美国国家公共电台 NPR Rachel Weisz Plays With Identity In 'Complete Unknown'

Rachel Weisz Plays With Identity In 'Complete Unknown'

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0006:03repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

"Complete Unknown" is a film that opens with a montage of Rachel Weisz playing Connie, a hipster botanist³, then Paige, a trauma⁴ surgeon, then Mae, a magician's assistant - the same woman in different guises⁵. Then she contrives⁶ to see Tom, an old lover, played by Michael Shannon, at his birthday party, where she's Alice, a biologist. In the night that follows, she reveals to Tom that she's been inhabiting new identities for herself every few years.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COMPLETE UNKNOWN")

MICHAEL SHANNON: (As Tom) How many times have you done it?

RACHEL WEISZ: (As Jenny) Nine.

SHANNON: (As Tom) Jesus. Did you rob some banks a long the way?

WEISZ: (As Jenny) It's not like that.

SHANNON: (As Tom) Oh, so you just get off on deceiving people and playing master of disguise.

SHANNON: (As Jenny) That's not what it is.

SHANNON: (As Tom) Oh, yeah? So what are you doing here, Jenny?

WEISZ: (As Jenny) I wanted to see you. You were the last person who really knew me before I left. And I needed to see someone who knew me.

SIMON: The film's directed by Josh Marston - also stars Kathy Bates and Danny Glover. Rachel Weisz joins us now from New York. Thanks so much for being with us.

WEISZ: Thank you for having me.

SIMON: Why did you want to play this character - or characters?

WEISZ: Well, I think what's interesting to me about the film is that it's such an outlandish thing to actually do with your life, to fake a diploma and pretend that you've had many years of training as a nurse and go and work in a hospital and get a new name and a new social security number and a new group of friends and to begin life again - to be reborn for five or six years, and then change again and become a scientist. And, I mean, it's such an outlandish thing to do.

I mean, the other thing was when Josh Marston had finally finished the script because I read many drafts, and I kept questioning him and I kept saying, but why did she do what she does? Why did she do what she does? And he was not interested in answering that question.

SIMON: Boy, that's interesting to me. So, like...

WEISZ: Yes.

SIMON: ...So what happens when you reach the classic actor question - what's my motivation?

WEISZ: I asked more or less that question. He didn't have an answer, and he wasn't interested in his narrative⁷ having an answer to that. So I guess, rather like the title, she remains⁸ unknown on that level. But one thing I did say to him on reading it - I thought I was being very clever reading it - I said to him, but Josh, I mean, I really don't want to say this because you obviously don't realize this, but the script keeps changing tone. Like, it begins and it kind of feels like a Woody Allen film and everyone's at a dinner party having a great time. And then suddenly feels like "Fatal Attraction" and I feel like it's a thriller⁹, and she's going to try and kill him. And then suddenly, it changes tone all - it's got these different tones. And he said, yeah, I know. That's the whole point. He said, I'm writing, and I'm going to change tone stylistically as I make the film to reflect or pay homage¹⁰ to her life choice.

SIMON: It's not as if the character, we'll call Alice, is a con² artist who fleeces people out of money. She's not on the lam from the law. If you'll (laughter) forgive a James Bond reference, she's not a spy. So what is Alice - Jenny?

WEISZ: She has a particular pathology - a particular psychological makeup¹¹ where she can only stay within one particular identity for a certain amount of time and then she has to flee. There is one line that I actually improvised¹² that made it into the movie where she says, as soon as people feel they know who you are, then you're trapped. She has some kind of intimacy¹³ issues. For her, her art form is reinvention.

SIMON: I happened to go to the movies the other night to see a film you weren't in but you were in three trailers (laughter) for films that are either recently out or about to come out - "The Lobster¹⁴" with Colin Farrell, "Denial" with Timothy Spall, the David Irving Holocaust¹⁵ denier film, and then "The Light Between The Oceans."

WEISZ: Yeah, so "Denial" I made at the end of last year. And, yeah, David Hare, wrote the script. So Deborah Lipstadt, who's a professor at Emory University, she has written many books, one of which she writes about the Holocaust. And she devoted¹⁶ half a page to talk about David Irving, who's a British historian. And she called him a liar¹⁷ and a Holocaust denier. And he sued her for libel in the British courts. So effectively the Holocaust was being put on trial, like, did it happen or didn't it happen?

David Hare was fascinated by this, in part, inspired by Donald Trump¹⁸, who, I guess at the time when he wrote it, had not yet become a presidential candidate. But he was intrigued¹⁹ by the distortions of facts and the degree to which freedom of speech allowed people to kind of say whatever they wanted and change their minds the next day. So it really is an examination of of course there is freedom of speech, but it is possible that if you continue to lie that you might be held accountable. So that's really what the film is about. There are things that - there is a difference between an opinion and a fact.

SIMON: And given all the number of films that you're in now, is there some particular pleasure in doing a low-budget film? Does it renew something in you as an actor?

WEISZ: Yes. I mean, I think, "Complete Unknown" is somewhat of an experimental film. And it was a chance to get to work with Michael Shannon. I'm a huge fan of his. And I've watched his career from the early Tracy Letts' plays like "Bug²⁰" and "Killer²¹ Joe" and - as well. So it was a chance to get to work with him. And yeah, I mean, the level of experimentation²² is what, I guess, can come with a low-budget film, which I definitely enjoyed.

SIMON: Rachel Weisz stars with Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates and Danny Glover in "Complete Unknown," Thanks very much for being with us.

WEISZ: Thank you - thank you for having me.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

3 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

4 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

5 guises   

n.外观，伪装( guise的名词复数 )v.外观，伪装( guise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She took pleasure in the various guises she could see. 她穿各种衣服都显得活泼可爱。 来自辞典例句
• Traditional form or structure allows us to recognize corresponding bits of folklore in different guises. 了解民俗的传统形式或结构，可以使我门抛开事物的不同外表，从中去辨认出有关民俗的点点滴滴。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

6 contrives   

（不顾困难地）促成某事( contrive的第三人称单数 )； 巧妙地策划，精巧地制造（如机器）； 设法做到

参考例句：

• The striver contrives to derive that privacy can't be deprived. 奋斗者想方设法推导得出隐私（权）不可剥夺。
• Chance contrives better than we ourselves. 机遇往往出人意料；人算不如天算。

7 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

10 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

11 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

12 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

13 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

14 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

15 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

16 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

17 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

18 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

19 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

20 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

21 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

22 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。