There's so many modern films where the fans take one side or the other. I'm hoping this isn't going to be like that; I'm hoping it isn't that kind of film at all. What I would love for the audience to take from it is to understand why she was so stuck in the middle and confused.

Once you move away from home, it's never quite the same again. You expect everything to be just as you left it, and it never is. It's almost the first step into adulthood, realising you've got to make your own way.

I wouldn't go down the route of having an assistant. I don't want to be like that. I want to be normal.

I was 12 and I remember every­thing. I mean, I had done two films before that. The first was actually with Amy Heckerling. It was so brilliant to work with her on my first film. Atonement was the third one I'd done, and I remember how it felt to arrive on set every day. I remember how it felt to get my wig off at the end of the day. I remember how hot it was.

We've done a lot of films now about the IRA, we can move on from all that. I loved '71 because I think it showed a very honest trail and what it was actually like. It wasn't one-sided. I really respect ['71 director] Yann [Demange] for what he did. But we have done a lot of those things.

I certainly don't feel like I am desperate to run away from a film set. I love the hustle and bustle. Everything is sort of mad right before a take, and then it just settles, and you've got these two minutes of a bit of magic. I just love that in film.

I'm a huge Wes Anderson fan. I literally love every single film. He hasn't made a bad film; I've seen every single one. They've all been brilliant, from 'Bottle Rocket' up to 'Moonrise Kingdom,' they've all been wonderful.