Our topic was Ghost World, in which she plays Enid, the intensely judgmental teenager at the center of the film. But sitting beside Birch (who, by the way, is luminous--her pale skin glows through a light dust of powder), one can't help but be struck by the contrast between Ghost World and American Beauty, since both films attempt to portray the deep, sarcastic malaise in the teen subconscious. But whereas Beauty is content to revel in behavioral platitudes, Ghost World digs into the kinks that lie beneath the irony.
"I think Enid is very determined about maintaining her individuality," Birch explains. "She loves being a freak. She just wants to be loved by other people for being a freak, and that's what's not happening, and that's a source of a lot of distress and confusion for her."
Though some have compared the characters, Jane and Enid are reciprocals of one another. Birch was relieved for the chance to contrast the two roles.
"People always say that Enid is like a [variation on] Jane," she scoffs. "Maybe there are some root elements there, some sort of inner-psyche workings that are similar, but the way they react to those inner, root emotions is very different. Enid's main fear is, I think, boredom. In her surroundings, her world, her neighborhood, it could be very easy to be that person in the video store who's just watching the trailer on TV. It could be very easy to become that, and she's determined not to. Insecurity drives Jane to become introverted, whereas that same quality makes Enid an extrovert, and just kind of a grand seeker of something. Who knows what she's looking for, really? She doesn't. But she's certainly on the hunt, actively, whereas Jane's just kind of sitting, waiting."
