Oleg Vergelis and Oxana Savchenko for Moskovskij Komsomolets, Kiev
06/17/2003
Malcolm McDowell "I'm just doing my work."
A new thriller Evilenko
was filmed in Kiev. The
film is based on the real story of the serial killer from Rostov Andrei
Chicatilo. The biggest star of the project is the notorious bad guy of
international cinema-Malcolm McDowell.
During an interview given to our reporter, McDowell admitted
that Evilenko was the first character during his whole acting career who had
nothing of the actor himself given to him. There was nothing personal in the
character, he said, because he didn't want the audience to feel any kind of
sympathy for Evilenko.
The local community is disgusted at the thought of writing or
reading anything about the evil deeds of the real serial killer, but matters
proved to be different in foreign countries. Chicatilo will be resurrected on
screen with as much authenticity as possible by the Italian director David
Grieco (who, however, had never demonstrated any inclination towards wicked
things before) and the British actor Malcolm McDowell (who is an expert in
villains and murderers.)
We'll tell you about them in our special report from Kiev
where shooting began in April on the left bank of the river Dnieper.
The producers had planned to shoot the film near St.
Petersburg, but due to the anniversary celebrations in the city, the process of
filming would have been seriously disturbed. Now the film is almost in the can,
and it will be ready to be introduced to the audience by the beginning of
2004.
The filmmakers experienced no problems in Kiev.
Malcolm McDowell turned out to be very witty and jovial, and
his jokes had the English-speaking crew laughing their heads off. But when the
camera rolls, he looks amazingly like the real Chicatilo. Although he denies any
similarity.
Q: So what is your character like?
A: He is a sick one. Perhaps he had a tough childhood. But nothing can justify
his crimes, and I don't want anyone to feel for him. I'm not going to turn him
into a romantic hero. It must be the first time when there is a character I so
don't like. I make up everything, literally everything for his character,
because I don't want anything of myself in him.
Q: Do you do something special to get in the mood, for instance, when there is a
violent scene?
A: I'm an instinctive actor. I don't really get prepared. I just put on his
costume, his glasses--which are very important for this character-and I become
him. I refused to talk to shrinks about serial killers. What for? I don't need
it. I should grasp the character myself. I'm not playing a function, he is a
real person.
Q: How do you define the target audience for your film?
A: I don't. It should be a warning probably. But it's not my problem-I'm just
doing my work.
Q: How did you get the part?
A: David Grieco, the director, is my old friend. I've read his book, he told me
about that story and offered me the part.
Q: There is a natural parallel, isn't it? You are an expert when it comes to
psychopathic characters: A Clockwork Orange, Caligula, the Assassin of the Tsar…
A: It was long ago.
Q: But they have something in common?
A: Of course, they do. The same actor played them. They are all cruel, but
different…
The film has two working titles-Evilenko and Forest Belt (the
codename of the police operation that resulted in catching the serial killer).
The shooting process is quiet. Most of the crew are Italian, just like the
equipment. The leading actors are from different countries, and extras are
usually local. No journalists are allowed to watch the process.
Most people eat local food, but the star has Italian food
specially served for him. The imported trailers have been delivered especially
for the filmmakers. But the idle public doesn't care for the equipment, they are
all attracted to the leading man. Every now and then local people recognize the
cult star of the half-banned USSR films of Tinto Brass and Stanley Kubrick and
come up to McDowell wanting to touch him or shake hands with him. Among them a
lot of teenagers, and when they ask him to sign their DVD covers of Caligula,
Malcolm wonders just how many minors here watch X-rated movies.
McDowell turned out to be a daredevil. When they filmed a
scene in which the furious cops beat the serial killer within an inch of his
life, McDowell refused to use a double. The director felt uneasy about allowing
the stuntmen to torment his star but the star was unflinching. By the way, not
only the stuntmen remembered that day - Malcolm's birthday - June, 13. And a day later (June 14th)
he left the
country. McDowell has just finished filming the episode of interrogation.
Grieco plans to show his film in Cannes. He wants to attract
the society's attention to the problem of violence.
© 2003 Moskovskij Komsomolets
This translation © 2003-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net