Saturday, October 27, 2007
A+E, Movies
Without reservation
Jennifer Connelly discusses her real-life connection to her latest role
(Left to right) Elle Fanning, Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Connelly in “Reservation Road”
CREDIT: Macall Polay
By Bert Osborne
Could things get any more trying for Jennifer Connelly? Her most recent roles include a pitiful heroin addict (“Requiem for a Dream”), the wife of a philanderer (“Little Children”), a schizophrenic (“A Beautiful Mind,” for which she won an Oscar), and a scorned and vengeful homeowner (“House of Sand and Fog”).
In the new drama “Reservation Road,” the 36-year-old and Joaquin Phoenix play a married couple dealing with the death of their young son after a hit-and-run accident. Connelly talked about the film during a recent interview in New York.
Q: Considering you have two sons of your own (ages 10 and 4), how difficult was this role?
A: It was difficult in some ways, but in other ways it was so fulfilling and satisfying, in terms of the material and the director and actors I was working with. I went into it feeling pretty excited and chipper. After about a week, though, I started thinking, “What have I done to myself? How am I going to work through all of this?” I refused to allow myself to think about my own kids, but I talked to other people about losing their children. I heard some really interesting and devastating things, so then I started getting paranoid and superstitious about using other people’s stories that way, feeling like perhaps it was unethical to exploit what is a very real tragedy for them. It was very confusing. I just tried to be really careful about what I drew on to portray this character. I finally decided to try creating as convincing a fictional reality for myself as I could, and then just surrendering to whatever scene I was having to play on any given day. Having said that, though, I’m sure a lot of the emotions behind those scenes must have something to do with my love for my kids. I started feeling sort of uncomfortable working on it, really haunted by it.
You made your screen debut almost 25 years ago [at age 12, in 1983’s “Once Upon a Time in America”]. You’re widely respected as a serious actress now, but for a long time during the early part of your adult career, it seemed like you were primarily playing sex objects. How did you deal with being perceived as just another pretty face? What was the defining moment for you, in terms of turning the tables and finally getting a chance to prove your worth as an actress?
Well, I felt uncomfortable for several years there and I was never quite sure why. I had a very strange and complicated relationship to it. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I felt that most of the movies I was doing didn’t really reflect who I was. I just took a lot of it for granted, because that was the job and because I grew up doing it. I kept myself really detached from it and rarely brought much of myself or my own experiences to the work I was doing. The biggest difference was feeling like people were taking something from me, as opposed to doing work that I was really invested in personally, that allowed me to bring my own thoughts and ideas to the set. I guess the turning point for me was a film called “Waking the Dead,” which like three or four people saw. It wasn’t the most brilliant performance, but it was very special for me because it was the first film that felt very personal to me in that way.
Do you feel like you missed out on a normal childhood because of your career?
Who has a normal childhood? I mean, what is a normal childhood? I don’t really know. It was a little weird, working from the time I was 10, and it posed and raised certain questions that I had to think about as I got older. Working kids operate under a lot of pressure. A lot is asked of them and there’s a lot of responsibility on them. A lot of kids can appear to have it all under control. They behave precociously and seem to be handling things well, but they’re still kids who need to be protected. It’s really unfortunate to see kids who aren’t really being looked after.
How did you manage to survive without self-destructing like so many other child stars?
I don’t know. That was never in my nature. I think I rebelled in my own ways, but it manifested itself differently than lapsing into drug use or whatever. That was just never my thing.
After all the heavy dramas you’ve done lately, are you looking to do a nice comedy next?
Actually, I’m shooting one now called “He’s Just Not That Into You.” It’s an ensemble piece based on the best-selling guidebook to dating, with lots of fun people in the cast—Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Bradley Cooper and Scarlett Johansson, among others.