When Keira Knightley broke up with long-time boyfriend Rupert Friend last January, it was by all accounts an amicable split, borne of shifting lives and the pressures of stardom. It was a journey of philosophy, more so than any recent personal experience, then, that the Oscar-nominee made while shooting her new indie drama, "Last Night," with co-star Sam Worthington.
Knightley plays Joanna, one half of a young married couple that, relatively happy, sees their marriage challenged by a night of temptation. She runs into an old lover, perhaps the one that got away, while her husband, played by Worthington, is on a business trip with a very attractive, very forward co-worker. The movie opens up for debate whether it's worse to cheat with your heart or your body, a topic Knighteley discussed in a new interview with Flaunt Magazine.
"What is worse? Joanna spends the night in the arms of a man who loves her, and who she loves," she debated with herself. "He f*cks somebody else. What is worse? We had constant arguments about who was guilty and what was the worst action. Somebody said a great line: 'He tests the marriage, and she breaks it.' I don't know if I agree with that or not, but I can certainly understand it at the same time."
What's most effective about the movie, with its shifting portrayals of each member of the marriage as both a victim and transgressor, is that it makes it difficult to decide fault. Even for its star.
"I vacillate between the two sides. I've got no idea. I rather enjoy not having an idea. I went in absolutely thinking that hers was worse," she explains. "Somewhere in the middle I thought, 'Well, bloody hell, she doesn't f*ck him. What's the problem? They have a nice night, they have a bit of a kiss, she doesn't really do anything.' And then I went back to thinking hers was worse. I think it depends on where you are in your life, and that will always change. It's a moveable feast."
Knightley will soon star in "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," alongside Steve Carell.
Knightley also speaks about her theater run in London, alongside "Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss, as well as handling criticism and picking her projects. To read the entire interview, click over to Flaunt Magazine.