Imogen Poots talks trust, transformation and the female body in Kristen Stewart's directorial debut

"I feel quite homesick when I'm not doing projects which make sense to me," says Imogen Poots, reflecting on her role in The Chronology of Water, her latest starring role in which she is an exceptional force.

The film itself is an adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Lidia Yuknavitch, a competitive swimmer-turned writer who, as Poots explains, "was dealt these cards and had to take responsibility for the problems that other people presented her with". The story recounts moments of Lidia's life in fragments, rawly examining some of the most striking, impactful and inspirational snapshots of her youth – occupied less with literally narrating Lidia's past than it is with reflecting on how she reclaims and transforms her experiences on paper.

Poots initially found herself in the leading role after being sent the script, which she has previously described as looking more like a poem on the page rather than a conventional screenplay. Subsequently, she made an audition tape, and soon found herself meeting with first-time director Kristen Stewart, with whom she immediately connected with, "We both work very, very hard but also try to live our lives at a similar pace, in a similar way," she says.

Given some of the heavy material the film engages with, a great deal of trust between lead actor and director was required. "I don't know how you would go about making this film without that level of trust and belief and, crucially, respect. I think that respect and trust go hand in hand," Poots explains. She speaks of her working relationship with Stewart with obvious admiration: "I need to let her direct. She needs to let me act. And that's just a cool place to be with someone. It doesn't always happen. And I also think as individuals it was a very kismet thing. It's sort of ineffable. It just is.

"There was something about the two of us that, going about this, we knew we had this opportunity, didn't want to squander it in any way. But also weren't going to lose out because of that pressure. Because it is an unusual film to get to make, and it's unfortunately unusual that a woman finally got the budget to make it. So I think all of that is how to take up space while we make the project, but also deliver it in the way that we want to without being crushed by the pressure."

The obvious care between actor and director seamlessly translates into depictions of the female body in the film. The Chronology of Water is visceral in its presentation of the most intimate, confronting parts of womanhood – even opening its 128-minute run time with an image of Lidia's blood – thick, crimson and merging with water – and later capturing the entire spectrum of bodily fluids the female body is capable of producing. "I didn't know a girl's body could do that," Lidia's monologue hums at an early point in the feature.

Poots explains that she found such presentation particularly "valuable," drawing a parallel to the depiction of the female nude in art, which she notes originated from a place of idealism. "I think about how much mystery there has been in relation to the female body to us as women," she reflects, "There's still so much research on how much happens with us, medically. This was an opportunity to wrench that open. And that's very, very vulnerable. It's very freeing."

"It's an incredibly powerful arena and realm to exist in when you are connected to your own body, and certainly throughout my life as a woman and as an actress, that hasn't always been the case. And so when that does happen it's so revealing, and it's quite overwhelming – and that was something we were trying to capture."

Such unflinching attention to the body also extends into the film's depiction of childbirth. We briefly discuss comments actor Amanda Seyfried recently made surrounding rumours of at least 20 people walking out of an IMAX screening during scenes of childbirth in The Testament of Ann Lee, as well as multiple men leaving during those same scenes at the film's Venice Film Festival premiere. In a similar way, The Chronology of Water's presentation of childbirth is neither unfiltered nor gratuitous in its display of both the creation and loss of life.

"There's so much secrecy, there's so much shame still affiliated with the female body, as if you should be able to control these things." Poots says, "In terms of the actual life of the woman, and in terms of presenting the body, it's amazing that people will sit through a movie and watch someone have their head shot off by a shotgun, but squirm at the idea that they have to confront where they came from.

"It's probably too intimidating and threatening an idea to have to contemplate for a lot of people – that you got birthed."

Such intentionality is embedded into many choices made in The Chronology of Water. Shot on celluloid, each decision, from its casting, to its lack of soundtrack, to its intricate colour palette all work in skilful congruence with each other. "There's an urgency to shooting on film that is really special," she says, highlighting her "wonderful relationship" with cinematographer Corey C Waters. "He and I had to be in a small room together doing crazy things, and knowing how that's going to be captured is really beautiful."

She goes on to add: "It's a privilege to be shot on film. Because Kristen is one of the first people in my life who I really feel has seen me in a way that I then saw what she saw. And that's very special. And that has to come from the texture of the film. It's so alive."

Poots's performance is ultimately the weight of the film. She portrays Lidia from her formative teenage years through to her adulthood with a seamless continuity, illustrating each intricacy of Lidia's complex personality with delicacy, despite her moments of recklessness; of anger and anguish and alcohol. When we begin discussing how Poots first approached Lidia as a character, she's quick to emphasise Lidia's humanity. "I think there's an inherent decency to her," she explains, adding, "But that's not to say that she doesn't f**ck up all the time."

Poots was particularly drawn to Lidia's ongoing endurance: "I always find it really, really moving and very noble when people try their best. And she was dealt these cards and had to take responsibility for problems that other people presented her with. You know, her father abused her as a child. And she then has to live in the fact of that. How she reacts to that was very interesting to me. The abuse itself was the sort of catalyst, but how she proceeds to live her life was really interesting."

She also found the film's occupation with Lidia's memories particularly relatable – at times portrayed as transformative fragments, words written into childhood notepads, whispered into water, unexpectedly resurfacing. "I think that was very, very relatable – in terms of how we reframe what's happened to us... Everything is happening to her," she says, going on to reference the Rainer Maria Rilke quote 'Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final'.

"She's sort of just moving through the weeds of her life, and I found that very inspiring," she says. "I think that if someone in the audience sees a character like Lidia and they recognise that feeling, it's irrelevant what's happened to her. It's just the connection to 'I've experienced that feeling, I've made that choice. I've made the wrong choice.' She embodies all of these things."

Poots's striking performance is further sustained by the film's supporting cast – all of whom play the people who alter the trajectory of Lidia's life. She highlights scenes with Jim Belushi, who plays One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest author Ken Kesey – Lidia's early writing mentor – as well as Thora Birch, who portrays Lidia's older sister Claudia. Poots brilliantly describes Birch's presence as "volcanic", and cites both actors as film standouts.

"The stuff with Jim Belushi was very special," she says, "That scene we shot on the porch when he says to her 'what do you want to write?' was really important for Lidia, and for me – and I know Kristen loved shooting that. And Jim just was so magical, because it was just someone taking Lidia seriously for the first time. And she's not, hopefully, going to mess that up. [...] It was a really cool one. It was sort of like 'you haven't even started yet. You're just pushing all of this down, all of this potential in this one life.' It was a really beautiful moment.

"And I loved all of my scenes with Thora Birch as well. Those were incredibly grounding. Those are some of the highlights of my career, working with Thora."

It's a sentiment that quietly shifts our focus to the career Poots has built over the last two decades. At 36-years old, the west London native's catalogue of work has been defined by a variety of diverse performances. At only 17, she was cast as Tammy Harris in 28 Weeks Later, the first sequel to Danny Boyle's acclaimed zombie film. Since then, Poots has predominantly filled her filmography with independent projects across a wide range of genres – from New York-set screwball comedies to brutal, sanguinary horror flicks. "I always knew I wanted to work in independent cinema," she mentions.

Still, she remains casual about her impressive career. When I mention that I'd coincidentally had a "very Imogen Poots" 2025 cinematic run, she smiles – "Someone had it!" she jokes buoyantly, "That's cool." Alongside The Chronology of Water, Poots's last year also included the acclaimed Nia DaCosta adaptation of Hedda and sci-fi romance All of You – both films in which Poots is a standout, "It's actually very special when they are projects that you loved making, and then you get to watch the final film and you like it. It's not always the case. I love all the people I made those projects with, too."

But despite her previous notable endeavours, this project rightly seems particularly remarkable for Poots. I ask her what leads to her choosing such compelling roles. "I do think it's really important to remain authentic," she responds. "And that's not to say you can't go and earn money. You have to go and earn money. But I think that there are ways of doing that, and people you can work with. I just am aware more than ever that the choices really do matter. And if you're true with those, you'll end up meeting with people you are actually meant to collaborate with, which is really cool."

Towards the end of our conversation, we seem to naturally float towards what may be next for Poots. "When the thing materialises that I want to do next, it'll make sense to me," she says, "I don't really agree with the sense of 'right, the next 18 months, back-to-back projects, hope one of them's a hit!' That doesn't really make sense to me in the way that I live my life. It's always an unknown path ahead, which is part of the draw of all of this."

She finishes by likening her approach to future projects to music – "the way musicians make albums".

"Are you going to make albums back to back, or are you going to go away and think about what you want to say about the next one?" she asks, rhetorically, "I think that's quite a nice way of thinking about it."

The Chronology of Water is available to watch in UK cinemas from Friday 6th February.

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