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.