The Wild West is no place for a proper lady like Mrs. French and yet somehow she wanders into the New Mexico territory circa 1882, catching the eye of the town’s leading lawmen. A woman ahead of her time, French is played by Renee Zellweger alongside costars Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen. Hollywood.com caught up with the actress to find out more about her new movie.
Hollywood.com: The men in the film have a simple view of Ally, but under the surface she’s much more complicated.
Renee Zellweger: Well I think, in fact, she’s really complicated, because her options are so limited that she has to resort to things you and I would never consider in terms of how you would define the list of things you do to take care of yourself. In that respect I think she’s so complicated and not simple at all. And in terms of her dynamic with the gentleman, one of the things I love so much about it is, well, for me anyway, I always felt that for her, Ally, it was an ‘us’ situation. She wasn’t, I think, siding one way or another. This was her unit. Her same place. More than just you and I would look at relationships differently, she’s creating a family and a safe haven for herself between these two men. Very complicated.
HW: Why this project?
RZ: It required very little consideration. Ed called and I was working on Leatherheads and it was exactly the kind of thing…I was looking for. A very raw and quiet experience. It was pretty intense. And the environment was gorgeous and challenging. It was very authentic. And because these guys works so hard It wasn’t hard to imagine being this woman living at that time. I mean, you know, these guys are kind of fun sometimes (referring to Viggo and Ed). Especially when they are riding around on horses with chaps [laughs].
HW: This seems to be a love story between two men and a woman in 19th Century terms.
RZ: That’s the word I would use. She was a complete mystery to me. Even after having read the book. I had no idea whether the conclusions I drew about her were correct, it could have been anything. One of the first scenes we shot in the film is when Cole asks her, ‘Is there a Mr. French?’…I may have my own idea of what her background may have been. And it has to be, in my estimation, pretty severe for her to end up at this place where she’s sort of without…she has questionable moral guidelines and parameters, I suppose.
Appaloosa opens wide Sept. 26, 2008
