Press
Last Update
- June 21th, 2003
'Metroland' Interview
Ted Murphy, Hollywood.com, 1999.
Ever since
he burst into public consciousness as a youngster in Steven Spielbergs
underrated Empire of the Sun (1987), Christian Bale has continued
to delight and surprise his fans, the most rabid of which have
been dubbed Baleheads. On the Internet, the actor is quite popular--so
much so that he agreed to an official site (http://www.christianbale.org/).
And in the last few years, he has quietly been moving into adult
roles, starting with his breakout turn as Laurie in the remake
of Little Women. At home in period drama (he was a suitor to Nicole
Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady), Shakespeare (Kenneth Branaghs
Henry V, this years A Midsummer Nights Dream) or more contemporary
fare (Velvet Goldmine), Bale almost always delivers. Even when
the material may be substandard, he finds ways to make his performance
work. At 25, the Welsh-born actor is already a veteran, having
begun his career on stage at the age of 10. He recently made a
fast trip from Toronto (where he is filming the controversial
American Psycho, which should be released by the end of the year)
to the offices of Lions Gate Films in NYC to meet with members
of the press to discuss his latest film, Metroland.
Bale is an
oddity in the show business machine. He doesnt have a press agent
and he keeps a relatively low profile. Unlike many of his contemporaries,
he is not fodder for the gossip columns. His penchant for privacy
is a bit refreshing, but also a bit bracing. It has been well-documented
that when he was a teenager and found himself at the center of
a swirl of publicity for Empire of the Sun, he had trouble coping
with all the attention. That has clearly left its mark. When he
joined the small group of journalists I was in, the first words
out his mouth were, Ive just hit a point where Ive sort of
said everything once. It was obvious he was exhausted from his
schedule (having literally come from the set) but as it turned
out, the tall, slender Bale (who easily could have passed for
a graduate student rather than a film star), gamely answered our
questions about his career and his upcoming work.
The focus
of course, was Metroland, a terrific film that allows Bale to
play one character at three distinct stages in his life (teenager,
a twentysomething bohemian in Paris, and a married man in his
thirties). While there are surface similarities to his part in
Velvet Goldmine, Christopher Lloyd in Metroland is a bit more
interesting. Bale manages to find the nuances in these mostly
reactive roles. I worked with Christopher Hampton. Did the film
called The Secret Agent. And his assistant on that became a casting
director who was casting Metroland.
He was drawn to the character, in part, because
it was all really convenient. I got the script two weeks before
we started filming it. They sent it to me. I was told it was just
for the Parisian section. Thought, you know, that will be quite
fun. Spoke with the director [Philip Saville]--I never really
asked him what the hell he was on about--the first thing he says
to me [lowering his voice] Do you have a hairy chest? And I
said, No! And he said, Would you want to play all three parts,
then? So I said, Yeah. And that was it. We started two weeks
later.
I liked the script an awful lot and I read the
book and I thought it dealt with [affecting an upper-class accent]
interesting topics.
Since the film is set in the 1960s and early 70s,
Bale worked on developing the appearance of his character and
was a bit surprised to discover, I looked like my dad in a lot
of this film. At my parents wedding, he had on a corduroy jacket,
with big sideburns...and a turtleneck jumper. It was exactly the
same clothes I was wearing for the film. It spooked my mother.
Ironically, Bale was most concerned about playing
the schoolboy incarnation of his character, because I was playing
younger. Only 22 at the time of filming, he was concerned about
looking too old or Benny Hill-like, you know, older people trying
to pretend that theyre younger, running around in school uniforms.
. . . There can be something obscene about it all. But, I think
we managed it pretty well.
When queried
about developing the specific look for each section of the film,
Bale was quick to note that it boiled down to the hair and makeup
people. We really had no time for developing anything on this
film. There was obviously, its a superficial thing but it makes
a huge amount of difference. Theres a huge change that comes
over everybody when you change your hairstyles. Just adjusting
that. Giving sideburns, giving the length. Obviously, theres
acting involved as well. But the hair and makeup did a great job
on it.
But we didnt
have much time for developing anything. . . . I met the director
two days before we started filming and we didnt have any rehearsal
whatsoever. And we did the whole thing in 27 days. So, everything
was really--we had two or three takes at most to do each scene
and we started off being real panic-inducing, but you sort of
got used to it. And I think it turned out quite nicely, because
theres a lot of very--whether you realize it or not--there are
a lot of spontaneous things in the film. Just because of the lack
of real structure and not knowing quite what was meant to happen.
Accidentally, things happen that makes the film quite good.
It was amusing to watch Bale deal with a slightly
personal question about his views on marriage and commitment.
The guard immediately went up; he blushed, claiming the question
made him think of something else and then stalled by saying, Im
sorry, Im getting one of those afternoon, Christ, Ive said this.
Have I said it to you or not? He stumbled a bit and then framed
his answer in terms of the movie. I think the film has a real
Englishness to it. Which obviously, I understand. But I also think
that...one of the major topics is finding yourself in a rut in
your life. Not being able to see the wood for the trees really
and requiring somebody else to come along and kick you in the
ass and say, Look at yourself. Whats going on? Before youve
realized that possibly youve wasted a number of years . . . And
how to rediscover having some sort of passion about your life
and making it more realistic. I think anyone can empathize with
that to a Degree.
Whats interesting is that--I think this film
has been called a film festival favorite, which means that nobodys
seen it, except through the film festivals. We would do Q and
As afterwards. And a lot of peoples completely opposing reactions
to it all. A lot of people, one guy, who I noted was sitting with
his wife when he asked the question... How comes Marion put up
with Chris for so many years with him acting the way that he did?
Which I was sure he was saying just for his wifes sake. As I
see it, shes the manipulative one. Chris only fault is naivete.
And thats it. The more I see the film, the more I strongly think
that and that the womans a COW! But a lot of the audience has
completely differing ideas on that.
According to Bale, his character doesnt even
realize hes in the rut until his friend arrives. And Chris thing
is that he does--as a teenager, theoretically without having any
life experience, he thinks he really does have it all sorted out.
He thinks he knows what he talking about and life is going to
be black and white and very easy. And then as a thirty-year-old,
its all a bit more confusing and there are many different answers
to every question. And he doesnt really know what hes about
and what his values are. He attempts to empathize with everybody
all the time and [his old friend] Tony [played by Lee Evans] arrives
and he wants to see what he really means. All right--Im boring.
All of sudden, I'm going to take a look from your viewpoint. And
all the time hes doing that from Marions viewpoint as well,
never really saying, Hold it! What do I really think about any
of this. And I dont think the film ends with him knowing that,
but he has made this journey from the teenager--very idealistic
and absolutely never going to become content (which is a big word
in the film)--to being a young father who is quite happy to say,
Im content. Ive made compromises and I havent fulfilled all
the dreams I wanted to, but its a new situation and Im working
with it. . . . Its not a definite ending at all. Its sort of
filmed like a nice happy ending but absolutely, hes compromised
an awful lot. But, I mean, not to say that she hasnt either.
But thats what I like--thats why I liked it. Because it wasnt
all very clear-cut about each of their relationships.
The onscreen chemistry between Bale and Emily
Watson is quite marvelous and its a testament to their acting
abilities. He explained that because of the tight schedule, there
was very little time to get to know one another. They jokingly
said they spent about twenty minutes together (Thats plenty,
who needs more than that, for Gods sake ... then we jumped in
the sack.) On a more serious note, he related that we didnt
have much time for anything on this. Literally it was Emily and
me just met out for a drink three nights before we started and
then we saw each other at read through. But what we did do, because
the set was so rushed, Lee, Emily and myself used to get together
in the trailers and rehearse it ourselves and run through stuff.
So that at least the three of us agreed on how we were going to
do something by the time we arrived on the set, because the set
was such chaos. REALLY. That if we left it until then we ended
up going Cut! Print! Move on! And we were going, Well, I dont
know what that was like. ... Two days into it I was thinking
this is it, Im going to quit because this is so bloody fast-paced,
I havent got a clue what Im about. But then you sort of fortify
and used it to our advantage. The essential thing became as long
as Lee, Emily and myself and Elsa [Zylberstein who plays his Parisian
lover Annick], when she was there, became comfortable enough with
each other that we can really relax, improvise, be spontaneous,
then we could make it work. So it became enjoyable instead of
panic-ridden.
As for his future roles, Bale was a bit closed-mouthed
about the upcoming A Midsummer Nights Dream, in which he plays
Demetrius to Calista Flockharts Helena and Anna Friels Hermia,
he was quite willing to discuss American Psycho (which, like Metroland
is being produced under the Lions Gate banner). Its not often
that you get somebody like Mary Harron who comes along and cast
you as something you have never touched. Never even attempted
to play anything near to. Generally people do see you in a period
movie and say oh, were doing a period movie, so hed be great
for this one. Or he played that real nice guy so he can play the
nice guy here as well. It has opened up a whole new slice of pie
for me--some of it ridiculous, since starting American Psycho,
Ive had things sent like, We want you to play Satan in a film
now. But its really nice from having keeping on getting the
thing of the nice slightly gullible guy. Suddenly, theres a whole
other range that can be done. If I can keep expanding that, thats
ideal.
Despite the controversy it has already engendered,
Bale has high hopes for American Psycho. Obviously you cant
do a five hundred page novel and put everything in. Whilst you
cant capture as well the mental narrative humor of the book,
Bret [Easton Ellis] writes great dialogue and weve pretty much
not altered anything. If were doing a scene, its taken straight
from the book. And when you actually do it, its often much, much
funnier than you realize it would be. . . . That is Marys angle
on it--the core of the film is that it is a satire on the 80s
and materialism. Secondly, hes a serial killer. Its funny playing
it. During rehearsals when the crew can make noise and things,
youre getting a direct response and it is incredibly funny. In
some of the scenes weve started doing now, as well, which are
really ugly and then some, which are the really interesting ones
where its both at the same time. . . . At the same time Im finishing
a scene, Im having this cold feeling, thinking, Oh fuck! Theyre
right. This is career suicide. Im going to be the most hated
person on the planet when this film comes out.
It wasnt a hard decision to want to do [the
role]. When I initially got sent it, I hadnt read the book. Id
only read some of the excerpts which generally they put in very
gruesome bits. Gave everybody a very biased perspective on the
book. And I thought it was a very dark psychological thriller
about a serial killer and I wasnt excited about its arrival.
Then when I read it, it wasnt anything like I had expected and
I think a lot of people are going to find that.
In terms of reaction to it, rankly Ive always
admired actors who appear not to pay a great deal of attention
to the reaction but rather to their own choices and keeping themselves
interested in their own careers and in the roles. Its something
Im happy to take flack for. Bale is also not worried that audiences
may believe he is the character he plays. Its a little scary
[that an audience member might confuse the actor with the role]
but its not going to prevent me from making a film. Otherwise,
what? Im going to end up playing Laurie in Little Women for the
rest of my life.
About his popularity on the Internet, Bale maintains
a philosophical approach. Its out there. Its not a tangible
thing at all. Whilst I hear a lot about all the web pages and
stuff and Ive been on it and Ive seen it and I tend to know
basically whats going on, I dont actually surf the Internet.
... Some people say to me, Dont you find it a bit scary? I
find it induces a real self-consciousness if I have a look at
it too much because people are really analyzing things that frankly
I dont want them to be analyzing or I dont want to know what
conclusions theyre coming to. That kind of thing can make you
very timid in your choices. If Ive read too much about peoples
reactions to me laying Bateman [in American Psycho], maybe I would
start getting cold feet. Im sure it would be short-lived, but
Id have to sort of answer all of these questions that I dont
really genuinely have in my own head. That other people are putting
in there. Also when you read something when somebody has followed
you--and they HAVE and theyre right and you were where they say
you were, you start being aware of being watched when youre outside
too much. But now a lot of it, not all of it, but a lot of it
is just very flattering, intelligent conversation. Its not all
teenage girls going hes a hottie. Theres a lot that just talks
about the acting and the films and book references and some of
them just love to chat with each other and its got nothing to
do with me. Im just the catalyst that brought them together.
. . . Ive gone in and just sat and watched but it tends to me
paranoid, so I dont do it often.
1999 is shaping
up to be Christian Bales year. With Metroland in theaters and
A Midsummer Nights Dream, the character-driven All the Little
Animals and American Psycho scheduled for release. He is once
again on the verge of breaking through as a major player. But
Bale is sanguine about his future. How are you going to prepare
yourself for it?, he asks. I think when youre someone like
Leonardo DiCaprio who is suddenly huge, I think that must be incredibly
difficult. As for me ...after doing Empire of the Sun I had such
an experience that I disliked about publicity and everything,
I sort of became doubly wary of it. Its something that creeps
up on you and you can adapt to it slowly. And youre okay with
this situation which you didnt used to be and I suppose it will
just keep going like that. ... I dont consider it bullshit. I
get really tired of hearing [that]. I want people to see my film.
I understand that youve got to do interviews and speak with people
about it. From a purely selfish standpoint, I was glad he was
willing to meet with us and speak about Metroland. For me, it
is another fine portrait in a gallery of exceptional work and
undoubtedly one of many, many more to come.
Source - www.baseline.hollywood.com
