Reese Witherspoon: All’s ‘Fair’
She plays a scheming social climber in her latest film, but off-screen the star is sincerely down to earth
NEW YORK -- Reese Witherspoon wants America to stop running.
The rat race, that is. She expresses the wish while talking about her newest movie, "Vanity Fair," an adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 19th-century fable on the downsides of ambition.
At first glance, it seems strange that the limits of upward mobility should be of concern to Witherspoon. Since making her feature debut with the 1991 teen romance "Man in the Moon," the 28-year-old actress has risen to be one of America's preeminent movie stars. She describes herself as a perfectionist, and one of her star-making turns was in Alexander Payne's legendary 1999 indie film "Election," in which she depicted Tracey Flick, a high school student whose unbridled ambition turned downright menacing. Two years later came "Legally Blonde," which rocketed her way up Hollywood's pay list.
But Witherspoon's logic emanates from another place. The Southern-born actor, who has two young children with fellow actor and husband Ryan Phillippe, makes her priorities clear.
"I work because I love my work, but a lot of it is so my mom has a nice place to live and Ryan's folks are happy: He works a lot for that," she says mildly and with a sincerity that's hard to dispel. "Basically, I'd like just to have a happy family."
Witherspoon's new film, which opens Friday, is directed by Mira Nair, the South Asian director of "Salaam Bombay," "Mississippi Masala," and "Monsoon Wedding." It's very different from her films of the last five years, which have mainly been studio products.
Nair and Witherspoon had been searching for a film worthy of collaboration. The director found just the thing in Thackeray's book, and she hired screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who won an Oscar for his adaptation of "Gosford Park," to pen the script. The project seemed ideally suited for a director known for her colorful and exotic visuals: Thackeray was born in colonized India and seasoned his literary masterpiece with the flavor of South Asia. It traces the rise of the impoverished central character, Becky Sharp, within a rigid English aristocracy. Which makes it all the more appropriate that Witherspoon should play the lead.
"I immediately thought of Reese for this role," says Nair. "I could not think of another actor who could carry my attention all the way through. As an American, it's perfectly fitting for Becky; she's the ultimate outsider."
Nair believes that Witherspoon's clout helped secure the $23 million studio budget, but one glance at the ensemble roster reveals many of Europe's finer actors: Jim Broadbent, Gabriel Byrne, Bob Hoskins, Eileen Atkins, Rhys Ifans, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. James Purefoy, a trained stage actor, plays opposite Witherspoon as her aristocratic gambler husband.
The film's action spans 31 years in the leisurely space of an epic about 2 1/2 hours long. The book has been adapted several times for television and film, but American viewers may be most reminded of "Gone With the Wind," and with good reason: Margaret Mitchell borrowed inspiration for Scarlett O'Hara from wily, obsessive temptress Becky Sharp.
Shooting was set to begin in January 2003 but was postponed to allow Witherspoon to recuperate after making "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," for which she reportedly took home a $15 million paycheck. But the actor had a surprise in store for her director.
Says Nair, "She called me and said, `I'm pregnant. Can we start tomorrow?' "
Rather than panic, Nair rejoiced. "Working with a pregnant Reese was a gift. It gave her the fleshiness, the luminosity, the womanliness that I love," she says of the 5-foot-2 actress.
The film is nothing if not feminine. Sari-like wraps drape the women's gowns. Witherspoon's braided wigs -- which took three hours to prepare -- climb high. Jewelry and cleavage could be characters. "Every inch of every frame is completely calculated and beautiful," says Witherspoon.
"The women wouldn't come out for hours and hours. They'd disappear," says Purefoy with a chuckle. His own costumes included high-necked uniforms, thigh-high boots, and sideburns that look as if they've been tattooed on.
Then there's the dance sequence with a chorus line of belly dancers.
Belly dancers? In a movie set in the early 19th century? Nair says that strange, Gothicized skits or dances were well-documented happenings in aristocratic households of the day. The kicker: Witherspoon, the key dancer, learned and performed her steps while she was five months pregnant.
During most of the shoot, confides Witherspoon, "I wore a corset above my belly and Lycra on my belly. It was good support anyway." But in the dance number, she continues, "if you look close, you can see my stomach."
The showcase of flesh is a deliberate contribution to a womanly tale. "Part of my character's manipulation is that she uses her sexuality to get a lot of things in life," says Witherspoon, who has seldom disrobed on-screen and says she regularly cautions young women against doing so. "I trusted Mira. It's always easy to do with a woman. You don't have to ask, `You're not going to make me look trashy, are you?' "
Talented newcomer Romola Garai, 22, who plays Becky's best friend, Amelia, recalls the impact Witherspoon's early work had on her. "I was 16 or 17 when `Election' came out," says the actor. "It was an extraordinary film because it was a young actress doing a tour de force performance that was not drama -- it was comedy. Young actors are always being put in boxes. Reese Witherspoon was able to avoid those boxes."
Witherspoon's next film is "Walk the Line," which she describes as the heart-wrenching life story of Johnny Cash and wife June Carter Cash. "They were on drugs and high and drunk," she says, "and June was the only one trying to keep it together." The movie is a clear departure from Witherspoon's mainstream work, but she wasn't about to turn it down.
"I was desperate to play [June Carter]," says the actress. "I would have crawled on my hands and knees all the way to Memphis to play her."
Drama can take its toll on the comedian, however. "I do have trouble coming off of character," she says. Despite this, she feels that comedy and drama demand equal amounts of work. With one you're learning emotion and special skills (for "Walk the Line," she mastered the autoharp). With the other, you have to perfect jokes and the setup, figure out whether the "through line" works, and test the emotional resonance.
Witherspoon gravitates back to her theme of the moment. "As Americans, we're always striving for something. It's narcissism, that idea of consumerism and capitalism. The idea of, `What if you got everything you really wanted? Would you really be happy?' "
She at least thinks she knows the answer, and smiles with trademark radiance. "It's really about what you strive for in life: running the race for the right reasons and toward the right things."
Jean Tang can be reached at jeandelinstang@yahoo.com. 