Marisa Tomei, despite a great Hollywood career, was never cast as Katrina, the hopelessly amorous tugboat captain in She Comes to Me. Rebecca Miller’s latest film had its global premiere at the 2023 Berlinale, and as I was covering the festival live, I got the opportunity to get down with Tohme to discuss what draws her. She went to Katrina, and like Miller, the actress slept on a genuine tugboat to prepare for the job.
She Comes To Me explores the lives of numerous people who are drawn together in their search for love and acceptance. Steven (Peter Dinklage) is an artistically challenged opera composer who is a down-to-earth lady until he meets Tomes Katrina, who becomes an unexpected muse. Miller labored on the script for six years, and the independent project took some time to get off the ground. However, when Tomei received the script, he fell in love with Hurricane Katrina during the outbreak. Tomei puts it like way:
Despite the chaos caused by the pandemic, Tomei expressed interest in the job. After all, it’s not every day that you come across a character that is full of lovely human contrasts. “She wore a corset under the jumpsuit,” Tomei observes, showing Katrina’s unusual layering. Tomei couldn’t pass up the chance to play a role like this, which lured her to Miller’s movie because:
“She [Katrina] is so innocent, but she lives in such a real world, and we have to do this in such a real world.” Work as if it were the genuine thing. And it’s quite difficult. Work that is both physical and time consuming. But at the same time, he looks like a cowboy. It seemed as though the world had just opened up to them. On these oceans, anything is possible. Life was really epic like that. Of course, the more I read, the less I understand. But the more I read, the more I realize how liberating it is to be so free. I love playing a muse who also has a career and such.”
However, being Katrina wasn’t easy, as the star’s work presented unique problems. But, because Tomei was willing to put her heart and soul into the project, she recommended sleeping on a tugboat to learn about Katrina’s peculiarities and habits. Tomei shared her thoughts on living in a trailer, saying:
“Of course, it was me, and when I arrived, I wondered, ‘Why did I choose to do this?'” I could have made it up. But I really, really wanted to. How many times would I have that opportunity? These piers are in New York, yet it’s also its own universe. I’ve never been there before. It’s fascinating to be able to observe the entire subculture there. I truly like it, and the more I’m on it, the more I want it to be mine. I needed to steer the boat as if it were second nature. Then there was the boat we shot, which we had no idea about at the time. So I was pretty familiar with that. I couldn’t seem to see where my feet were going. ‘No, I know it all,’ I have to say to keep myself from tripping. I can do it blindfolded, therefore it must be second nature to me. So staying there makes sense.”
Katrina stole the show every time she was on TV, thus the strategy worked. It’s easy to think Katrina is a true captain, and it’s impressive how easily Tomei adjusts to the sport of tugboating because she grew up on one.