I promise I do not intend to write a love letter. It's true that the primary reason I saw both Frankenstein and The Fifth Estate is Benedict Cumberbatch - but none of my favorite performers have ever been exempt from my critical eye. Liev Schreiber, Marion Cotillard, Lee Pace. No one's perfect.
Except Cumberbatch.
Just kidding.
But seriously: when London's National Theatre produced Frankenstein in 2011, Benedict Cumberbatch had not yet achieved fame stateside, though his renown Sherlock had already made it's mark in the UK. Still, with three huge names to carry the show, it did not require that the 'Batch' (as he is [too?] affectionately known by his fans) carry the entire production. In the screening I attended (Halloween at the Avon in Providence), Cumberbatch played the Creature, while Jonny Lee Miller fulfilled the role of creator, Victor Frankenstein. Directed by Danny Boyle - whose award winning work includes Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Trainspotting, and the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Olympic Games - this faithful and dynamic adaptation by playwright Nick Dear has been brought to vibrant life. (Get it? Brought to life? Like Frankenstein's monster? I'm hilarious.)
I'm reticent to apply the word 'visionary' to someone whose best work is composed almost entirely of adaptations of novels, but there's something to be said for the director who encourages his designers to push boundaries, be creative, push the poetry and metaphors of what they're doing. I've just looked up the creative team - the lighting designer's name is Bruno Poet. It is apt. Mark Tildesley's set is exceptionally dynamic, quickly establishing locales, themes, and actively facilitating the incredible performances within. Truly, the emotional impact of those performances was enhanced by the scenic design. Really remarkable work. Equally remarkable is the fact that the superior design work is not lost on screen. While I can't say what influence it bears over a live audience, I know that I am seldom impressed or even satisfied with the filmed version of a staged show. This is the third year that the National Theatre has broadcast or redistributed Frankenstein, the demand is so great. The actual run of the show frequently sold out, and subsequent screenings of the production have been a no-brainer. With something as thematically relevant as Frankenstein, perfect for Halloween capitalization, especially after one of the stars rode a rocket to international fame.
The Batch's costar, Jonny Lee Miller, is no stranger to American audiences either. Whether you liked him in Trainspotting, Dexter, Eli Stone, or most recently as Sherlock Holmes on Elementary, he may strike you as somewhat familiar. His husky voice is an unexpected choice for Victor Frankenstein, but we must remember that Boyle cast Cumberbatch and Miller with the intension of having the actors alternate leading roles. I wonder what Miller's voice would have brought to the Creature. Cumberbatch, on the other hand, is a man you would expect to play a scientist - which he's done, in Hawking. It's more interesting, then, to see him put his lanky frame to use as the Creature. In a pre-show featurette, Cumberbatch says his physicality as the Creature was drawn from footage of stroke survivors, grown men and women re-learning how to use their bodies, a choice that is suddenly so strikingly obvious and relevant, I'm amazed to have not seen it before. Props to Toby Sedgwick, whose guidance as director of movement likely nurtured the development of that choice. Miller, incidentally, indicates that there is much of his two-year-old in his Creature. If the Avon had screened the alternate casting as well, I would have stayed! I envy those who have been able to see both versions.
I laughed, I cried; I was incredibly moved. Whether it owes to Cumberbatch, the material, the production values, the combination thereof - we shall see, as I've since been inspired to catch further broadcasts from the NTLive.
Frankenstein shot Cumberbatch to the fore and earned him an Olivier Award for his performances as Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, Star Trek Into Darkness was completely dominated by him, his AMA (Ask Me Anything) interactive interview on Reddit.com was hugely popular and has been cited in subsequent media, and yet the September release of The Fifth Estate was, by all accounts, a failure. Too much press? Not enough press? Did Assange burn the Batch? (I'm hilarious, how am I still single? But I digress...)
Not going to lie: the movie's a mess. It feels like the team effort of a bunch of film students. The opening sequence, in which we get brief summary of journalism, is stylistically different from the rest of the film. Inconsistent visual style combined with an inconsistent script, a story reliant on men typing away at computers; it's not a good mix. Ideas about Assange's youth wedged into the story via some early bromance scenes with Berg, the screenplay constantly shifts focus between Berg, Assange, and the infamous leak of classified US military documents, all while grasping at big ideas about whistle-blowing, morality, and privacy. I'm not sure if the film wants to be about people or ideas. I attended the film with the understanding that it is a fiction, not a documentary, not a retrospective, but a fiction, yet even the fiction remains unclear.
There's no doubt that the events suggested in the film played out differently, but with such a recent, controversial, unresolved story, I also have no doubt that the film was poorly conceived and executed. The performances are superb, without question, and not just Cumberbatch, whose Assange is fascinating, if not entirely likeable, but Daniel Brühl as Daniel Berg is excellent (though he does have the advantage of being in the bias of the source material). It's almost a shame that Cumberbatch has been the primary press figure, because so much of the film belongs to Brühl. Of course, allowing Brühl to become the face of the film would be to emphasize the bias of the film. Marketing and public relations for the movie were likely counting on Cumberbatch's inherent charm and good favor (with the public) to counter any backlash from Assange or critics as to the films bias. Unfortunately, even in this, The Fifth Estate failed.
So maybe it didn't cement Benedict Cumberbatch as a bankable leading man. All actors have at least one credit they're ready to bury in their résumé. Cumberbatch needn't worry too much - he's reuinted with Martin Freeman in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug as the dragon in the film's title, with roles in 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County to follow. Plus, there's finally an air date for the third series of Sherlock (January 19th, yay!).
Notes and trivia:
[Links go to older blog entries unless otherwise indicated.]
- In case you missed it, yes, both Frankenstein leads are playing Sherlock Holmes on television. Cumberbatch stars on the BBC Sherlock while Jonny Lee Miller heads up the cast of Elementary for CBS.
- In another round of "It's A Small World After All," both Cumberbatch and Miller costarred film projects with Robert Carlyle (Mr. Gold/Rumplestiltskin on Once Upon a Time). Cumberbatch worked with Carlyle on the very excellent miniseries The Last Enemy, while Miller was in Plunkett and Macleane with him. Plunkett and Macleane also featured Liv Tyler, who is lucky enough to have gone a date with Cumberbatch, like, once.
- The Fifth Estate had two cast members whose names were familiar to me, but it wasn't until I got home later that I realized just who they were. Peter Capaldi, who plays the editor of The Guardian, was recently announced as the 12th Doctor. Anthony "Where-Have-I-Seen-Him-Lately" Mackie was also looking handsome in Runner Runner, and someone I recognized from Man on a Ledge and The Hurt Locker.
- Make fun all you want, but at least a good number of people know Benedict Cumberbatch by name. Upon seeing Dan Stevens onscreen in The Fifth Estate, I could only think, "Matthew Crawley!" (That's Stevens's character on Downton Abbey.)
- For more information on what's coming from the National Theatre Live, visit their website. Upcoming productions include Macbeth with Kenneth Brannagh and Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston.
- Other Double Feature blog posts highlighted films from Greta Gerwig and Mark Duplass. Who's next?
* Listing as Recommended for Frankenstein (obviously).
No comments:
Post a Comment