera – he wants you to be more natural.” (Freida Pinto on what advice Woody Allen gave her)

“When you finally do see her, it bowls you over – she is so remarkably beautiful. She’s probably had a more complex life because of her unusual beauty.” (Woody Allen on why he decided to not let the audience see Freida’s character until later in the movie)