PADDY CONSIDINE Star of Last Resort _
The subtle psycho has always been a more effective cinematic creation than the no-holds barred screen nutter. Despite his long and varied career, Tony Hopkins will forever be Hannibal, while Bobby Carlyle’s destiny seems set as an Argyle-sweatered, moustachioed trainspotter. Similarly, with A Room For Romeo Brass newcomer Paddy Considine boxed himself in with a creation too complex and complete to escape from. His unhinged loner, Morrell, at once believable and funny, became terrifying when his inability to maintain stable adult relationships lead him to befriend, control and ultimately abuse two young boys.
In Considine’s new film Last Resort, his Alfie is an equally vivid creation. Fixed firmly in the real world, Alfie works out his lonely existence in a seaside arcade. His grim reality is disturbed by Russian refugee Tanya (Dina Korzun) and her son, and he takes on a personal mission to give them a better life.
Perhaps fearing the typecasting strait-jacket, Considine stepped in at an early stage to announce his interpretation of Alfie’s motives. ‘l turned to Pawel [director Pawlikowski] and said that this guy isn’t a nutter, he’s a normal bloke, seeing the same faces every day. And when Tanya walks through the door, something just goes off in him. He’s immediately inspired by her and he’s gallantly prepared to lose everything to make sure this lady gets to where she wants to go; it’s part of his salvation, too.’
‘This guy isn’t a nutter, he’s prepared to lose everything to make sure this lady
Considine consolidates his acting cred
Meadows made the acclaimed TwentyFour Seven, at which point he offered his untrained pal the pivotal role in Romeo Brass. ‘During workshops, we had this character just coming out of nowhere and by natural selection it became something,’ recalls Considine. ‘l was getting new drafts of the script and Morrell
gets to where she wants to go.’
So, a bit different from playing Morrell, who was prepared to bludgeon a man to death in front of his family? ‘lt’s fucking frightening, because men like that walk the streets of council estates everywhere,’ says Considine. Walking his childhood Midlands streets with mate Shane Meadows may well have changed Considine’s life. Having gone their separate ways under a cloud, the pair reunited after
KENNETH LONERGAN
Writer-director of You Can Count On Me
The spirit of 70s US indie film
The directorial debut of New York playwright Kenneth Lonergan. the US indie hit You Can Count on Me. is a tender. amusing exploration of the relationship between two adult siblings (Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo) in small-town America. The roots of this unlikely Oscar
was growing and growing and
growing until he became the film’s
catalyst.’
contender lie in a one act play that Lonergan wrote for his theatre company Naked Angels.
‘The theme of the piece was faith.’ explains the smart 37-year- Old. ‘I had this idea of a brother and sister. the brother is a screw- ub. the sister believes in him. She's always pulling for him. but he's very difficult. Then I had another idea: What if the sister had a little son and the brother developed a relationship With the bOy’?'
With You Can COL/ht On Me Lonergan attempts to recapture the spirit of American independent movies from the 70s iFive Easy Pieces. The Last Detail. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore). He admits to disliking the Current soreenwriting trend. ‘People in mowes always have to learn some horrible lesson abOut how wonderful they are and if only they believed themselves they COuld have been fine.‘ he says. “They have some phoney-baloney problem that they have to
Having picked up an international film festival acting award for Last Resort, it’s safe to say Considine has thrown off the psycho typecasting. Look out for him soon in a film written by his big fans Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. (Brian Donaldson)
I Last Reson opens at Cameo, Edinburgh on Fri 76 Mar. See review, page 30.
overcome at the end. You can't have an unhappy ending anymore in American movies. I am not so interested in saying how things ought to be. I am more interested in seeing how people behave and how life plays out for them, rather than what they learn or don't learn.’
A certain Martin Scorsese executive-produced You Can Count On Me lie he put the dough up). HaVing satisfied Marty with his debut. Lonergan has gone on to work on the script of Scorsese's hotly antiCipated Gangs Of New York. ‘I ripped off the beginning of Goodfe/las for my film.’ he smiles. 'I loved the way Marty begins in the car and dives into the scene and then goes to the credits. I wonder if Marty noticed that I tried to do the same thing?‘
(Tom Dawson)
I You Can COunt On Me opens at the GET. Glasgow and Cameo. Edinburgh on Fri 23 Mar. See rewew. page 29.
new releases Film
MIIKE TAKASl-ll
Director of Audition
Japanese filmmaker Miike Takashi has directed SOme dozen features Since his 1995 debut Shin/UKU Kurosttakal. China Ma‘ia War. but the psychological horror mowe Audition thCh features a prolonged. shockingly leleht Climax. IS the first tO be distributed in Britain. Despite the film's harrowing COntent. TakaShi shows empathy for all the characters. ‘There are no real baddies in the film.‘ he says. “The yOung woman, Asann, may be Crazy. but she just wants something for herself. She wants what normal people want. she wants a man to be there for her all the time. When I read the short stOry Audition is based on, what struck me was that all the Characters want happiness. but they don't get that. I think the tragedy is they know they're not going to get it. that it might be unattainable. yet they still keep looking'
Artfully restrained until its grand guignol climax, Audition indicates that Takashi was carrying out Hitchcock's desire to put the audience through the proverbial meat mincer. ‘I don't have the Vision to think about the audience when I'm making the film,' he confesses. My thoughts never go beyond the Circle of people I am working With.“
An assault on the senses
Did he have any reservations. though. about filming scenes in which — [here The List has censored the writer's description of the film's extremely graphic Climax to av0id spoiling the viewing experience]? ‘lt's a personal thing,‘ he says. ‘For me hiding Violence always makes it worse. It's a cop-out. When Asami is — [cenSOred]. the more I show her - [again cut]. the more it makes sense.‘
In a neat example of art-mirroring- life. Takashi found his lead actress. the model Eihi Shiina. in an audition. There. she demonstrated her ability to ‘hide her thoughts and feelings'. Getting popular rock musician Shigeharu Ayoma to sign up opposite her proved more difficult. however. ‘He was worried what it would do to his career,' smiles Milke. ‘In the end I said. “Give me three weeks of your year, Just be an ordinary man.“ There's nothing ordinary about what happens to him in the film, though. (Tom Dawson)
I GET. G/asgow; Cameo, Edinburgh from Fri 76 Mar. See review, page 29.
15-29 Mar 2001 THE LIST 27