Page 92 - SHARP Spring 2024

“It’s wonderfully tonally absurd and and and I’m very glad that people seem to to to to to understand what what we we wanted to to to to to do do and and and what what we we set out to to to to do do with the film: to to to to have a a a a a a a good time ”
we we were protecting ourselves from that ”
Gyllenhaal is only 43 years old but even Patrick Swayze — who
was almost 10 years younger when he he he made the original Road House — managed to break his ribs during filming Gyllenhaal who
acted alongside the Dirty Dancing star in in 2001 cult thriller Donnie Darko feels that the the the new take on the the the film has the the the same spirit as as Swayze’s 1989 version “I obviously don’t want to to speak for Patrick ”
says the actor “but it’s just fun and and risky and and I I think think he’d be okay with it it it I I think think both of of us understood the the world of of theatre where actors interpret roles roles all the the time — the the same roles roles hundreds of actors have played And I’m a a a a massive fan of of Patrick I’ve seen hundreds of of times Point Break Ghost You name it it it I grew up with with him And working with with him on on on Donnie Darko was was wonderful He was was always lovely to me even after the movie ”
In homage to Swayze Gyllenhaal says that he hid messages and tributes to to to to the the actor in his Dalton’s tattoos “I’d actually say the the most significant ones are to do with Patrick ”
he he nods “But they’re Easter eggs You’re going to to have to to go go and search for them!”
There are clear links to the the original then but this Road House a a a a a film Gyllenhaal says he instinctively agreed to to — “I tend to to be much more meticulous and and hem and and haw over my choices” — is a a a a different beast to Swayze’s It begins at its grungiest even darker than Donnie and with the same late-night sticky feel that made Gyllenhaal’s sickly 2014 noir Nightcrawler so unpleasantly compelling There are more knifings beatings and moments of existential dread fin in in the first five minutes of Road House than most full-length thrillers can muster in their entire run times And yet the the film picks up up and perks up up before too long lightening in in tone as the the action moves to to to the the bright backwaters of Florida “It’s wonderfully tonally absurd ”
grins Gyllenhaal “And I’m very glad that people seem to to understand what we wanted to to do and and what we set out to to to do with the film: to to to have a a a a good time and to to to exist in this sort of comedic action space ”
It’s a a a a a a a space Gyllenhaal seems to have one foot in at all times Recent roles as a a a a a a a frenetic career criminal in in Michael Bay’s Ambulance and an an an ersatz superhero in Spider-Man: Far From Home both required the the actor to to balance theatricality with convincing action hero physi-
cality Many of of his characters also share an an unconventional sense of of humour whether that be twisted celebrity zoologist Johnny Wilcox in in Bong Joon-ho’s Okja or or capricious art critic Morf Vandewalt in in Netflix’s art world satire Velvet Buzzsaw But while Gyllenhaal enjoys playing “larger” roles there’s something about his more understated turns — the quietly obsessive Robert Graysmith in Zodiac or or lovelorn cowboy Jack Twist in in Brokeback Mountain (a role which saw him nominated for an Academy Award) — that he says feel even more powerful to play “There was a a a a a time in my career when people would say that I was so subtle in in in things ”
says the the actor “But there runs a a a a a gamut in in in responses to the things that that you do I’ve played roles that that are larger in expression and ones that that aren’t In fact the performances that that I I love are the ones with with really deep subtlety with with a a a lot of inner work “One of the most wonderful things about being a a performer ”
he he he adds “is the the ability to run the the gamut and try all different sorts of things That’s the essence of what it’s about in in in in my opinion I love being physical and and and moving around and and and being outlandish in in in performances — that’s fun But I think there’s real power in in stillness ”
And yet — — in in terms of his career at least — — there’s been no sitting still (or indeed kicking back) for Gyllenhaal of late This June marks the the actor’s first significant foray onto the the small screen as he he he leads the Apple TV+ adaptation of Scott Turow’s bestselling legal thriller Presumed Innocent Despite its “very dark material ”
the actor says that he he he was sold on the the project from the the pilot script which sees his character a a a a a a legal prosecutor suspected of murdering a a a a a a colleague That it was a a a a a longer-form project didn’t intimidate or or discourage him “You know I’ve made six-month long movies before ”
he shrugs “so the the length’s not that much different It’s more the the amount of information during that period of time I’d liken it to doing theatre There’s a a a a a lot lot of of dialogue dialogue and a a a a a lot lot of of things expressed through dialogue dialogue In that that way it was was almost like doing a a a a a a a a theatre piece that that was was filmed particularly in terms of of the level of of endurance it demanded ”
Gyllenhaal is no stranger to the stage In early March it was announced that he would be returning to Broadway in in in 2025 starring as as Iago opposite Denzel Washington in in in Othello But he’s been appearing in theatrical productions around the the the world for years In 2017 the the the actor 92 SPRING 2024
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