The Idiot(s), directed by Polish filmmakers Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert, premiered Friday night at the Telluride Film Festival before heading to Toronto. The film portrays a romantic relationship between author Fyodor Dostoevsky, played by Johnny Flynn, and Anna, played by Aimee Lou Wood, set during the period when Dostoevsky was writing his novel The Idiot. The narrative follows the pair through a series of chaotic adventures across their journey together.
Flynn described his path to involvement in the project as a leap of faith after meeting director Szumowska on a previous film and learning that Wood was attached to the project. He noted that he had been a longtime admirer of Wood’s work and that mutual friends had encouraged their collaboration. Flynn characterized the overall experience as unusually free-form, involving substantial improvisation beyond what appeared in the original script.
Wood recounted meeting Szumowska via video call, explaining that their initial conversation quickly evolved into a personal discussion spanning astrology and life stories rather than traditional script discussion. She emphasized that the film remained in constant flux throughout the production process, with much of the material being spontaneous rather than predetermined.
Flynn detailed a significant creative shift that occurred shortly before filming began, when the directors decided to abandon the Russian accents originally written into the script. This decision initially prompted Flynn to consider alternative vocal approaches, including a Welsh accent, before ultimately embracing a philosophy of creative surrender. Both actors credited a collaborative approach rooted in spontaneity and mutual trust as central to the film’s distinctive energy and the chemistry visible on screen.
Wood reflected on moments during production where the actors found themselves unable to proceed due to uncontrollable laughter, and how relatively straightforward scripted moments transformed into complex, charged scenes through the improvisational approach. She characterized this collaborative dynamic as an ideal model for creative work in general.
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