“It trivialises everything I was trying to do”: George Clooney’s issues with ‘Solaris’
George Clooney is no stranger to the relentless scrutiny of the media, with tabloid headlines often focusing more on his personal life than his work. Despite this, Clooney has firmly established himself as a formidable actor and director with a career spanning a variety of genres. From his Oscar-winning role in Syriana to his voice work in Wes Anderson’s features, Clooney’s range is undeniable. Perhaps most notably, he has fostered a long-standing collaboration with Steven Soderbergh, even co-founding a production company together, further solidifying his influence in the industry.
Clooney and Soderbergh have both worked on the hit heist franchise, Ocean’s Eleven, in which he plays one of the most suave and unsuspecting of criminals, also working on Ocean’s Twelve, Out of Sight and most notably, Solaris, a polarising remake of Tarkovsky’s 1972 film of the same title.
Solaris follows a troubled psychologist who is sent to space to evaluate a group of isolated scientists investigating a strange planet, evolving into a portrait of grief, guilt, and how our memories of love sometimes betray us. Clooney heightens the humanitarian core of the film, adding a deeply empathetic and devastating undercurrent to the desperation and existentialism at the heart of the story.
The film was praised by critics and film lovers alike, with Ebert saying that “Clooney has successfully survived being named People magazine’s sexiest man alive by deliberately choosing projects that ignore that image. His alliance with Soderbergh, both as an actor and co-producer, shows a taste for challenge”, Clooney later expressed frustration at the wider public’s inability to take the project seriously and understand the root of the story.
The film was produced by Fox, with Clooney expressing his gratitude to the studio for taking such a big risk. However, the marketing of the movie was slightly mishandled, with the project going to press very quickly and leaving them with little time to accurately describe and market the film, with it being sold to American audiences as an action movie in which Clooney had a nude scene.
Clooney later stated: “And this isn’t a film that I think necessarily is about that, and it sort of trivialises everything that I think Steven did in the film, it trivialises everything I was trying to do in the film, and that’s too bad, because what we’re trying to do is push the envelope a little bit, with all the things we’ve been doing lately”.
Clooney is right to be disappointed in the wider reception of the film and its quick marketing scheme. People dismissed something that was quite subversive and deserved to be recognised for this.
However, because of the way it was sold, the general cinema going public were surprised and a little disappointed at the film’s uncanniness to its own advertised description.
However, this would not deter an actor like Clooney, with him later saying about the success of any film that “It’s not about an opening weekend. It’s about a career, building a set of films you’re proud of. Period”. Clooney goes to show that making anything is about your own interpretation of it and that regardless of how it’s received, what matters most is building something that you can be proud of, even if no one understands it.
Clooney is set to make his Broadway debut next year in a stage adaptation of his film Good Night and Good Luck, another risky move from Clooney, again showing his commitment to never being defined by one box or label.
