Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood take on the apocalypse with "Into the Forest"
What would you do if you were faced with a long-term power outage?
It's a thought many people likely have nightmares about, but in the new film "Into the Forest," two sisters are forced to act and figure things out when this becomes their new reality.
The story centers on two young women (Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood) whose seemingly normal lives are interrupted by what turns out to be a continent-wide blackout. At first they try to make the most of their difficult situation, but over time their struggle to survive in an isolated town is what keeps them together.
Page, who also serves as a producer on the film, connected to this project on a personal level.
"I thought it was a beautiful story and it was incredibly poetic and I was so moved by it. I think it represented a lot of the things people in our society are thinking about now -- in terms of our society's relationship to the environment and our own. And the fact that it was told using a relationship between two women was exciting to me."
This film offers a new take on the post-apocalyptic world -- without the flying saucers or explosions. Wood told CBS News she believes the scenario in the film resembles what it would look like in real life today.
She called this role one of the more challenging ones she has taken on.
"It was challenging in a good way because I understood it and I knew it was going to hit me on a deep level. That's kind of what you strive for as an actor," she said. "It is my job to go head-first into fear and discomfort because that's when you are going to get honest work. It was even harder because the story is about loss and rebirth, and I was kind of going through a lot of that."
Max Minghella, who plays Page's boyfriend Eli in the film, says he was drawn to the project in part for its female leads.
"I'm drawn to movies with women in the front," Minghella told CBS News. "The two women in this film are far more capable than my character. I was actually playing the damsel in distress."
Don't simply refer to these women as strong, though, says Minghella. "It's a strange adjective because women are inherently stronger than men."
"Yes of course all women are strong," Wood later added. "These characters were so refreshing because it seemed like more of how I do feel as a woman. Maybe it should be described as 'real' -- I don't know what term to use. I think these two women run the gamut of human emotions, and it can either change you, destroy you or you can grow. As intense as this film is, there is so much beauty in it. It shows you that there is no point in surviving if there is nothing worth living for. Because it is obviously the love these two have for each other that keeps them going."
A24's "Into the Forest" is directed by Patricia Rozema and is out in theaters on Friday July 29th.