"There was something in Anna's eyes that Adam, until now blinded by his love for Polina, saw for the first time - a deep sadness combined with a quiet strength that made her seem incredibly beautiful."
The novel that Alex is dictating to Emma includes the initially inconsequential character of an "au pair," but as the story develops, she moves to the forefront - reflecting Alex's developing real-world perceptions of Emma.
First, he writes her as Ylva, a stern Swedish woman. Then Ylva becomes Elsa the bawdy German, before transforming momentarily into Eldora the black-haired Spanish beauty. Finally, she becomes Anna, the American girl from Philadelphia that Adam finds himself spending more and more time with as the summer goes on.
Anna is everything that Polina is not - caring, honest, and very down-to-earth. Not surprisingly, of all the incarnations of the mutable au pair, Anna is the most similar to Emma. Soon life begins to truly imitate art as both Alex and Adam find that love may be closer than they'd thought.
The role of Emma called for Hudson to play all four of the au pairs who parade through the story; while they are all essentially offshoots of Emma, each has a different look and accent. "The role was an unbelievable challenge, but so much fun for me," Hudson enthuses. "Rob is a very quick shooter, and when you're playing so many different characters, you find you're asking yourself, 'Am I Swedish today?'"
Luckily, the world of Alex's novel isn't grounded in reality - Hudson refers to it as "The Great Gatsby meets The Princess Bride. It's not about actually being Swedish," she points out. "It's about Emma suddenly being Swedish in the version of the '20s that Alex invents for his book; it's part of the joke." Verbal anachronisms abound, and the actors were allowed to take liberties in playing their literary characters very broadly.
"We weren't doing a full-on period piece, so we had fun with the '20s stuff," says Wilson. "People carried themselves differently back then. Everybody in that day and age seems so well put together, much more prim and proper and polite. But Adam talks like he would in the present day - for instance, instead of saying 'Good evening,' I say, 'How ya doin'?' But just putting on that period wardrobe puts you in a different frame of mind."
As Alex begins to recognize his growing feelings for Emma, Adam finds himself torn between the dazzling Polina and sweet, affectionate Anna. But Polina's hold on him is undeniable, and her imminent wedding to Shaw puts added pressure on his already muddled judgment regarding the situation.
Indeed, Adam's fate is in question: can he let go of the insubstantial fantasy life he dreams of living with Polina in time to win the heart of the woman he truly loves? Or will he fall into the same trap as Alex, gambling away his only chance at happiness?
Of course, Adam's fate is inextricably tied to that of his creator, and Alex is truly a gambler at heart.