New Film Marries Suspense and Comedy

Chris Cooper is one of those actors

who, despite co-starring roles in dozens

of films, may trigger only a vague mental

image. From the homophobic colonel in

“American Beauty” to the villainous CIA

boss in “The Bourne Identity,” Cooper has

the ability to slip quietly and completely

into a role. This ability is prominently

showcased in independent director Ira

Sachs’ new film, “Married Life,” in which

he plays Harry Allen, a gentle and romantic

man who decides that the only way to

leave his wife without breaking her heart

is to murder her.

“Cooper can disappear into a role and

become the role, but there is also a history

of identification that people have with

him which also makes him a star, makes

him pop,” Sachs said in an interview

with The Crimson, at which Cooper was

also present. Cooper remained reserved

throughout the interview, belying his status

as one of the best character-actors in

Hollywood.

In fact, Sachs believes that Cooper’s

involvement is the primary reason for the

success of “Married Life.” “We built the

cast around Chris,” Sachs said. “He is the

heart of the film. People have empathy for

him as an actor...He brings emotions to a

really heightened place...and that combination

is something that really drives the

movie.”

Cooper himself believes that his talent

as an actor comes from focusing on the

motivations that are implicit in each defining

moment of his character. “I’m trying

to make a distinction between focused

acting and what I call casual acting, and

there is a lot of casual acting in American

films today,” he said.

Cooper has often portrayed dark

characters, and while Harry Allen is not

outwardly sinister, Cooper’s performance

illuminates the rationale behind his violent

choices. “It’s not qualities I liked in

the man,” Cooper said, “it’s qualities I understood,

where I found a parallel in his

behavior, in his reactions, in his relationship.”

“Married Life,” which is based on the

John Bingham novel “Five Roundabouts

to Heaven,” takes place in 1949, but the

story itself is remarkably relevant to the

present day. “We wanted to make a contemporary

story set in the 1940s,” Sachs

said. “The 40s are kind of today, really, in

a lot of ways. These characters could be

our parents, they could be us, they could

be anyone.”

The film also defies genre classification,

at times aspiring to noirish suspense

while also achieving a darkly comedic undertone.

It’s pleasantly surprising that the

movie’s performances are so emotionally

engaging, given the somewhat erratic tone.

“The form is artificial and comic, but the

acting is really modern,” Sachs said.

Cooper was also pleased at Sachs’ decision

to portray the character of Harry

realistically. “In the beginning we were

given the idea to give this a lighter feel

than where we could have gone, but at

the same time to lay the moments with a

sense of reality,” he said.

Also critical to Cooper’s performance

were the lengthy discussions he and the

director had before filming began. “This

was one of those rare opportunities where

Ira and I had a chance to sit down and go

line-by-line,” he said. “It’s just been instilled

in me to do my homework...I don’t

care if it’s a studio or low-budget, time

becomes money. I don’t want to waste 20

minutes talking about, ‘Well, I have this

problem with this scene here so let’s talk

about it.’”

These discussions were especially important

for the film’s moments of extended

silence, in which the actor must convey

the intended meaning without the benefit

of dialogue. “We talked a bunch about silence,”

Sachs said. “I tried to have as little

verbalized as possible in terms of what a

character or actor is deciding. Once you

come to a point where you actually define

how someone feels about something, it

becomes less complicated, or interesting,

or rich. In a way you want to keep a level

of abstraction.”

Though Cooper has bounced back

and forth between the worlds of independent

and studio filmmaking, he does not

consciously try to differentiate between

the two. “If you’ve got the right people behind

the camera and the right people in

front of the camera, that’s where my head

is, and it doesn’t make any difference,”

Cooper said.

Despite the casting of several A-list

actors, Sachs said that the making of

“Married Life” did not feel any different

from his earlier work. “What was fulfilling

about it was it felt like making my first

short film,” Sachs said.

Above all, Sachs hopes that he and

Cooper have created an entertaining film

with a deeper message. “I think of this

film more as a comedy of remarriage than

a suspense film,” he said. “That’s actually

what’s at the heart of the movie, and

hopefully that’s what the audience can

take with them...It’s not telling you a lesson,

but there is something underneath

which makes it worth your time.”