Monique Parent said that initially she didn't want to play the battered Valerie because she was going to have to cry in every scene. But the director insisted that it would be good for her as an actress. Parent said she isn't the type who can cry at the drop of a hat. She has to torture herself by sitting around before each scene thinking of every depressing thought she could to start crying. But the tough part was that she couldn't leave it all on the set. She would go home, take a shower, and then spend hours crying it out to the finish.