Edie Falco is widely known for her award-winning performances in a pair of celebrated and long-running cable series: as the exasperated wife of a mob boss in “The Sopranos” (1999-2007) and as a drug-addicted health care provider in “Nurse Jackie” (2009-2015).
But comparably demanding roles on the big screen have been few and far between. She excelled most memorably as a lovelorn theme-park mermaid in writer/director John Sayles’ 2002 ensemble piece “Sunshine State,” and now, 15 years later, the actress finally gets to truly shine again in the new movie “Landline.”
The indie comedy-drama, about a dysfunctional family in 1990s Manhattan, casts Falco and John Turturro as parents dealing with marital problems, in addition to the struggles of their two daughters — the older one (Jenny Slate) is having second thoughts about her upcoming wedding, while the younger (Abby Quinn) is questioning her plans to attend college. It’s co-written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (2014’s “Obvious Child”).
Falco, 54, spoke about the film during a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles, where she’s currently shooting NBC’s “Law and Order: True Crime,” playing defense attorney Leslie Abramson in an eight-part miniseries involving the highly publicized 1993-1994 murder trial of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez.
Q: What appealed to you about “Landline”?
A: As is always the case, it was a combination of the script and the character. I thought the writing was smart and funny, and I'm often drawn to characters that are both likable and flawed. It also gave me an opportunity to work with John Turturro. We've known each other for years, but we've never actually worked together before. I liked the relationship between our characters, how difficult it can be to survive in a long-term marriage, and how even good people can sometimes fall short.
Q: How does your character’s approach to motherhood compare to your own?
A: I think she's pretty much on the mark. There's a fine line between giving your children enough independence to find their own way in life, and also guiding them without being too overprotective. Of course, my kids are only 9 and 12, so I might still have a lot to look forward to and learn from. (She laughs.) For me, just in terms of acting a character, it tends to be more about relating emotionally to whatever she's going through, whether or not I've experienced it for myself.
Q: So many of the issues in the film are timeless. Talk a little about the significance of setting the story in the mid-’90s.
A: Gillian (Robespierre) grew up in the '90s, so I think she wanted to tell a story that took place in a time before cellphones and texting and all of that, when people interacted on a more personal level, by having actual conversations with each other.
Q: I’m a big fan of “Sunshine State” and have always regretted that it didn’t do more for your career, in terms of generating big-screen movie roles. Is that just me?
A: Well, as much as I appreciate hearing that, yes. (She laughs.) Look, so many of the best roles these days, especially for women my age, are being written for television, and as an actress, my job is to go wherever the most interesting and challenging work takes me. (A pause.) Maybe I'm mellowing in my middle age, but I have a full and rich life now — and my kids are such a huge part of it — that acting is almost like icing on the cake at this point. It's not the be-all and end-all that it used to be for me. I still love it, but I don't lose as much sleep over it as I did before.
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