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‘KISSING DANIEL CRAIG WAS LIKE KISSING A VERY
UGLY GIRL'
Eddie Harrison chats to RHYS IFANS, about ENDURING LOVE, and finds a mad monk pretending to be a serious actor.
pike in Roger Michell‘s Milling Hill. 'l‘reiit
Stoken in Mike l’iggis' Hotel. Beautield
Nutbeam in The Shipping News; When casting directors are looking for an abrasiye. strange. ol'lbeat presence. the one-time Super l‘urry Animals star is the lirst card out of the Rolodex.
His latest role. as creepy loner .led in Michell's adaptation of Ian Mcliwan's lz'iii/iii‘iiig Low. riyals ll'ans' most troubling and psychologically darker screen turns (noticeably his Alex Madden in Jimmy ;\lc(ioyern's Heart). Alter witnessing a horrific ballooning accident. .led and atheist Joe (Daniel (‘raigl share a moment's silent pray er in a field. a moment which leads .led to form an uncomfortable attachment to the unwitting Joe.
"To me. lz'iiiliii'iiig Low is not a thriller: it's a film about Jed‘s great love . . . low is one thing between two people. but when it‘s one way ti‘al'l'ic. it works in a completely different way.‘ he says. 'Something that begins quite innocently can mutate into obsessing like a teenager. Jed can't rationalise what he sees. and becomes twisted in his religions l'eeliiigsf
Jed‘s condition. that almost eyerything that he sees is a sign that Joe loves him. is defined as De (‘Ierambault's syndrome. with every twitch ot~ Joe's curtains leading .led to imagine that his low is being requited. In one scene. Jed successfully manipulates eyents to get his way. and lights shares a lengthy on- screen snog with Craig.
‘lt's not a story about homosexual obsession. The kiss isn‘t homosexual loye. What happens is that led wants to consume this person. as it‘ he's eating him.‘ says
52 THE LIST '8 New; Ce: QC. 1
llans. ‘.-\nd anyway. kissing Daniel (‘raig was like kissing a yery ugly girl.’ he laughs. ‘lt was actually very emotionally intense to shoot. Daniel and I came
up with our own comedy yei‘sion. the enduring loye of
me constantly waiting t‘oi' him. standing outside his trailer all night. waxing to him.‘
One thing llans is reluctant to discuss is the book. eyen though author Mcliwan has indicated his appreciation ol' the liiiished product.
‘lt's a completely dil‘l'ereiit animal. It's just not interesting to compare them. It can't be an eight-hour lilm. so you haye to haye a l'ew imitations to get to the ultimate truth of the book says ll‘aiis. '.'\|so in the book. there‘s a gun imolyed towards the end. which seems to eleyate it into melodrama. We wanted to keep things more domestic.‘
The next time we see ll‘ans will be in a lighter role. cony incing as the perfect gentleman William Dobbin in .\lira .lliinsiiiiii lli'i/i/inu .\'air's Version M William 'l‘hackery‘s liiiiity l‘illl'. And on our teleyision screens. ll'ans will play comedy great l’eter ('ook in the drama Not ()ii/y lfiit .-l/.sii.
‘l deyoured eyerything there was to see. eyei'y word written about him. I could haye gone on .lliisii'riiiiiii/ and Peter (‘ook would have been my specialist subject.~ he says. ‘l’eople haye drawn dil'l‘erent conclusions about what made him who he was. but what drew me to Peter (‘ook w as his loneliness. like a hermit. [We always been drawn to people like that. like hermits.‘
Enduring Love is on general release from Fri 26 Nov. See review, page 55.
In My Skin (Dans Ma Peau) Marina de Van's disturbing but brilliant minimalist study of a sell-hariiier. See review. Film/rouse, Edinburgh.
>i< I 0 Huckabees Pen/erse and pleasingly odd eXIstential comedy from the director of Three Kings. See interview and review. General release. Goodbye Dragon Inn It's the last night in a dilapidated old cinema and things are getting spaced out. man. Droll. inspired gem from Taiwan. See review. Fi/rnhouse. Edinburgh.
Histoire de Marie et Julien Legendary French ‘new wave' director Jacques Rivette is back with this mysterious tale of amour too. See interview and review. Filmhouse, Edinburgh
>1: Model Behaviour Outstanding showcase of animation from Oscar winner Adam Elliot (Harvre Krumpett) and the current star of claymation animation Pjotr Sapegin. See review. GFT. Glasgow (Tue 23 Nov only)
The Incredibles Pixar and Brad The Iron Giant Bird — what a combination. See feature and review. General release.
>l< Birth Tales of the Unexpected meets Polanski's Repu/sion in this great psychodrama starring Nicole Kidman. General release. >l< Man of Iron Andrzej Wajda's follow up to Man of Marble is as prescient and moving today as it ever was. Film Guild, Filmhouse. Edinburgh (Sun 27 Nov only).
>i< Crime Story From 1986 Michael Mann and Abel Ferrara's ‘police story as hard arsed soap' has its first series re-released on DVD box set. The SOpranos before The Sopranos. See review. Anchor Bay.
=i< Skippy the Bush Kangaroo: Vols 1&2 Perfect nostalgia pre-Christmas DVD release. See review. Fabulous Films/Freemant/e Home Entertainment.