Mila Kunis discusses her dramatic new role in 'Third Person'

LOS ANGELES, June 10 (UPI) -- Mila Kunis recently discussed her dramatic new role in Third Person.

The 30-year-old actress attended the movie's premiere Monday in Los Angeles, and spoke to reporters in a panel earlier that day. The film features three interconnected plots, and was directed by Crash director Paul Haggis. Kunis stars as a woman named Julia who is accused of attempting to kill her son.

Julia denies the charges, and attempts to regain custody from the boy's father Rick (James Franco). Meanwhile, Liam Neeson stars as a writer whose lover Anna (Olivia Wilde) has a dark secret, and Adam Brody portrays an American businessman who falls in love with an Italian woman (Moran Atias).

"I looked at this film like an end to my 20s," Kunis said during the panel. "So it was like a massive therapy session for myself. It was really selfishly incredibly gratifying. I don't know how to explain it. I loved doing this movie because I actually felt like I was doing something that I loved again."

The actress expressed her pleasure that Julia is not a simple "girl next door," and reflected on how "everybody has mistakes that they have in life" in relation to her character.

"It's just relative to who you are and how they impact you," she elaborated. "It wasn't hard for me to figure out a way to get to a place where I understood the character and understood her emotional roller coaster ride. I may have not had a child that I have lost but it doesn't take away from the experiences that I did have in my life that were equivalent to that emotional depth."

Kunis is currently pregnant with her first child by fiancé Ashton Kutcher. The busy actress and mother-to-be will next appear in Jupiter Ascending in February 2015.

Third Person debuts in select U.S. theaters on June 20.