Practical Magic 2 may be built around supernatural elements, but director Susanne Bier insists that the film is ultimately about something far more universal: relationships. As she returns audiences to the world of the Owens family, Bier has deliberately placed sisterhood, motherhood, family and love at the centre of the story.
Explaining her approach to the sequel, Bier said the magic was never intended to become the story itself. “Magic is wonderful and fun and seductive. And I love it. But this movie is about relationships. This movie is about sisterhood, about motherhood. It's about families. It's about love, the very wide aspect of the word. And so, the magic needed to serve that purpose.”
According to Bier, the supernatural elements are designed to illuminate the emotional journeys of the characters rather than distract from them. “The magic is not an entity in itself. The magic is there to test, question, enforce all those relations. In that respect, it wasn't difficult figuring out the balance, because the quest was very clear. That magic needs to be a tool, or it needs to be a potential antagonist. It's there to inform all those relationships.”
That emotional foundation also extends to the film's comedy, particularly through Sandra Bullock's Sally. Bier describes Bullock's performance as one where Sally's attempt to remain in control repeatedly collides with circumstances that force her out of her comfort zone. “The comedic charms of Sandra’s Sally has very much to do with Sally fighting her own inner spirit. Like when Sally wants to keep control and then she's put in a situation where the control is not that easy, then it becomes incredibly comedic and wonderfully endearing.”
Bier was clearly entertained by watching Bullock bring Sally back to life. “It’s almost like Sandra’s body tells her things before her mind's registering it. And that's also because she's a genius comedian. So, she can actually do things with her body and then her mind registers afterwards. I literally had to stand on set and kind of hide somewhere, because otherwise I would start laughing in the middle of a take. And that happened frequently. And I know it was distracting, but it was incredibly funny and quite hard not to laugh.”
Nicole Kidman's Gillian, meanwhile, brings a different comic energy. “I mean, Nicole, Nicole, Nicole! Gillian does not start out as traumatized as Sally does. She is much more of a free spirit and she has embraced magic the entire time.”
Bier adds, “And Nicole, first of all, she's incredibly funny. When I think of Gillian, I start smiling, because she's so funny. It would be wrong to say naiveté, but… She's decided that she's not going to stop herself. And that, at times, comes out of naiveté, but she's also quite savvy. And that cocktail between savviness and naiveté is hilarious.”
For Bier, the sequel's greatest strength lies in making the magic matter because the relationships matter.
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