Karen Allen Interview: Colewell

Actress Karen Allen sits down with THEDHK to discuss her latest film ‘Colewell’, how she deals with bad news, her affinity for nature, and her guilty pleasures.

Allen brings a quiet strength to the role of Nora. In person she feels warm and outgoing, a contrast to her character who is collected and reserved. According to Allen we see a very different film than the one she was expecting to witness based on the script, but the decisions were for the better.

Filmed at the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival.

More about the film: In tiny Colewell, Pennsylvania, the residents gather at the post office for mail and gossip, while the days pass quiet and serene. That is until news comes that the office is to close, and beloved clerk Nora (a marvelous Karen Allen) is left to fight for her job and reflect on the choices she has made that kept her in Colewell for so many years. Touching, with a hint of melancholy, Tom Quinn’s eloquent film is an ode to small-town life and the quiet emotions that come with nostalgia and memories of the past.

As fears arise around her future and her past becomes ever more present, Nora states, “I don’t want to be lonely,” but what that means is elusive. Infusing Nora with integrity and grace, Allen captures the intimate and often private struggle that occurs later in life, when unexpected changes occur. Heartened by a great supporting cast including Hannah Gross and Kevin J. O’Connor, COLEWELL gorgeously captures rural America, while giving space to the beauty of time passing and reflecting on what determines a life well lived.