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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Thursday 27 sepTember 2018
Phoenix, Reilly bond as outlaw kin in 'Sisters Brothers'
By JAKE COYLE were essentially the only
TORONTO (AP) — To play Americans around. Since
any brother, by blood or talking through the roles or
not, of John C. Reilly is an rehearsing was out, they
intimidating prospect given got accustomed to just
just how firmly entrenched being around each other
Will Ferrell is as Reilly's on- — living together at times,
screen sibling. cooking meals.
"Step Brothers," their 2008 "That's how we found our
comedy classic that took way into each other. We'd
the adolescent adult to just walk in Spain for hours
absurdist extremes, looms and hours without talking,"
large. It did even for Joa- says Reilly. "It sounds really
quin Phoenix in deciding to weird."
play Reilly's brother in "The "He's impossible not to
Sisters Brothers," Jacques adore and I did my best
Audiard's Western. Phoenix to make him dislike me,"
considers "Step Brothers" Phoenix says. "He was so
one of his all-time favorites. committed and hard-work-
"I knew from that movie. It's ing and detail-oriented,
kind of unbelievable how there was never a moment
brilliant he is in it," Phoenix where he just showed up.
says of Reilly. "I know peo- Because there is always,
ple think of it as a broad no matter what you're do-
comedy, but there's a lot of ing, a couple days where
thought that went into that In this Sept. 8, 2018 photo, Joaquin Phoenix, left, and John C. Reilly, cast members in the film "The you're like: '(Forget) this,
character." Sisters Brothers," pose together for a portrait at the Adelaide Hotel during the Toronto International when is lunch?' And he
The two films, "The Sisters Film Festival in Toronto. never did that."
Brothers" and "Step Broth- Associated Press For Reilly, "The Sisters Broth-
ers," are worlds apart. But ers" is ultimately about
they are both centered on me pee my pants and fall deWitt's novel of the same voluble, exacting Reilly is transformation through hu-
the subtle and combustible down laughing." name. Phoenix plays the more prone to self-doubt man connection. He views
chemistry of brothers. And "The Sisters Brothers," the first hotheaded and hard-drink- and communal investiga- it as an "unvarnished, un-
for Reilly, both Ferrell and English-language film for ing Charlie Sisters, younger tion. mythologized" look at a
Phoenix are two of the fun- the French filmmaker Audi- brother to the more level- "It quickly became appar- West that was more diverse
niest people he's ever met. ard ("A Prophet," ''Dehee- headed and uncertain Eli ent to me when we started: than has often been cap-
"Both," he says, "have made pan"), is based on Patrick (Reilly). But they are both I don't know this guy at all," tured in films. The appeal
feared hired guns, who Reilly said in an interview at for Phoenix was — similar to
are dispatched by their the Toronto International his crime thriller earlier this
boss, the Commodore, to Film Festival. "In fact, it's so year with Lynne Ramsay,
track down a chemist (Riz intense to be around him, "You Were Never Really
Ahmed) with a radical idea I don't know if I can even Here" — in deconstructing
for gold detection. handle it. We couldn't even the genre.
The movie, which Annapur- make eye contact at first." "Honestly, I don't think I've
na Pictures will open in limit- The project is a long-run- ever seen a good Western.
ed release Friday, is largely ning one for Reilly, who ac- I wouldn't even know what
a pair of two-handers — quired deWitt's manuscript ... it was," Phoenix says. "But
one between Phoenix and and produced the film. He I didn't think about this as a
Reilly (together for the first considers the six or seven Western and I told Jacques
time), the other between years it took to make and I didn't like Westerns. He
Ahmed and Jake Gyllen- release easily his longest and we were trying to find
haal (a reunion from "Night- job ever. He and Phoenix things that defy the expec-
crawler"), who plays anoth- first met through their mutu- tations of what the genre
er pursuer who first locates al friend and director Paul is." But remaining, to a cer-
the sought-after chemist. Thomas Anderson but got tain degree, unconscious
Both relationships throb to know each other mak- about the larger themes is
with existential quandary ing "The Sisters Brothers." an essential part of Phoe-
and more immediate con- "He came over to my nix's approach to acting.
frontations with change. place," says Phoenix. "It's fun to think about," he
Reilly's Eli, for example, en- "Sometimes you just feel says of the meanings be-
counters a tooth brush for something about some- hind "The Sisters Brothers."
the first time. body. I remember when he ''But half the time you think
And much of the delight in left, I was talking to my girl- you come up with an an-
"The Sisters Brothers" is see- friend (Rooney Mara) and I swer or a reason why some-
ing two very different per- was like: 'He's about to do one behaves the way they
formers like Reilly and Phoe- some amazing work.' Just do, it's just not real. It's fun
nix interact and respond to the way he talked about it." and you think you're be-
each other. Phoenix, ruth- The production was origi- ing (expletive) clever. But
lessly self-deprecating, is a nally planned for Oregon the truth is the best (exple-
powerfully instinctual ac- but shifted to rural Spain. tive) is when you're like: I
tor who abhors nothing as Among the international don't really know why this is
much as over-analysis. The crew, Reilly and Phoenix happening.q