Film Discussion Paper 3- Method or Madness?

For this discussion piece review 2 of the following performances and research the actors' approach to these roles: Christian Bale 'The Machinist' and Rooney Mara in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.’ Discuss your thoughts on whether the acting approach went too far or not, and why you think this.

Throughout the process of filming 'The Machinist' Christian Bale lost 5 stone. In an interview with the BBC Christian Bale states that he took inspiration from a "picture of Hank Williams when he was 29 but looked more like a 50 year old man." (Christian Bale interview: The Machinist: 2004) He stuck the photo to the front of the script and went onto perfecting the look of a weak and skinny man that stared at him every day during the film. Christian Bale lived off a diet of apples and coffee for four months meaning his intake in calories was 275 per day. He was regularly assessed by a nutritionist and half way through his process of losing weight he was told that he had reached a satisfactory healthy weight, in reply to this Bale said; "You know what? I can go more than this. I can keep going." So I lost another 20 pounds below what she said I should stop at." (Christian Bale interview: The Machinist: 2004) In my opinion, originally Christian Bale was using a method to lose weight as he had a clear guideline from industry professionals in relation to his health. However, losing a further 20 pounds can be seen as madness as I believe he took it to far and risked his health and therefore his life. Following on through his interview for the BBC when asked was it difficult to put the weight back on Bale replied; "my metabolism had to get back up to speed, because my heart had got used to a whole different way of living for some time." (Christian Bale interview: The Machinist: 2004)

Not only has Christian Bale put his body through intense change the actress Rooney Mara, who plays Lisbeth in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, physically exerted herself too for the role. Before the role Rooney Mara was labelled as ‘the girl next door’ however the character of Lisbeth made her change dramatically. In an interview before the film was shot Rooney Mara was told by the director that she had to become the character of Lisbeth; “You're going to have to learn how to smoke, 'You're going to have to ride a motorcycle. You're going to have to be naked. You're going to have to, you know, do these horrible rape scenes. You're going to have to perfect the accent. You're going to have to go off and really sort of be alone for an entire year.” (Rooney Mara: A 'Dragon' Lady Down To The Core: 2011) With this in mind Rooney Mara began the process of becoming Lisbeth and in an interview Mara said that it was easier going into the character than coming out of it; "my body was physically just throwing Lisbeth out." (Rooney Mara: A ‘Dragon’ Lady Down To The Core: 2011) Rooney Mara stated that she would have to leave photo shoots and press releases just to vomit due to the extent that she put her body through throughout the process. I believe that Rooney Mara’s process went too far as she was physically exhausted by the end of the role. To this day her look has still changed and many people wonder whether or not she has ever returned to her mental and physical state before she became Lisbeth. "I felt as though it was much harder to come out of it than it was to go into it. Going into it was really easy for me." (Rooney Mara: A ‘Dragon’ Lady Down To The Core: 2011)

Both Rooney Mara and Christian Bale physically exhausted their bodies putting great strain upon them. In my eyes it is a very dedicated way to come into a role however, ignoring professional advice can lead to their method turning to an obsessive madness.

Applebaum, S. (2004). Christian Bale interview: The Machinist (2004) . Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/christian-bale/pages/machinist.shtml. Last accessed 11th Jan 2013.

Block, M. (2011). Rooney Mara: A 'Dragon' Lady Down To The Core. Available: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/14/143727517/rooney-mara-discusses-dragon-tattoo. Last accessed 15th Jan 2013.

Streetcar Named Desire Blanche Monologue He Was a Boy

The monologue that I have chosen to perform is from 'A Streetcar Named Desire' by Tennessee Williams. It is an extract from the play where Blanche tells Mitch that she used to be in love and how she lost him.
Using the skills I have learnt so far I have come up with a table of how I can indirectly relate the themes of this monologue to my own life to convey a truthful performance and show what I have learnt this far.

The link below shows the monologue during the film version of 'A Streetcar Named Desire'
.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGttPdMEBOo

Unit Description	Want/ Objective	Emotion	Emotional Parallel	Tactics and Physical Action
During this monologue Blanche is with Mitch alone on their outing. She tells Mitch of how she has been in love only once before and how that love sadly ended so quickly.   Not only is she talking to Mitch she is talking to the audience too. She almost forgets that Mitch is there.	Due to the amount of guilt Blanche feels she wants to confess to Mitch to the suicide of Alan.   She moved to New Orleans to forget her past but her friendship with Mitch keeps reminding her. She wants to feel wanted and loved like how she used to feel when she was with Alan.	Guilt: “unable to stop myself -- I'd suddenly said -- "I saw! I know! You disgust me ..." After saying this Alan shot himself.                                       A sense of loneliness and the need to feel wanted:  “the boy I had married and an older man who had been his friend for years ... Afterward we pretended that nothing had been discovered.”                                                           Helplessness:  “all I knew was I'd failed him in some mysterious way and wasn't able to give the help he needed but couldn't speak of!”	Guilt:  During my school years I always used to lie to my parents as to where I was going and who I was with. When I got home my mum used to question me on where I was and how my day had been. She always knew that I was lying as when I feel guilty I cannot look at anyone and I become red faced and hot. My heart beats very quickly and I rush what I am saying to get away from the situation.   Loneliness and the need to feel wanted: I am still very good friends with an ex-boyfriend of mine but he cheated on me. He still pays me quite a lot of attention but I know he shouldn’t. As I feel lonely quite often I use this attention and it makes me feel wanted even though I know it is wrong. I become a lot happier and it makes me feel confident. Instantly my body language changes and it makes me want to do more when I hear from him. Everyone comments on how much happier I am. However, in the back of my mind the expressions I give when I feel guilty slowly come creeping back.   Helplessness: Similar to guilt but it makes someone feel useless and pathetic. A time when this feeling occurred was when I had an operation and I couldn’t do anything for myself. I got frustrated and very bored quickly and would snap at the people who were helping me. I remember my fists would clench a lot to help me not lose my temper.	As the monologue is a memory being replayed in Blanche’s mind it is important to show her thought process. This can be done by knowing the monologue as if it were your own and saying it as if you were thinking of it. I have to picture the monologue in my head as if it were my own memory to make the performance believable.   As well as this I have to work on bringing my own memories and therefore gestures into the piece.   At the start of the play Blanche is a very confident woman however during this monologue, as it is a painful memory, I believe that I have to show fragility and weakness as she is opening up to Mitch when she knows she just wants to escape her past.   To add the correct emotion into the piece I must show Blanche’s weakness not only through stance but as well as physical emotion. If the emotion builds up I will be able to cry on stage so this is what I need to work on during the rehearsal process.

 Due to illness I was unable to perform my monologue. I was frustrated with myself as I had taken the time to get into the character of Blanche and relate it to all the exercises which we have been learning throughout this process. I hope to be able to apply my characterisation skills into other projects which I shall be working on during the rest of this year.