STACK #135 Jan 2016

DVD & BD FEATURE

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Joel Edgerton writes, stars, makes his directorial debut, and throws out the psycho-thriller rulebook withTHE GIFT. He spoke to Scott Hocking.

and acting every day. I think I was in front of the camera for like six days in twenty-three. It felt manageable.” Having worked with some renowned Hollywood filmmakers throughout his career, Edgerton acknowledges their indirect influence on his approach to directing The Gift . But those who ultimately inspired him were closer to home. “Every director I’ve worked with has rubbed off on me in some way,” he says. “How decisive and well prepared Ridley [Scott] was, the same with Scott Cooper – incredibly well prepared and an ability to work with actors. But mainly it was the austerity, style and substance of directing that my brother Nash and David Michôd apply to their work. Really just treating the story in simple terms, not trying to draw attention to yourself as a director, but knowing where to place the camera to serve the story.” Edgerton hopes that the film will resonate with Australian audiences after proving to be a surprise success in the US. “We succeeded in the end

build a plot based on being subversive to those other movies.” Edgerton cites Michael Haneke’s 2005 thriller Caché , in which a married couple are menaced by an unseen antagonist with knowledge of the husband’s past, as a template for The Gift . “You didn’t even really meet the antagonist in the movie, and yet you were so unsettled as a result of the pressure put on the relationship. The relationship, and how it was being dismantled, started to take the foreground focus. That was the lesson that convinced me we could succeed in doing a movie that wasn’t typically a ‘buckets of blood’ kind of thriller.” Edgerton says that his decision to also direct The Gift was a result of his satisfaction with how the story was unfolding on the page, as well as financial considerations. “I knew it wouldn’t cost very much money, and I knew if I was going to direct my first movie, no one was going to give me tons of money. Then there was the fact that if I wanted to play Gordo, I wouldn’t have to be directing

P rolific and affable Australian actor Joel Edgerton can now add ‘Director’ to an impressive CV that also includes screenwriting and producing. The Gift is his first film calling the shots behind the camera, while also penning the script and starring as the antagonist – a creepy loner named Gordo, who insinuates himself into the lives of a married couple (Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall). It’s a cautionary tale about the sins of high school past returning to demand penance. “The initial impulse for the film is this idea of being 25 years out of school and getting that tap on the shoulder from someone you knew from school that you didn’t treat so well,” explains Edgerton. The Gift ostensibly resembles the ‘stranger from hell’ thrillers popular during the ‘80s and ‘90s – films like Pacific Heights , Single White Female and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle . However, Edgerton was determined not to play by the formula's rules. “The real rule of suspense thrillers is that

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the audience should never know where they are or what’s around the next corner,” he explains. “And that became the tone for me; whatever I think the audience is going to expect, let’s do something else. Those movies help us because when the second act comes along and my character somewhat recedes into the shadows, all those other movies create the expectation that I’m going to pop out at any second, and I really relished the ability to

of summer blockbuster season, which was amazing given that you’re competing against pre- existing franchises with an original story, which is very hard. “I just love it when new shit comes out,” he adds. “Otherwise Hollywood will cannibalise itself; they’re rebooting

shit every year and it’s all valid stuff and people pay to see it, but I just love original stories.”

• The Gift is out now

JANUARY 2016

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