Directed by Dubliner Lorcan Finnegan, Vivarium is a dystopian drama in which Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg play a young couple whose search for the perfect suburban home quickly turns into a Kafkaesque nightmare. With echoes of Get Out and Black Mirror, the movie received its Irish premiere at the recent Dublin International Film Festival, where we caught up with the lead actress. Best known for her starring roles in movies such as The Look of Love and Green Room, and TV series such as Bouquet of Barbed Wire, Imogen is the daughter of Belfast TV producer, Trevor Poots.

You once remarked that you love a sense of the absurd and the uncertain in acting jobs. You certainly got your wish with Vivarium…

Oh, yes! I really, really loved it, even if I didn’t totally understand it at first. I was intrigued by it. I met up with Lorcan and he was telling me about movies that would be a good reference for this film. It was all so interesting and I couldn’t wait to get started. It’s always fun when you’re working on a project which, in one sense, is an art experiment; but we had a budget, which is cool!

You were cast directly for this film, but when it came to finding a leading man, I believe you had to look no further than your phone contacts?

Yes, Jesse is my only cool contact, so I called him up! We had just finished a movie together called The Art of Self Defense and the director [Riley Stearns] had actually crossed paths with Lorcan. They bonded over both having short films named after animals! It was pretty cool to have Jesse on board with us and he was up for having an adventure in Ireland and Belgium. I do think it’s rare for an actor of his calibre to take on a supporting male role to a female lead. It’s actually not that common. So his lack of ego and total support of female characters was really awesome.

Having worked with Jesse on two previous films, how did you approach working with him on Vivarium?

We discussed it a few times before starting to shoot, but we both work in quite a similar way, which is quite private. It tended to be during the long drive back after a day’s work that we would discuss if everything felt OK. Jesse is certainly not a verbal diarrhoea type of actor, banging on about the craft and the process and all that. He’s totally committed to doing the best work.

What’s interesting with this story is that even as it grows ever weirder, your character maintains a straight bat at all times…

Yes, and I think that’s the only way to play it. Maybe I’ve learned from experience, where I’ve paid too much attention to the tone of a project as an actor and then you find yourself almost trying to play that tone. That doesn’t work. It’s important to sort of remain linear and in a neutral place; the tone is something for the people making the film to be aware of. And often it doesn’t even come together until the edit. As an actor, you have to focus on the truth of your character.

In general terms, what needs to be in a script to pique your interest?

Good question. I suppose I know the things which I don’t like, and often those can be very reductive descriptions about a character which aren’t helpful. I’m talking mainly about female characters and I think the notion of someone simply selling a female role as ‘strong’ is quite dated. I guess you want to be taken into another world. You want the world to be set up for you, but not overly so, because you don’t want to have to be reading reams and reams of description and set-up. You just want to get a real sense of the character on the page. Unfortunately, I think a lot of actresses often have to take a paint-by-numbers approach with what’s there. Often the male lead is far more nuanced and the female character is sort of a device that you have to really flesh out. That then becomes your job as an actress. So it was really great with Vivarium to see a character going through such extraordinary experiences in such a short time. I guess that’s the beauty of sci-fi stories.

More women are getting behind the camera and there’s more space for the female gaze in cinema. Is that being reflected in the roles you’re being offered?

Undeniably, you can see that the uproar over the lack of diversity at awards shows is making its mark, and that’s awesome. And it’s great to see film-makers like Greta Gerwig and films like Portrait of a Lady on Fire doing incredibly well. That’s a really, huge moment. The ramification of a lack of support for female voices is now being felt across all industries; hopefully that continues!

You’ve mentioned your ease in working with Jesse for the third time; how was it working with young Irish actor, Senan Jennings, who played your son?

I found him just so beguiling because he was totally present. He was really up for it and genuinely was having fun. And he has a lovely mum who just wants the best for him. You can tell his family is just awesome. He was incredible to work with because he was completely engaged and that can only help you in a scene. It was a joy to work with Senan: he was just super duper!