Interview: Michael Carnick, John Berchtold and Sammi Rotibi on ‘The Forbidden Wish’
The Forbidden Wish, the latest film from writer and director Michael Carnick, takes place entirely over the course of one night in a synagogue as a troubled young man tells a rabbi that he no longer wants to live. Anchored by searing performances from stars John Berchtold (The Wilds) and Sammi Rotibi (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), The Forbidden Wish is a haunting, compelling and unforgettable exploration of grief, faith and compassion that will stay with viewers far after the credits roll.
Essentially a two-hander between Berchtold and Rotibi, with a few flashbacks thrown in for good measure, The Forbidden Wish boasts a powerful script courtesy of Carnick that is as poetic as it is thought-provoking, diving deep into themes of mortality and religion, all while raising interesting questions about faith and bereavement. “Religion has always been interesting to me,” replies Carnick when asked what the genesis behind the script was. “I’ve written about several different religions and I always enjoy learning about them. People really go into religion when they feel like you’re not accepted in the world, and it’s something that I felt personally at the time. It was a low point in my life. So it was something that I could speak to and write from the heart.”
Originally conceived as a play, Carnick says the script went through several rewrites before he finally settled on the final shooting draft. “It’s had a couple of iterations,” he reveals. “It’s very theatrical. It’s like magical realism and I wanted to bring that feeling into the film even though it’s in a mostly contained setting. I also really enjoy writing dialogue.” While The Forbidden Wish is visually enthralling, it is mostly made up of a series of conversations between its main characters, as they reflect on their lives and wonder about their future. Did the film’s actors have any reservations after reading the dialogue-heavy script?
“When I first read it, I did find it a bit daunting,” reveals Rotibi. “I have done some work off-Broadway years ago so I was familiar with the format but I think what really brought me to this was the story. I’ve never known there were European Jews. This is my first time learning about them. Michael’s writing and all the different aspects of what he was touching were also so amazing. I spoke to Michael and I asked some questions, and I was impressed [with his answers]. I also felt that it was a challenge but I was up to the task. And we were lucky because if there’s no chemistry between the two actors playing these roles, then we don’t have a movie because it could easily fall flat on its face. But luckily, Johnny and I connected and we brought life to it. Michael assembled the right crew and the right cast so it made it easier [to make the movie] because it was an intimate piece, and you needed that to be able to tell this story.”
It’s a sentiment Berchtold more than agrees with. “This was the absolute dream team to work with” he gushes. But did he find the challenge of translating just a dialogue-heavy script into a movie as daunting as his co-star did? “Personally, when I opened the script, I said, ‘Oh, this is like a play,” he reveals. “And then I discovered it was a play and so it was super exciting to be able to solidify a piece like this on camera. Talking with Michael and Sammi, and just getting an understanding of these stories that they’re telling and all the subtext made it so much easier. I went in reading with Sammi for my audition and so right off the bat, I was able to start learning from him, and talking to Michael about his perspective, you can tell when you when you hear the words that they’re coming from a personal place and and that was just really easy to gravitate towards. But yeah, lots of dialogue,” he confirms. “But it’s beautifully written.”
Up next for Berchtold is another introspective, dialogue-heavy film titled A Hard Problem that recently had its world premiere at Cinequest. Telling the story of a young man who discovers a deep, dark secret that turns his world upside down, it’s as equally as thought-provoking and hard-hitting as The Forbidden Wish. Does Berchtold find himself drawn to scripts as complex as these? “At the end of the day, both of those movies are asking such big questions from the audience,” he says. “And I love that these artists are doing that in such different ways, and I think Michael does it in such an amazing way here.”
Rotibi, on the other hand, can be seen in the next installment of The Purge franchise, The Forever Purge, which is set to be released on July 2, 2021. What can fans expect from what is set to be the fifth and final film in the franchise? “It’s going to be amazing because this one is actually much bigger,” he promises. “It’s the final film of the series and they went all out. It’s fun, it has an amazing cast and it’s going to be a ride. I can’t really say too much about it but it’s gonna be huge. With the sets and everything… They really went all out for this one. It’s going to be a huge film and I think the fans should be ready for a big thrill ride that is even bigger and better than before.”
Until then, both of them can be seen in the excellent, inspiring and thought-provoking The Forbidden Wish, available now on VOD.
The Forbidden Wish is now available on VOD.