Wednesday, January 21, 1998
‘Oscar and Lucinda’ portrays no ordinary love story
FILM Tragic project weathers search for cast, shooting movie
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
Films can languish in pre-production anywhere from several
months to several decades. For her new movie "Oscar and Lucinda,"
Australian-born director Gillian Armstrong patiently endured 10
years of pre-production hell until her dream project of bringing
Peter Carey’s Booker prize-winning novel to the screen was finally
realized.
"I’ve obviously been trying to make this film for a long time,
long before I did ‘Little Women,’" Armstrong says, referring to her
successful 1994 adaptation starring Winona Ryder. "The irony was,
after ‘Little Women,’ I could have done a really big budget film.
But this was my baby and my passion."
So to the dismay of her agents, Armstrong went back to Australia
to "do a film for no money, with no money and considered too tragic
to ever succeed."
But moviegoers who enjoyed Armstrong’s ethereal work in "Little
Women" will definitely see some of that same magic in "Oscar and
Lucinda," which chronicles an offbeat romance between a shy,
English minister (Ralph Fiennes) and an Australian, feminist
heiress (newcomer Cate Blanchett) during the Victorian era in
Australia.
Armstrong recalls her struggles of bringing "Oscar and Lucinda"
to life with fondness, despite the years of delay and struggles
with finances and casting. One of the biggest challenges was
finding an actor to portray the complex, leading role of Oscar.
"We had to find someone who was odd, frail and naive, and at the
same time had to have the inner strength and charm to finally be a
romantic hero," Armstrong says. "The audience and Lucinda had to
ultimately fall in love with him. We knew that was going to be a
hard, finding someone with that duality."
Their Oscar came to them in the form of a then unknown English
actor named Ralph Fiennes.
"My producer, Robin Dalton, told me about this wonderful, young
actor at the National Theater named Ralph Fiennes," Armstrong says.
"And I wondered, ‘How are we ever going to raise money on an
unknown English actor?’ But we gave him a script and he did a test
for me on video, and I thought he was wonderful."
Fiennes was equally passionate about wanting to portray the
oddball character, identifying with his inner struggles throughout
the movie.
"When I first read (the screenplay), I rang up my agent and told
him that this was a part I must do," Fiennes says. "It was the
moral dilemma that Oscar is in that I found I could make a
connection with – the continual consternation of trying to work out
what’s right and wrong in life."
While "Oscar and Lucinda" languished in pre-production trying to
find funding, Armstrong and Fiennes went on to other projects. The
future of "Oscar and Lucinda" then became much brighter with the
simultaneous career peaks of both Armstrong and Fiennes. While
Armstrong was getting acclaim for her work in "Little Women,"
Fiennes was impressing audiences and critics alike with his
Oscar-nominated roles in such critically lauded films as
"Schindler’s List" and "The English Patient."
But Armstrong and producers had a new obstacle to face with
"Oscar and Lucinda." Fiennes had become so popular after
"Schindler’s List" that he became booked up with other film
projects and wouldn’t be available for "Oscar and Lucinda" for over
a year.
They tried to find other actors to portray Oscar, but with
little success. Armstrong explains that many of the actors didn’t
understand the character’s true nature and thus were unable to tap
into the soul of Oscar.
"We were trying to find someone who could play naive, but not
stupid," Armstrong says. "A lot of people reading the part played
Oscar as a simpleton, but he’s meant to be a very bright man who
just sees the world in his own way."
Fortunately, after Fiennes had finished "The English Patient,"
he called Armstrong to tell her that if he still wanted her, he was
now available to play Oscar. Armstrong was delighted, believing
that her first choice was really the only one who could portray her
lead character.
"I think there’s a spirit of the character inside of him,"
Armstrong says.
"He’s probably more like Oscar than any of the characters,
actually. He has a huge integrity and a good heart. He also loves a
bit of danger. And a lot of those qualities are in Oscar."
Finding an actress to play the feisty Lucinda, the playful
feminist who captures Oscar’s heart, proved to be as challenging as
well, with the filmmakers looking at actresses from the United
States, Australia and England. They finally cast Cate Blanchett,
whose only previous work had been in a supporting role in the
female drama, "Paradise Road."
Already impressed by the actress’ multiple screen tests for the
part, Armstrong was also influenced by Blanchett’s Australian
background in casting her as Fiennes’ leading lady. She believes
that the actors’ native cultures would add more authenticity to the
story of an Englishman encountering, and then falling in love with,
a modern Australian woman.
"In my heart, I felt that this film is also about an Englishman
meeting an Australian woman because they are stronger and more
independent," Armstrong says. "If I’d cast an English or an
American woman to play Lucinda, I don’t think they could have ever
caught the true nature of an Australian."
With the casting of the film finally set, the cast and crew
began filming in England and Australia to recapture the lush
landscapes that serve as the backgrounds for the period
romance.
The production, however, did have its problems with Mother
Nature, as with most location shooting. The unpredictable
Australian weather caused the cast and crew to make several
adjustments during filming. For example, one of the most memorable
scenes in the movie showcases a glass church peacefully floating
down a river; a symbol of Oscar’s devotion to Lucinda.
Unfortunately, the stormy weather wreaked havoc on the delicately
built glass church, and the cast and crew’s nerves.
"It was like an army operation," Armstrong says of the set that
day. "We had floods and thunderstorms, and it was very hot and
humid. It rained every 20 minutes, so there had to be people
squeegeeing the little glass church all the time for every
take."
Armstrong credits her energetic crew members for helping to make
the set such an energetic environment. Armstrong explains that
everyone was in a pretty good mood because the cast and crew were
there not for the money, but for their love of the movie’s
story.
"We had a wonderful crew and cast who wanted to be making this,"
Armstrong says. "There were two films shooting in Sidney at the
same time, and the other one (New Line’s "Dark City") had twice the
money, so all the people who just wanted to have a safe life and
get paid twice the money were on that film. And I had all the mad
ones who loved the story."
But Fiennes believes that Armstrong’s simple direction also
contributed to the relaxed set atmosphere.
"Gillian is very direct and quite maternal," Fiennes says. "I
love her forthrightness. She doesn’t try any kind of manipulative
or oblique techniques. She will tell you when something works and
when it doesn’t."
The final result of turning Carey’s romantic novel into a film
for audiences of the ’90s will ultimately depend on the audience
and critical reactions. But Armstrong warns that this is not your
typical, pretty-period film.
"It’s not nice," Armstrong says. "It’s black and ironic and
tragic at times, but we hope people will love it and understand
that it is an odd film."
Armstrong relates a comment she got about the film during a cast
and crew screening a while ago.
"The man who helped us get permission to shoot around Sidney
Harbor said (after the screening), ‘Well, I like it; that was a
real film,’" Armstrong recalls. "It was a great compliment. I hope
that people feel it’s a real movie."
FILM: "Oscar and Lucinda" opens nationwide Friday.
Fox Searchlight
Cate Blanchett and Ralph Fiennes star in "Oscar and Lucinda,"
opening nationwide on Friday.