cameron diaz movies
|
 
|
Chapter 3 - Cameron's Magical Performance
 “Cameron’s portrayal of Maggie is truly magical. She brings to the role a great understanding of how attractiveness can be an asset in our society,” says Hanson. “She also knows how appearances can be a mask. The wonderful thing about her performance is the way in which she illuminates Maggie’s fears, insecurity, and vulnerability. So even when Maggie’s doing horrible, unspeakable things, things you would never do to a sister, Cameron makes us believe there is a goodness inside of her. You can see that Maggie is yearning to be taken for more than just a pretty face or the girl with the great body. You feel for Maggie because you realize how badly she wants to make a life for herself, and you understand how her lack of selfconfidence makes that so hard.“When I tell a story cinematically,” Hanson continues, “I try to encourage the audience to feel what the character feels, to actually enter their world. Since Maggie is an unanchored character with no emotional mooring, I shot all of her scenes in the early part of the movie with a handheld camera. I didn’t want the audience to consciously be aware of that, but I wanted them to feel a detached looseness about Maggie, because she never knows which way she’s going.
Similarly, I tried to work into many of Maggie’s scenes a mirror or window that casts a reflection, because Maggie’s world is all about the surface; it’s her good looks that have allowed her to get by. Rose, on the other hand, avoids mirrors altogether until she is feeling more selfassured.
Near the end of the movie, when both sisters are seeing themselves and each other more clearly, it felt right to stage that critical bathroom scene between the two of them in front of a large mirror.”
When she took on the role of Rose, Toni Collette also had to take on additional weight. “I vowed to high heavens that I would never put on weight again for a movie,” laughs the Australian actress, who gained forty-three pounds for her second film, “Muriel’s Wedding.”
“But Curtis has this way of getting what he wants and I ended up putting on twenty-five pounds to play the part. Then, once Rose quits her job and begins to fall in love and become a happier person it affects her physically. So I then had to lose the weight through a rigid diet and exercise program during the middle of shooting. I don’t think I’ll be doing this ‘weight see-saw’ thing again. But with IN HER SHOES, it was worth it because that part of Rose’s life really affects and inhibits her.”
Hanson had long been an admirer of Collette’s talent, especially her chameleon-like ability to completely transform herself into the characters she plays. “Toni takes what is discovered during rehearsal and then continues to burrow down into the most inner recesses of her character. When it’s time to shoot, the subtle nuances she brings to her portrayal are often breathtaking.”
Collette explains that Rose’s “shoe-aholism” is an important part of the character. “She can’t treat herself with clothes because that only reminds her that she is overweight and doesn’t like her body,” says Collette. “But feet don’t grow larger, so shoes will always fit her. She has shoes in her cupboard, some still in their boxes. They’re untouched, on display behind closed doors. And yet, they may be worn one day. They are like Rose, who is so beautiful but so covered up.”
Although Rose seems unaware of her charms at the beginning of the film, Simon Stein sees them quite clearly. Collette recalls Simon’s pursuit of Rose: “She finds it kind of shocking and also very frightening. Simon is a gentle and quiet man, the kind people tend not to focus on.
He’s pursued Rose for a long time and once she opens the door a little, he pushes on. Initially she isn’t really interested, but the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes what a beautiful soul he is. Simon helps Rose recognize her own wonderful qualities that she has never acknowledged before, and she finds that Simon really is the love of her life.”
 Next Page: The Catalysties of Transformation |
RSS Feed XML Sitemap HTML Sitemap Privacy Policy