Emily Hampshire transforms into the mother of Maddie Ziegler, singer SIA's former muse, in a sparkling comedy-drama My life my rulesby Molly McGlynn, a film about the sexual and medical problems of an adolescent girl.
Sexually and medically? Yes, because Lyndi (Maddie Ziegler) has MRKH syndrome (Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser, von Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser). She discovers her condition by accident when she visits a gynecologist – male, leading to a scene that is both humorous and repulsive. This is how she learns that she has no uterus or cervix and that her vagina is atrophied.
Conclusion: If she wants to have a “normal” size vagina so that penetration is possible, she will have to use vaginal dilators… a whole program that is not necessarily pleasant when you are a teenager discovering your body and your only desire is that to lose his virginity.
Emily Hampshire plays Rita, Lyndi's mother, and since Molly McGlynn wrote this film because she suffers from MRKH syndrome herself, the Montreal-born actress didn't hesitate for a moment to take on the role.
“When I read the script, one scene caught my eye. When Lyndi looks for other women with MRKH syndrome, the only woman she finds is…Hitler's wife! From that moment on, I knew this tone resonated with me,” explains Emily Hampshire in an interview with QMI Agency.
Body shaming
“I also focused on Rita's relationship with her mother and held on to the shame we have about our bodies that is passed down from generation to generation. “The last thing Rita wants to do is pass this on to Lyndi… and yet she recognizes that she is like her mother.”
Because Lyndi is trying to adapt to this syndrome that shames her and that she wants to hide at all costs. Betrayed by her body, the teenager still tries to have a “normal” sex life and realizes that she has to stop hiding her experiences.
“We have long been accustomed to seeing films largely written by white men. This started to change recently. When a woman or a member of a community shares her story openly, we get a different perspective. That’s what attracted me to “My Life, My Rules.” When you tell a story so precisely and so intimately, it becomes universal. The best way to reach people is to be completely honest and authentic,” emphasizes Emily Hampshire.
Inspired by Molly McGlynn's mother, the character Rita also battles her own demons and tries to help her daughter.
“This is the consequence of the #MeToo movement more broadly. When women reveal something they have learned to be ashamed of, other people may do the same and say, “Me too,” so the shame disappears. By showing her daughter her mastectomy scar, Rita tells her, “Me too,” and this helps ease her distress and pain.
“I think that by saying 'I am a woman without a vagina,' Lyndi is taking back control of her body. Shame feeds on silence, once we bring what shames us into the light, that monster that is shame disappears,” she says.
“My Life, My Rules” hits theaters on February 2nd.