Teresa Palmer’s New Film, Addition, Has Us Falling in Love With Dark and Twisty Rom-Coms

Teresa Palmer is everywhere.

The Aussie actress is known for prioritising local projects over big splashy overseas films; consequently, we’re treated to a bevy of Palmer-led productions. The Clearing. The Last Anniversary. The Family Next Door. Her latest release, Addition, had its premiere at the Open Air Cinema on Sydney Harbour this week and will be in cinemas across the country on January 29.

In it, Palmer plays Grace, a mathematician-turned-teacher with anxiety, OCD tendencies (like obsessive counting) and a hallucinatory relationship with Nikola Tesla. And although it might not sound like your standard set-up for a romance flick, Addition is a love story. Grace’s love interest is played by Skins and Game of Thrones actor Joe Dempsie, who stars in the film alongside Aussies Zahra Newman, Adrienne Pickering and Eamon Farren.

Broadsheet sat down with Palmer in Sydney to chat about filming in Australia, the rom-com renaissance, and her favourite spots across the country.

Congrats on the film. It’s unlike any other movie I’ve seen recently. What drew you to this script?

I think it’s the same thing: the uniqueness. I’ve never read a romantic movie like this before. I think we’ve been calling it a romantic dramedy. This character is fun. I read her as someone very funny. She deflects because she has this well of pain inside of her that she’s unwilling to take a look at just yet, so she kind of deflects with humour, sarcasm and banter.  She’s very witty and bold and just out there in a way that’s incredibly refreshing. And I hadn’t played a character like that before, so immediately I knew it would be a challenge, but a great challenge that I wanted to take on.

I imagine you had to do a lot of research to play the character of Grace, someone who both struggles with their mental health issues and is also a very gifted mathematician. Where did you start with that?

Well, maths was like my worst subject, so I definitely didn’t have that [ability], but my dad’s a mathematician and a very smart Sudoku champion. And I was like, “Dad, help”. And he sent me all his Sudoku puzzles, which was not as helpful as I was hoping, but that’s okay.

I also really wanted to make sure that the spirals, her anxiety spirals, felt real. I have not dealt with much anxiety in my life. However, I’ve had a lot of friends who deal with anxiety, so it was familiar to me. But, ultimately, I haven’t had a panic attack myself and I didn’t know what one felt like, so I had to get beneath those feelings and understand them. I did that research through Youtube, mainly via a lot of vlogs. There was one woman in particular who really stood out to me. She had OCD tendencies and she had anxiety, and it manifested itself in counting – and that was quite similar to Grace’s experience. So I watched a lot of her talks [and they were] very informative.

That’s the drama element of the romantic dramedy covered – now to go back to the lovely funniness and romance. It was so beautiful to see you and the gorgeous Joe Dempsie fall in love on screen. It reminded me of the golden age of rom-coms that I grew up on. Do you have any go-tos in that genre?

I loved Notting Hill. That was a favourite of mine. Also, it’s not really a rom-com, but my favourite romance movie, still to this day, is The Notebook. When I did The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling, I told him I was the biggest fan – and then he did some of the scene with me from The Notebook. He was like, “I wrote you every day!” He indulged me.

I was personally a bit starstruck getting to see Melbourne on screen. I love it when you get to see films that are not just made in Australia but set in Australia. What was your favourite part about filming here?

Well, I keep filming in Australia. For the last eight years or so, my American agents are like, “we gotta be working in America”. And I was like, “sorry, I’m heading back to Australia to do another TV show”. But I love it. I love Aussie crews. I love Australian storytelling. I love Aussie directors.

Shooting in Melbourne was excellent. I lived in Richmond. My kids went to a local school there. We walked around everywhere. There are fantastic restaurants. I’m the biggest Australia fan. In fact, I moved my whole family down to Australia to live here so we could raise our children in Australia. So I love it, and I feel very grateful that I get to be a part of the Australian film industry.

Did you have any favourite moments from getting to live in Melbourne during shooting?

All the vegan restaurants. There are so many good ones. My kids attended a really cool Steiner school. The football! I’m a big footy fan. I barrack for Port Adelaide Power, so I’d go and watch the footy matches, and it was just great. I love Melbourne as a city. I love all parts of Australia. I’ve just moved to Byron Bay.

You’ve lived everywhere in Australia and you obviously have great taste so I’d love to get some of your recs. What’s your favourite date night spot?

Allegra. It is a fine-dining, plant-based restaurant in Adelaide. Allegra is my go-to date spot. I love it so much. There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather go on a date.

Any other favourite vegan spots for something less fancy?

Oh my god, I have so many. No Bones in Byron Bay. They have really good sliders, and they’ve got a seasonal menu, so it’s always changing. We go there about three times a week. We’re friends with the owners and stuff now. They all know us. They even let us park in the staff parking lot because we come so often.

A place to go with kids?

I love all the parks up in the Gold Coast. I go to all the theme parks all the time. We’ve got annual passes now for our kids, which is so good. The Crystal Castle in Byron is really fun to go and walk through and see all the beautiful crystals. Then in Adelaide, I just like hiking to Mount Lofty with all the children going to Glenelg for the beach. Adelaide’s my go-to spot and, especially during the Fringe Festival, the city is next level.

I was going to ask you what your favourite state is, but is it safe to assume South Australia?

It’s got to be, it has to be South Australia. I am a South Aussie through and through. And so is the producer of our movie, Bruna Papandrea.

Your favourite cinema in Australia?

Well, I love all the Palace Cinemas because they show really wonderful independent films as well as the bigger blockbusters. The one that I’ve been going to so much is in Byron Bay. It’s right above the Woolies. Sometimes I will just go and eat the popcorn and not actually watch a movie, because I’m obsessed with movie popcorn.

Before we wrap up, let’s jump back to Addition quickly. If you had to give someone an elevator pitch, why should this be the next Aussie movie they see?

This is the sort of movie that you’re gonna leave feeling so good. It’s the warm, fuzzy feelings of falling in love, but also just the humanness of this story is wonderful. It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s exciting. It’s real life, and I think it’s incredibly relatable. People will go to the cinema and just enjoy this one, and it’s going to leave an impact on you.

Addition is in cinemas across Australia from January 29.

@teresapalmer

@additionmovie