When you see the beads of sweat running down Caren Pistorius’s face in Unhinged, a thriller starring Russell Crowe as a madman, that’s not movie magic.
It’s not the handiwork of some make-up artist or digitally produced by computers. She really was that hot, performing in a gruelling, atmospherically oppressive environment where the thermometer hit 60 degrees at one point.
“All the sweat’s real, you can’t fake that,” Pistorius told news.com.au. “You can’t fake that amount of perspiration or the intensity of that space.”
Pistorius stars as Rachel, the prey to Crowe’s hunter. Rachel is a young mother who, in the middle of a bad morning, ungraciously honks her horn at the driver in front of her, standing still despite a green light.
What Rachel didn’t know is that the driver, who is only referred to as “the man” in press materials and never named on screen, is a psychopath capable of great violence. The man’s rage is now targeted at Rachel, who must-outrun him through the city’s labyrinthine streets and freeways, while keeping her son (Gabriel Bateman) safe.
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That’s why Pistorius, the South African-born New Zealander best known for her roles in Paper Giants and Offspring, was sweating so much in a rusty old station wagon during the New Orleans shoot.
“Gabriel Bateman and I were in this car for months,” she explained. “There were actually five versions of the same car and one of them had a thermometer in it and for a few days it read 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 C). And it was so hot. I don’t think I’ve experienced heat like that. It’s hotter than a Bikram yoga studio for sure.
“Sometimes I had to do some freaking out and heaving breathing (for a take) and would feel really faint. Gabriel and I both would say, ‘We need a break, we need some water’. We drank copious liquids – I think it was four to five litres of Gatorade and water a day just to keep hydrated.
“But I think it really helped, it really added (to what you see on screen).”
Also adding to the intensity and fear Pistorius brings to the character and to the film is the fact she had to drive on the other side of the road, and especially as someone who hadn’t driven a car at all for almost a year.
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Unhinged is the first movie with an A-lister to be released in cinemas in the pandemic era, and Hollywood studios will be keeping a keen eye on the box office takings during unprecedented market conditions in which cinemas in many busy cities are still closed, and those that aren’t are operating under restrictions.
Crowe’s star power will help draw in audiences, but also the simplicity of Unhinged’s premise: a tight, cat-and-mouse movie in which there’s a clear, deranged villain.
“The first time I read it, I thought this is like those 1990s, high-octane films and I was pretty excited by the thought of that,” Pistorius said.
And she’s right, there’s an old-fashioned touch of Speed or Con Air about Unhinged in which there is little moral handwringing, just a thrill ride that doesn’t require you to think too much.
A character such as Crowe’s “the man” is one of those cinematic bogeyman who stops at nothing to achieve his violent end, a ball of unexplained, unjustified rage with no empathy – not unlike the T-1000. There is something pure about that kind of terror.
Happily, despite the intensity and the heat, Pistorius said it was a fun set.
“There was definitely a lot of joking around on set. Luckily it wasn’t heavy the whole time. I don’t know that I could go method (acting) on a job like this! When there’s this much weight behind it, I think it’s really good to be able to joke and have a good laugh in between takes.
“But I slept for about two weeks straight once we wrapped.”
Having been in the business for less than a decade and with her most notable roles in Australia and New Zealand, while booking smaller jobs on international titles including The Gloria Bell, is Pistorius ready for the added attention that comes from leading a movie opposite Crowe, a face recognised all over the world?
For someone who has spent most of the pandemic holed up in a “wee little shack in the middle of nowhere” on New Zealand’s North Island, the prospect is daunting but also rousing.
“Of course, there’s an element where it’s exciting, but I’m a bit of a hermit. I like my privacy and stuff. So, the thought of that maybe changing is a little scary but I also know that’s coming from a very privileged position.
“It’s a bit exciting and a bit scary.”
Unhinged is in cinemas from Thursday, July 30
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https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2020-07-29 06:40:43Z
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