Andrew Garfield’s Passion and Purpose
“You better lawyer up, asshole, because I’m not coming back for 30%. I’m coming back for EVERYTHING.”
It’s one of the most memorable movie lines of 2010, in the most climactic scene of the acclaimed film The Social Network and it’s spoken by Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin. The stunned Saverin has just discovered that he has been betrayed by his best friend Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg). Garfield’s sympathetic performance as the loyal best friend of the Facebook founder has garnered praise from audiences and critics and most recently, received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Speaking with Garfield by telephone from Los Angeles, he shared some of his thoughts on the success of the film, “For the most part you work very hard on a movie and a whole crew of people work incredibly hard and give their time, their passion and creativity and you hope that a majority of people enjoy it and understand what its intention was.” Garfield added, “It’s really lucky and it definitely means something to me “.but the actual process of making the film was enough”.it surely was creatively a fulfilling process.”
On being able to speak Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue, “It’s very difficult to find smart dialogue”.to have these incredibly witty turns of phrases, these very complex yet so clear thought processes and structure within a scene and to have the characters so incredibly defined on top of that and all their intentions so well thought out and paved out “.it’s like”it’s insane”.it’s just something that doesn’t happen.” Garfield continued, “Even if you do nothing and you say the lines, the scene is going to work because it’s been orchestrated and composed like a piece of classical music. You just have to not get in the way of it.”
In his relatively short film career, Garfield has been impressive with an already diverse range of performances on his résumé. From his riveting portrayal of a reformed murderer trying to re-enter society after being institutionalized for many years in Boy A, to his portrayal of the doomed Tommy in the dystopian world of Never Let Me Go, Garfield is very good in portraying characters in extraordinary circumstances.
Born in Los Angeles to an American father and British mother, Garfield moved to England with his family when he was three. The 27 year old admits he didn’t really think of acting that seriously while growing up, “I think I went through a lot of doubts about acting when I was first trying it out at 17.” Garfield added, “I started playing around just doing school plays, really just for fun and to hang out with girls and not for much else.”
It wasn’t until there was a new drama teacher at his school, Mr. Philip Tong, that Garfield began to contemplate an acting career, “He gave me encouragement which is kind of what everyone needs at some point in their life and when someone is faced with the difficult decision of what you are going to be when you grow up.”
Garfield went on to graduate from The Central School of Speech and Drama in London, ” At the end of my drama school training I understood it wasn’t just a superficial vanity job and I kind of realized it could be a real act of generosity to put on a play, to make a film, to write a piece of music or to paint”I understood art and suddenly I realized how influenced I had been my art my whole life”.I consider myself very lucky to be able to do it for a living.”
After appearing on the stage in various productions, Garfield began to get offers to appear in television and in film. Garfield discussed the opportunity of working along side Peter Mullan very early in his film career in Boy A, “I was very scared and he was incredibly supportive and mentoring”he was the first to teach me to not worry about the cameras, to not be aware of where the cameras are”it doesn’t matter where the camera is, there is no camera”and as soon as you are able to fully believe in that, then you are fully able to be in the situation, there is no fourth wall, you are just there behaving and the camera is just picking up that behaviour.”
Garfield talked about how he first heard about The Social Network, “Scott Rudin had contacted my agent”very early on he thought I could fit in the film which is insanely cool”. that was a few months before I’d auditioned, before I’d heard about the script. I think my reaction like everyone else’s was confusion about what the founding of Facebook, what would that be like and then, of course you have David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin and you think whoa!, this has got to be the best thing ever”.it has to be greatest story ever told so I was incredibly chomping at the bit to read it.”
Garfield discussed working with Jesse Eisenberg who plays Zuckerberg, “We were both really excited about what we were about to start and in order to make sure that our relationship was believable, we needed to get to know each other and hang out and figure each other out and figure out our dynamic.” Garfield continued, “We managed to spend a lot of really quality time” we genuinely really did become friends”.a support system for each other.”
Speaking with Awards Daily in September at The Park Hyatt during The Toronto International Film Festival while promoting Never Let Me Go, Garfield was quite humble and philosophical about being an actor, “An actor isn’t an auteur, an actor is a vessel for someone else’s words”an actor’s job is to interpret life and interpret what it is to be alive and then try to share that in it’s purest form.”
Garfield has recently been named the new face of Spider-Man in the reboot of the franchise for 2012 and has already started filming. About the opportunity to play the iconic role Garfield said in Toronto, “It’s something you dream about when your four years old and how often does reality match up with a dream?” Garfield added,”You never think that you’re going to get a chance to portray a symbol that has meant so much to you since you were old enough to understand the concept of justice”it’s just an incredible thing.”
In our telephone conversation Garfield expressed a hope that he will one day be able to return to the stage, “I’ve been trying for years”.unfortunately there hasn’t been the right thing that’s come along” I can’t really do anything unless I really care about it and it has to mean something to me at the time”. I guess I’m waiting for something that really means something to me to come along.”
Garfield also spoke about the type of actors that inspire him, “The actors that excite me and inspire me are not selfish actors, they do it with purpose” they create characters and tell stories with purpose and generosity for an audience” it’s all to serve a story and the themes of the story. That’s what excites me.” Garfield continued, “I look at Daniel Day-Lewis, the detail of his performances and how lived in they are” he truly experiences every character’s reality that he steps into, that inspires me as well. The potential for exploring aspects of yourself that have been covered up for years or aspects of yourself you didn’t realize you had. To step into someone else’s shoes like Daniel Day-Lewis does so fully or like DeNiro does so fully.”
Garfield added, “I’m excited by actors with passion and actors with heart and who aren’t afraid of exposing themselves.” And whether he knows it or not, it is clear that Andrew Garfield is also describing himself.
Read MoreToronto Festival Diary: Day 10 and 11
Day 10 began with John Cameron Mitchell’s Rabbit Hole. The film tells the story about two parents who have recently lost a child. Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are trying to process their loss and move forward but are having great difficulty. Each has repressed sadness and anger about the incident and is trying to cope with it in his and her own way. With a fine script from David Lindsay-Abaire, the film strikes the right balance for the subject matter. The scenes are anchored in reality and don’t feel contrived. Although you find out early in the film about the loss, Cameron-Mitchell delicately reveals the how and the why much later. Kidman and Eckhart are outstanding in this film.
The second film of the day was Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs). The film stars an ensemble of actors and actresses from France including Marion Cotillard.
Read MoreToronto Festival Diary: Days 8 and 9
Toronto Festival Diary: Days 8 and 9
The first film of day 8 was Blue Valentine. Directed by Derek Cianfrance and starring Ryan Gosling and Michele Williams, this film tells the story of a couple’s marriage at different stages of the relationship. After becoming pregnant and having to give up her ambitions of becoming a doctor, Cindy (Williams) is now unhappy at how her life has turned out. Dean (Gosling) on the other hand is content with his odd jobs and being a loving father and husband. The scenes between Gosling and Williams are painful and powerful. A poignant film about the breakdown of a marriage.
The second film of the day was Dustin Lance Black’s, What’s Wrong With Virginia. Jennifer Connelly, plays Virginia, a mentally unstable single mother with a teenage son. Ed Harris plays Sheriff Tipton, who’s been having an affair with Virginia for many years, but now is seeking political office and so has to end the relationship.
I wanted to like this film and some of it is indeed funny and entertaining. But overall, the film felt contrived and I could not connect to it. Black presented the film and did a Q & A session following the film. Black spoke of the fact that the film is somewhat autobiographical. The character of Virginia is based on an aunt who was schizophrenic and the relationship between the son and Virginia is based on Black’s relationship with his mother. Black also spoke about the fact that his father left the family when he was six and that his mother had polio and was paralyzed. Black said, “My mom is the closest person in my life‚Ķ.I hope it’s clear that this is a personal film with a personal perspective‚Ķ.all that stuff is from my relationship with my beautiful, strong, brave mother.”
The first film of Day 9 was It’s Kind of a Funny Story, directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. Craig (Keir Gilchrist) is a sixteen year old who is feeling depressed and overwhelmed by the expectations his parents have of him to succeed academically. As a result, Craig decides to check into a psychiatric ward.
There he meets a cast of characters with varying degrees of mental illness, including Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), a long time patient. This movie is funny for the most part considering the subject matter.
Although known mostly for his humour, some of Galifianakis dramatic work in this is surprisingly good.
The next film was Beautiful Boy, directed by Shawn Ku. The film stars Michael Sheen and Maria Bello as parents who find out that there one and only son has committed a mass shooting at his college before shooting himself. Most of the film deals with the aftermath as the parents try to come to terms with what their son has done. The film is indeed depressing as to be expected for the subject matter. But I just felt it was just a bunch of scenes demonstrating overwhelming sadness and anger by the two leads, with very little else. I found it difficult to pay attention and at times was bored with the monotonous tone.
The best film of the day was The Whistleblower by Larysa Kondracki in her directorial debut. Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of a UN peacekeeper (Rachel Weisz) who discovers a sex trafficking ring in post-war Bosnia, only to be thwarted in her investigations by corrupt Bosnian police and UN officials. Kondracki is unflinching in her portrayal of the horror and brutality of this crime while at the same time creating a suspenseful thriller. Rachel Weisz is excellent in this film. Kondracki was present for a Q&A at the end of the film. Kondracki commented on the casting of Weisz and some of the films that inspired her, “She always brings an intensity and humor and vulnerability … when we were writing and researching and one of my favourite periods is 70s filmmaking”..all those political thrillers weren’t heavy handed; Norma Rae, Silkwood … your looking at actresses that were able to blend into it. Rachel Weisz does have that Meryl Streep quality–I just thought her work was fantastic.”
Next: Rabbit Hole, Little White Lies and Stone
Read MoreToronto Festival Diary: Day 7
Toronto Festival Diary: Day 7
It was Helen Mirren Day at TIFF, with a screening of John Madden’s The Debt in the morning and a screening of Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock in the afternoon. The Debt tells the story of three Mossad agents, who in 1965 capture a Nazi war criminal in East Berlin. The story goes back and forth in time between the events at the time of the operation and 1997, when a book about their exploits is released. This is a remake of a 2007 film from Israel and actually some of the production team from that film were involved with the making of this film as well, according to John Madden at the Q&A. Although the film does not rise to the level of some of the better political thrillers, Madden has created a decent thriller nonetheless. The actors that play the young Mossad agents are Sam Worthington, Marton Csokas and Jessica Chastain and their respective older counter parts are Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson and Helen Mirren. Chastain, in her feature film debut and to be seen next in Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life, does a very good job in demonstrating the strength and vulnerability of her character.
Danish actor Jesper Christensen is chilling as Nazi Vogel, especially as he plays psychological mind games with his captors as they try to maintain their composure while keeping him prisoner. According to Madden, he wanted the character of Vogel to be played by a European actor and preferably someone with no baggage for an audience. The story is not based any one true story, but according to Madden, “Inspired by true events.” One of the questions from the audience was about the level of violence and blood in the film. Madden said, “I don’t think any story is worth telling if you can’t get or try to get to the emotional truth of the characters and one of the pleasures of making this film for me it’s a film that actually includes some different kind of experiences at once. It’s obviously a thriller in one way and in another way it deals with emotional, moral and psychological complexities.”
Brighton Rock is based on the 1938 novel by Graham Greene. The book was originally made into a highly acclaimed film in 1947. Although the main story essentially is the same, Rowan Joffe (director and writer) has changed the era from the thirties to the early sixties. Sam Riley plays Pinkie, a young working-class gangster. Andrea Riseborough plays Rose, who falls in love with Pinkie and Helen Mirren plays Ida, Rose’s boss who is suspicious about Rose and her new relationship. The film reminds me of some of the crime dramas of the 1940’s, especially with a score by Michael Phipps, creating moody atmosphere in almost every scene. Riley’s Pinky is cold, calculating and intense and you can’t take your eyes off of him. Some of the scenes are very violent and Joffe relies a little too much on style, this is still a slightly better than average gangster movie.
Tomorrow: Blue Valentine and What’s Wrong With Virginia
Read MoreToronto Festival Diary: Day 6
The first film of the day was Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. I attended a screening at the beautiful historic Elgin Theatre, which is the best theatre of the festival and especially fitting to see a film about the ballet. Natalie Portman plays Nina, an innocent young ballerina being thrust into the lead role of a new production of Swan Lake staged by a New York City ballet company. The demanding artistic director (Vincent Cassell) requires both sides of the Swan Queen to be demonstrated by Nina; the naïve White Swan and the seductive Black Swan.  With a very protective mother (Barbara Hershey), Nina leads a very sheltered life. When Lily (Mila Kunis) joins the company and displays all the passion that the Black Swan should have, Nina becomes threatened and obsessed with her and strange things start to happen. Nina seems to undergo a transformation. But what things are in her imagination and what things are actually happening? Aronofsky has created a mesmerizing tale of the artist’s quest for perfection which is dark and deeply disturbing. The visuals are stunning and the performances are all very good by the supporting players, especially Vincent Cassell and Mila Kunis. Natalie Portman is impressive. Aronofsky is back to form after a much more conventional effort last year with The Wrestler. It was nice to see Winona Ryder in the film. She plays an aging ballet star. The irony is perhaps in a previous decade perhaps Ryder as the ingénue would have played the Portman role. Enjoyable film.
Next film of the day was Mike Leigh’s Another Year.  The film stars Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen as a happily married middle-aged couple Tom and Gerri. They provide the emotional centre of stability for family and friends. Their home provides an oasis for lonely and unhappy friends like Mary (Lesley Manville), a place where they can unload their problems.
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