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Chapter 2: The Mission
 The title character, Aeon Flux, is - as her name implies - a dynamic operative working for a group (called the Monicans) rebelling against the overly sanitized government of Bregna, led by her archenemy, Trevor Goodchild. Tall, sexy, and lethal, Aeon is given a mission to assassinate Trevor: a mission she has been waiting to receive for her entire life. “She thinks this one mission will change her life and make everything better, but nothing is that simple,” says Charlize Theron, who brings Aeon to life.
The role was the first that Theron took on after her Oscar-winning performance in “Monster.” She also recently starred in the drama “North Country.” “I was looking for something completely different,” says Theron. “I felt this part was quite a challenge to take on.”
Theron notes that “Aeon Flux” is a very different kind of film than any she's done before. Looking at Peter Chung's animated series, she found inspiration, but also enough room to make the character her own. “I wanted to stay as true as I could to Peter's creation, but - like he told me - she's constantly evolving,” says Theron. “I had a blueprint for the role from Peter, but I was able to mold it, like a piece of clay, and play around with it. It was important to me that the character would come from a real place - I couldn't think of it as far-fetched or futuristic.
“Aeon is a very human character,” says Kusama. “She's reckless and unpredictable, but she also has a sense of humor and honor. I wanted to make sure that those human elements came through.”
Bregna is ruled by Trevor Goodchild, a benevolent dictator whose rule is absolute but who claims to have the best interests of Bregnans at heart. As Aeon closes in on Trevor - the target of her secret mission - the assassin and the target are struck by a connection to each other.
Marton Csokas, who previously played Celeborn, husband to Galadriel, in “Lord of the Rings,” brings Trevor to life. “Trevor knows a lot more about Aeon than Aeon knows about Trevor,” said the Hungarian-born actor. “There's something undeniable between the two of them and she has a certain memory or feeling that triggers the past, not that she would necessarily identify it as that.”
Csokas says that Trevor's ultimate goal is to find a balance between security and liberty. “In some ways, what he is doing to maintain the human race is good - after all, humanity is surviving,” said Csokas. “But, at the same time, he is denying people a certain degree of free will and choice.”
Trevor's right hand man in ruling Bregna is his brother, Oren Goodchild, played by Jonny Lee Miller. A relationship that has become strained over the years, the brothers' trust in each other wanes as the film progresses. “There's a bit of a Cain and Abel story in the relationship between Trevor and Oren,” Marton Csokas explains. “There are a lot of dynamics at work. You have a triangle between Trevor, Oren and Aeon that none of them are aware of at the beginning of the story. When Aeon suddenly reappears to Trevor, it unleashes a chain of events that takes all of them on a life-altering journey.”
Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo plays Sithandra, Aeon's protégé. “My character is a soldier and completely in awe of Aeon. She's very focused, like a machine, and not one to improvise or change direction, as Aeon does,” says Okonedo. “For Sithandra, Aeon is a perfect person whom she idolizes. As Aeon makes her choices, Sithandra doesn't quite know how to cope with it. She's not very good at coping with any sort of emotion.”
In the film, Sithandra has elected to modify her body in order to be a more effective soldier. She has surgically altered her feet to make them hands, or “fands” (a contraction of “feet-for-hands”), and Okonedo learned to walk in a new way - as if on hands. “I experimented and put on music and played around trying to find a different way of walking,” said Okonedo. “It's much tougher than you'd think.”
Okonedo trained for four to five hours a day for five weeks, focusing on flexibility and balance. Yoga, gymnastics, running, cycling, and wire harness practice were part of the daily regimen. “I've never in my life played anything like this,” said Okonedo. “I never had to learn to fight or train so intensely. It's all completely new to me. When I got the part, I didn't let them know that I was quite scared of heights, but as an actor, you tend to say, `Yes, I can do everything!' So, on my first day on set, I was raised 50 feet in the air on a wire. It certainly cured my fear of heights quickly.”
Frances McDormand plays The Handler, Aeon's commander in the Monican rebellion. “She's an ambiguous character,” says McDormand, noting that The Handler controls Aeon, though Aeon is fighting for personal freedom. “How much of the plot does she actually know? How much can she direct Aeon, and how much is left in Aeon's hands? What is predestined, and what can they control? I think that ambiguity fits the themes of the film.”
One final character holds the key to the Goodchilds' hold on Bregna and the answers to all of Aeon's questions. The Keeper, as the name suggests, is the individual Trevor and Oren have entrusted with accessing and securing information on of all Bregna's citizens. Unknown to all but the Goodchilds, the Keeper lives in a floating memorial high above Bregna.
Academy Award nominee Pete Postlethwaite sees his character as someone who has rebelled against the government he serves for a long time: “The Keeper is someone who has fought against the system, really,” Postlethwaite says. “Generations ago, he saw this was the wrong way to go. I think he decided to stay alive so long in the hope and with the knowledge that there were people still available who could put this right, one of them being Aeon Flux.”
 Next Page: Chapter 3: Training |
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