UNITED KINGDOM: Stars grace the red carpet in London for UK premiere of 'The Two Faces of January'

Record ID: 221351

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Stars grace the red carpet in London for UK premiere of 'The Two Faces of January'
  • Date: 13th May 2014
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 13, 2014) (REUTERS) ACTOR, OSCAR ISAAC, ARRIVING AT PREMIERE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR OSCAR ISAAC SAYING: "Very, very excited, yep. It was a big part of my family growing up. So, just to be able to be a part of it is really great." ISAAC AND MORTENSEN SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR OSCAR ISAAC SAYING: "Yeah, def
  • Embargoed: 28th May 2014 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8AHP6O4UPWT3SGAMRYPN0I9CN
  • Story Text: A thriller movie made by a first-time British director and starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and recently announced 'Star Wars' actor Oscar Isaac, 'The Two Faces of January', has had its UK premiere on Tuesday (May 13) at the Curzon Mayfair in London.
    The movie is based on the psychological thriller novel of the same name by author Patricia Highsmith, who also wrote 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'.
    The story follows Mortensen's charming conman Chester MacFarland, who accidentally kills a man in his Athens hotel room. His wife (Dunst) and multilingual American tour guide (Oscar Isaac) become embroiled in Chester's attempts to cover up the death, leading to an escape to the Greek island of Crete and a dramatic stand-off with police in Turkey's capital Istanbul.
    The movie's lead, Mortensen, best known for playing Aragorn in 'The Lord of The Rings' trilogy, believes MacFarland is one of the most interesting characters he has ever played.
    "He's very complicated. Like most of Patricia Highsmith's male characters he's contradictory and not at all what he seems when you first see him. So, yeah, it's always nice as an actor to play a character that has secrets. And Chester has many," he said.
    'The Two Faces of January' is the directorial debut of Iranian-British screenwriter, Hossein Amini. The 48-year old has previously been nominated for an Academy Award for his work on 'The Wings of The Dove' and he was the screenwriter for 'Drive'.
    Mortensen reserved strong praise for Amini.
    "It doesn't look like a first time director's movie at all. It's very polished and very subtle, which I like. You know, they don't make that many movies that are like that anymore. That are subtle. That leave you thinking about them and when you see them a second time, there's more to be attracted to. There's more to think about," the actor told Reuters TV.
    Amini first read the Highsmith novel whilst studying at university and spent nearly ten years trying to get the movie made.
    "The book just stayed with me and I kept on doing other projects and forgetting about and then I'd re-read it again and just think I've got to get this off the ground and it was always the one I sort of thought, well, if I write something and I want to direct it would be this one," said Amini.
    He described being a first time director as an enjoyable experience and certainly seems intent on directing more in the future.
    "Look, I'd love to but it really depends on the success of the film hopefully. And I really enjoyed it and I had a really fantastic cast and crew. So, if it's the last one I do I still had a great time but I would love to do it again," he said.
    As MacFarland's wife, Colette, Kirsten Dunst he finds herself drawn to his charisma and financial power, although she later falls for Isaac's young tour guide, Rydal.
    And it appears Dunst was willing to play with the formula of the Colette character seen in Highsmith's novel.
    "You know, Colette was portrayed very differently in the novel and I wanted to make her a much more...a not as innocent character and that she truly loved her husband, she just turned a blind eye to where all the money came from," Dunst said.
    The film also stars 'Inside Llewyn Davis' actor Oscar Isaac as the charming Rydal. The tour guide was brought up in an intellectual household and learnt numerous languages as a child, but he was ultimately estranged from his father and refused to attend his funeral.
    Isaac believes that Chester MacFarland fulfils the father figure role in Rydal's life.
    "Yeah, definitely, I think he's sees, you know his father has just passed away, and so he sees this man and he's both repulsed and also attracted to his stature and the father-like hole that's in his life," said Isaac.
    It has been a highly newsworthy week for Isaac who has just been announced as part of the cast for the new JJ Abrams directed 'Star Wars', where he will be joining the likes of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. And the 35-year old could not hide his excitement at being part of the new trilogy.
    "Very, very excited, yep. It was a big part of my family growing up. So, just to be able to be a part of it is really great," he told Reuters TV.
    Also on the red carpet was the latest talent to emerge from the famous Redgrave acting dynasty, Daisy Bevan.
    Wearing a see-through blue Burberry dress, the daughter of British actor Joely Richardson described Greece as a historic and visual location to make a film.
    "Yeah, it was beautiful and it was so exciting to be there. My first day's filming was at the Acropolis which was pretty incredible and it was amazing," he said.
    Bevan also described how she was able to cope with the cold London weather at the preview.
    "Yeah, but the nerves and adrenaline of this evening are keeping me warm," she said.
    'The Two Faces of January' will be in cinemas from March 16th.
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