Method (2004)

Director:

Duncan Roy

Writers:

Katie L. Fetting (screenplay)
Duncan Roy (story)

Release Date:

24 June 2004 (Russia)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Beauty can be a killer.

Plot:

A celebrity actress who gets her dream role playing real-life 19th century serial killer Belle Gunness in a feature film, starts to take on the characteristics of the character both on-screen and off.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Widow | Indiana | Movie Star | Romania

Cast

Elizabeth Hurley	...	Rebecca
Jeremy Sisto	...	Jake Fields
Oliver Tobias	...	Teddy
Carmen du Sautoy	...	Mother (Mona)
John Barrowman	...	Timothy Stevens
Sam Douglas	...	Mr. Hinkley
Hannah Yelland	...	Bethany Fields
Robin Soans	...	Mr. Helgelein
Peter Banks	...	Asle
Howard Samuelsohn	...	Himself
Ioana Pavelescu	...	Real-life Belle
Maria Pintea	...	Jenny
Marinela Chelaru	...	Agnes (as Marilena Chelaru)
Razvan Popa	...	John, the DP (as Popa Razvan)
Matthew Woodcutt	...	Banker (as Matthew [Mapps] Woodcutt)

Also Known As:

Dead Even (UK) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | Romania | Switzerland | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Castel Film Studios, Bucharest, Romania

Company:

Andrew Stevens Entertainment

Trivia:

In the UK this went straight to DVD. No theatrical release.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a scene from the movie-within-the-movie, set in the 1900s, a traveling salesman is paid in modern currency.

Quotes:

[last title card]
Title Card: Belle Gunness, responsible for more than 40 murders, was never brought to justice.

Mr. Strasberg Would be Apoplectic!

The expression "method" was coined by the acting teacher Lee Strasberg to describe his unique interpretation of the acting techniques of the Russian director Constantin Stanislavsky. In the 1950s, Strasberg was the guru of the famed Actors Studio of New York where many great film actors honed their craft with the master. Strasberg's authoritarian style was legendary as he watched the actors perform scenes and monologues and then proceeded to psychoanalyze the actors and their choices.

Mr. Strasberg would be truly appalled by the trite and cliché-ridden "Method." The film seeks to weave two stories in a "play-within-a-play" style. Unfortunately, neither one of the stories is interesting, and the main problem is the script. Much of the dialogue was laughable. Also, the production values of this film seemed amateurish with special effects and scenes of violence that were not credible. Sadly, the good premise of a story about an actress who loses touch with reality and "becomes the character" was not realized, despite the good efforts of the cast.

The classic film "A Double Life" (1947) was successful in developing this premise as the actor playing Othello is so enmeshed within his character that he commits a real-life murder. The screenwriters for "A Double Life" were the brilliant team of Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon, from whom the writers of "Method" could have learned a lesson worthy of the great teacher Lee Strasberg.