Film
Compare and contrast
Actress Laura Linney talks to James Mottram about the two very different films she’ll be
promoting in Edinburgh.
aura l.innc) has alua)s likcd to ltl\l;l[)tisc \xildl} dil'lcrcnt l'ilins. ('omparc hcr rcccnt Ncu York immn drama 'Ilu' Squlrl um/ 'I'lu' ll'liu/c to supcrnatural courtroom drama 'l'lu' liturrism u/ lam/Ii Now. ()i' 3003‘s Richard (‘urtis lncga rom coin Low .'l(’lll(l//\' l'ollou‘ing ('Iint liastuootls mcmroughl .llwrt' lx’ii't'r. So it's Ill) sllt‘pt‘isc ll) lllltl thc 42 )L‘al'~nltl Nc“ Yill‘lscl‘ in too contrar} projccts at this _\car's lill‘l‘. both ol’ which takc hcr lar ana} l‘roin hcr ll;lll\ c postcodc. 'l'hc lirst is thc much anticipach .lr'm/u/n'nc.
thc ncu lilin l‘roin Ra} l.a\\rcncc. dircctor ol'
thc sublimc /.(lII/(l/I(l. Hascd on thc Raynond (‘;|l‘\ct‘ slliil'l still} SH .Ullr’lt llilh'l' SH (law In l/u/m'. alrcad} an inspiration l‘or Robcrt Altman‘s Short ('uls. it tclls thc slul'} ol‘ a group ol~ mcn on a l'ishing trip lincluding
(iztlil'icl llyrnc) who discin cr thc dcad bud} (ll.
an Aboriginal \soman in thc rivcr. thn thc_\‘ ignorc thc corpsc and rcturn homc. thcir actions scnd shock \\il\'L‘.\ through thc communit). ‘lt's about things that haunt _\ou ll'lllll thc past morc than anything clsc.‘ s;l}s l.innc_\. uho p|a_\.s B}rnc's bclcagucrcd \i'ilc ('Iairc. 'l |o\cd that Ra)‘ put it in an .»\ustra|ian sctting. and dippcd into thc politics and histor} ol' thc Aboriginal pcoplc.‘
llcr sccond l‘ilm this lcstiVal is British. rcturning hcr to thc lcclgood turl‘ ol' /.u\'(' Actual/gr. Writtcn and dircctcd by .lcrcmy Brock. \xho pcnncd such British pcriod lilms as Mrs Brown and ('lmr/nm' (irai'. [Hiring l.('.\.\()/l.\ casts l.innc_\ as oxcrlwaring church- going mothcr to Harry l’ottcr star Rupcrt (irint. ‘lt‘s a coming ol' at—‘c stor)’ for him.‘ conlirms I.iiiiic‘}. in which (irint‘s .sh)’ tccnagcr is brought out ol‘ his shcll \x'hcn hc hccomcs a pcrsonal assistant to Julic Waltcrs‘ grumpy actrcss. 'l'hc most traumatic clcmcnt l'or l.innc} was bcing l‘orccd to d_\c hcr blondc hair to match up with (hints distinctixc carrot crop.
‘MY HAIR WAS TINTED STRAWBERRY RED'
Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne in Jindabyne
44 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ‘ 1 ‘ " 3H,: R J"
‘.\l} hair \\ as tintcd rch shc sa_\s. '_\'ol coinplctcl} rcd. But sll‘;l\\l\‘l‘l'_\ rcd.‘
Still. \xith l'i\c lilms currcnt|_\ in post production. including lithan llaxxkc‘s adaptation ol' his onn no\cl 'l'/n' Hut/ml .87qu and Hair} |.c\inson’s prcsidcntial conic-d} .llun aft/1v )i'u/L |.innc_\ has barcl} had tinic to rcl‘lcct on such hair) c\pcricnccs. ‘lt sounds
lL‘l‘l‘ilch litll thcrc hasn’t hccn a \\ho|c lHt til
rclaxing.’ shc sa_\s. 'lloncst to (iod. I don‘t rcmcmbcr hon I did it. I'm going to haxc to lcarn him. You gcl to a point \xhcrc _\ou just don’t haw a choicc. You ha\ c to stop or clsc c\cr_\thing is going to sul‘l'cr. li\cr_\thing.‘ Jindabyne, Cineworld, 623 8030, 17 Aug, 7pm & 19 Aug, 5.30pm, £7.45 (£5.20). Driving Lessons, Cineworld, 25 Aug, 5.30pm 8: Dominion, 623 8030, 26 Aug, 4pm, £7.95 (£5.20).
Rave reviews for Secretary helped Maggie Gyllenhaal get noticed, though being Jake’s older sister can’t have done any harm. Yet, as Richard Mowe discovers, the actress remains totally and unreservedly her own woman.