BEYOND HOLLYWOOD: Indie fave in Hollywood's new wave

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"The Wackness," opening in area theaters today, is a period piece. Through music, costumes and re-created locales, it evokes a New York of the past. The frequent references to the year aren't necessary: The atmosphere is all we need.

We're not talking about the Old New York of Edith Wharton or the Gangs of New York of Martin Scorsese, though. "The Wackness" is set just 1½ decades ago, in 1994.

"The film deals with the first time hip-hop culture started seeping in to the white youth," explains star Olivia Thirlby on a recent stop in the District. The 21-year-old actress was just 8 years old that year, but she says she remembers the time. "It was a huge period of transition in New York, especially the neighborhood I grew up in," she comments, speaking of the East Village. "It kind of morphed from no man's land to the trendiest part of the city."

It's been only 15 years, but one big event has shaped New York since then: the Sept. 11 attacks. "That's what makes it so nostalgic," she says of the film. "It was kind of a golden age. Our economy was doing really well. Honestly, everything was different, pre-9/11. There was less paranoia."

Miss Thirlby, best known as the best friend in last year's quirky smash comedy "Juno," is featured in the August issue of Vanity Fair as one of "Hollywood's New Wave." (That photo captures her beauty, but not her eclectic style. You first notice her voluminous curly brown hair, but it's her hands that are particularly striking, her long fingers covered in rings and her nails painted a stark yellow.)

"I'm very much a New Yorker," says the lifelong resident of that city. "The L.A. lifestyle kind of counters everything about that. Car culture versus the walking culture - those tiny elements bleed into the society in a really profound way and influence the culture," says the actress, who, over the course of almost an hour, comes across as exceedingly thoughtful. "I've definitely spent a lot of time trash-talking L.A. But honestly, I am starting to warm up to it, mostly because I've found people there that I love and enjoy spending time with. If you just stick me on the beach, it's such a welcome change of scenery from New York." She's quick to add, however, "Independent films are made mostly out of New York, so it's a good place to be."

Miss Thirlby has spent most of her three-year career making indies. She was in the midst of applying to drama conservatories when she was cast in her first film at 18. She plans to take a hiatus from work to attend school down the road, but for now, working with Sir Ben Kingsley, who plays her stepfather in "The Wackness," "was my drama school."

The first film job she landed, the lead in "The Secret," has never been released in the U.S. She played a doomed passenger in 2006's acclaimed "United 93," the first film she appeared in that was released.

"Independent films, it's a struggle, it's a fight, not only to get them made but to get them seen by people. It can take years," she notes.