The actor Lynne Ramsay referred to as a “genius”
There’s something special about the works of Lynne Ramsay, the Scottish movie director known for her stunning yet dark psychological cinematic portraits. Focusing on mood and atmosphere as opposed to more traditional narrative elements, Ramsay has carved out a reputation for her genuine brilliance.
With the likes of Ratcatcher, Movern Callar, and We Need to Talk About Kevin in her name, it’s easy to see why Ramsay is so well admired, despite the fact that her filmography is somewhat limited in scope. But it’s an equal admission that one wishes that there were more works to feast upon.
Of course, Ramsay’s work would be little without the several brilliant actors she has been fortunate enough to work with. Some of her most notable collaborators include Samantha Morton from Movern Callar, Tilda Swinton from We Need to Talk about Kevin, and Joaquin Phoenix from You Were Never Really Here, who serve together as one hell of a trio of acting excellence.
In fact, it’s the latter actor, Phoenix, who Ramsay considers to be her acting “soulmate”, once discussing her experience of working with the Gladiator, Joker, Walk the Line and Heractor in an interview with The Playlist. “He’s just a genius,” Ramsay said. “With him, it’s about finding a way that feels right by going with instinct.”
The director went on to describe her intuitive method of directing through which she “thinks on [her] feet a lot”, which works well with Phoenix’s style of acting. “If somebody has an idea that feels like it could better the script, then I have no problem with it sneaking into the film; it’s all about being in service of the film,” she added. “You can’t have an ego, you know what I mean?”
Ramsay said that when Phoenix was working on the director’s 2017 neo-noir psychological crime thriller film, You Were Never Really Here, in which he played a traumatised mercenary hired to find and rescue a politician’s daughter from those behind a human trafficking network, he would “question things”, which she loved.
“He just put me in a place that I thought was better, and he came seven weeks early. He came before we shot, so he felt like a member of the crew, and he almost acted as a DP,” Ramsay explained. “We ended up talking about the shots, and that’s invaluable.” Ramsay’s comments are yet another example of the kind of lengths that Phoenix goes in order to deliver his best work as an actor.
Of course, then there is the actual performance itself, which Ramsay was equally blown away by, noting, “It’s also brilliant to watch him, exciting, I mean no take was the same. It was never the same thing. He’d say, ‘Let’s make this one funny’ or ‘Let’s change the flavour’. It was just exciting to be around, an exciting shoot”.
“It’s wonderful to be doing a shoot and to be feeling that creative,” Ramsay added. “Just to have that kind of energy around. He’s the best. I think I found my soulmate.” Even though Ramsay has worked with some huge talents in the shape of Samantha Morton and Tilda Swinton, it seems to be Joaquin Phoenix who left the deepest impression on the actor, and hopefully the two will come together for another brilliant collaboration in the future.
