Sympathetic. Alluring. Cryptic. She plays the blonde bombshell with a reserved yet simmering energy, pitch-perfect for her role. Neither trying too hard, nor upstaging too much, actress-on-the-rise Rachel McAdams is a fine fit in maverick filmmaker Ira Sach’s pulp romantic thriller Married Life.
In an ensemble that would excite the most jaded of actors, McAdams holds her own among Oscar winner/nominee stalwarts: Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson and Pierce Brosnan. In pointing out her magnetic essence, Sachs succinctly put it: Rachel has that “thing–that light” that makes a star a star.
Set in 1949, Sach‘s taut gem of a tale revolves around the suspenseful comings and goings of two couples that intersect on a leveled playing field, where crime, infidelity, love and tenderness co-mingle, indiscriminately, with abandon and repression. McAdams‘ Kay at its center inspires a domestic murder plot as mistress of a hapless married man.
The smart, arresting ingénue raps ‘bout femme fatales–and her romantic ex, Ryan Gosling–while exploring marriage and moviemaking then and now. [PAGEBREAK]
Set in 1949, on how Married Life‘s time period impacted bringing her character to life…
“What Ira [Sachs] was very adamant about is that psychologically nothing has changed–I mean, the emotional things people are dealing with and the way in which relationships conduct themselves are the same. I think maybe there’s less communication with especially these characters but the emotions are the same.” [PAGEBREAK]
On needing to retreat from the Hollywood machine…
“I just wanted to take a break which is what I would often do after a film anyway. I had done a lot [of filming] back to back…Funny–the way time works in films: taking a year off is more like taking two years off … the time is a little bit warped in this business. It just made sense to me take a little breather for a second because it was like a tidal wave. It was exactly the right thing to do because I was able to do a few projects back to back, even closer in proximity than ever before, and feel energized and self-possessed.”[PAGEBREAK]
On how Rachel chooses her upcoming projects…
“I try not to repeat myself. The exploration is fairly intense each time. I try to grab something new and there’s some sort of intuition involved. You don’t always know at the moment why you’ve accepted a part; you might know ’til years from now. I just try to listen to my intuition and go from there.”[PAGEBREAK]
On the genre she feels Married Life falls into…
“It’s a love story. Maybe horror slash romance. The best kind–so delicious!”[PAGEBREAK]
Pierce Brosnan’s character says, “Marriage is like the flu.” Rachel on her own attitude toward marriage…
“Maybe a little more positive than that! [Laughs] My parents have an amazing marriage so I grew up with an example in my life. I know it’s not easy, I mean I don’t actually know what it is. I think it can be magical and work out.”[PAGEBREAK]
On observing the differences between notions of romance back then vs. today…
“We absolutely have more of an obsession with the idea of romance nowadays and more expectations of our partners that they can never live up to. Whereas back then, you met someone in high school–or maybe two people–and you made a decision. And that was your choice. I’m not saying I wish I grew up in that time either, but I think [today] with our wide variety of choices as young people we have “love ADD!” If it’s not perfect, scratch that and start over–move on! … [That said, nowadays] it’s great to have the opportunity to find someone who fits you really well … I think marriages do have more communication–there are much stronger relationships out there.”[PAGEBREAK]
On working with Sundance-winning director Ira Sachs…
“He’s incredibly supportive so you get a sense that you’re allowed to rehearse even while you are shooting–you don’t have to get it right the first time, the second time, or even the fifth time! However long it takes you to get there, he’ll put the time and energy into it and be incredibly supportive along the way. Sometimes you catch something on that first take because you haven’t rehearsed, so I can understand his need to get it on film.” [PAGEBREAK]
On whether or not Rachel sees her character as a femme fatale…
“I didn’t at all. I didn’t think of her in that way. I said, Am I not a little bit young? Ira said, ‘You look like Grace Kelly in Rear Window?’ I mean, how old was she–26?! And Jimmy Stewart was in his 50s? I think we forget that that was very much of the time. Nowadays it looks like something different.” [PAGEBREAK]
On going from three blockbuster films in 2005, and then taking a hiatus until now where she’s returned to an indie film…
“A lot happened for me in other parts of my life. I went home and bought a house. I started an eco website with two of my friends which is like a full-time job, which I didn’t expect, but I love it. But it’s hard to be an actress and an environmentalist at the same time–a webmaster! It’s called www.greenissexy.org.”
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Rachel on modern-day romanticism, and having been in a much admired offscreen relationship with her onscreen lead, Ryan Gosling…
“I think that Ryan said something really lovely [to a writer], ‘that our romance was more romantic than The Notebook which was a two hour film.’ I think I’ll leave it there because it was so well put.”
