Keira Knightley Stays True

Early in Last Night, Keira Knightley and her onscreen husband (Sam Worthington) are in a taxi on their way to a party, when she is applying mascara. “If we get hit,” her husband warns, “you could lose an eye.” At the party, Knightley notices an intimate conversation between her husband and his new coworker (Eva Mendes)—which is the eye-opening hit the couple will soon take. The twist in this sophisticated, darkly exquisite drama from writer/director Massy Tadjedin is that while Worthington is away on a business trip with Mendes, Knightley runs into her ex-boyfriend, an irresistibly charismatic French writer played by Guillaume Canet. The film follows each couple on parallel plots through the night as they struggle with temptation. Knightley gives a quietly devastating performance, which culminates when she leaves her former lover with the achingly delivered words: “What I wouldn’t give to have tired of you.”

Interview met at the Tribeca Film Center yesterday with Knightley (who is reportedly dating British rocker James Righton of Klaxons) to discuss relationships, indies vs. Pirates, and a few of her favorite things.

LORRAINE CWELICH: Do you consider this film to be a commentary about which is more destructive, physical infidelity or emotional infidelity?

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY: It’s definitely a discussion of that, which is one of the things I really liked. It doesn’t answer the question; it allows the audience to answer the question—if that’s a question that’s answerable and I’m not convinced that it is. The friend [played by Griffin Dunne] who says, “Don’t ever take it any further than this, because at the moment it’s perfect” could be right. How wonderful to have had that moment but maybe it couldn’t exist beyond that. Or maybe they’re absolutely meant to be together!

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW.