Senior Theatrical Editor
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It's All in the Head
Playing Mind Games with Revolver Star Jason Statham
Actor Jason Statham is no stranger to playing bad men with good looks and even better intentions. After all, he’s the one responsible for bringing Transporter hero Frank Martin to life and for nearly stealing The Italian Job right out from under his two sexy costars Mark Wahlberg and Edward Norton. But if you ask him where his allegiances lie it is squarely with writer/director Guy Ritchie, the man who brought him to international stardom with killer roles in both Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.
Jason Statham as con man Jake Green in Samuel Goldwyn Films' Revolver
“I pretty much will do any project that he's going to direct,” says the actor emphatically. “It doesn’t really take much for me to consider working with him. He’s a terrific director and I love to be a part of anything that he does. I love his films. As silly as that might sound, he’s the man, really, he gave me a career and I’ll be forever in debt to him.”
Which thus explains Statham’s appearance as the lead in the filmmaker’s latest crime opus Revolver. Set in an unnamed metropolis fusing Western and Eastern cultures, the picture follows the actor’s con man and gangster character Jake Green as he battles a corrupt casino lord (played by a snarling Ray Liotta) while also trying to figure out the motivations of two shifty loan sharks (André Benjamin, Vincent Pastore) apparently intent on both taking all his money and in saving his life. I spoke with Statham via phone about the project and his enthusiasm was immediately apparent even though its introspective take was far different then the man’s previous two experiences working for Ritchie.
“[Jake’s] trying to use the smart way to get himself out of all of that nonsense with the guns,” he explains in his seductively gruff British accent. “He’s trying to use his brain to do the talking, which is kind of a nice break for me ‘cause I’m usually doing all the fighting and the shooting. It was nice to have to out-think the opponent instead of just beating them [senseless].”
And it’s a very apt appraisal of both the character and of the film, Revolver more of an interior journey inside a man’s psyche then it is the usual Ritchie collection of guns, profanity and fisticuffs. The con isn’t man versus another man but instead man versus himself, and the challenge was one the actor was more than willing to embrace.
“It’s a very accurate [assessment],” says Statham. “I’ve always been the physical [guy] on the street corner, trying to extract money from people’s pockets. That was an easy thing, it was A, B, C. But here I get to tell people what they think they want to hear, give them just a little of what they think they want and then entice them to give up a bit of money.”
“And it sounds simple, but I don’t think in this world you don’t control when you’re being conned. It’s almost like, you want what is in the right hand but what you really looking for is what is in the left hand, but the one in the right hand is covered in tinsel and it’s far more attractive. That’s the con, running around in this world of shady characters but really the [answer] is not there, it’s not where you’re looking, it’s in the other part, inside someplace else. It’s really quite deep, at times, I think.”
A big part of what ultimately makes all this click, and in all honesty and fairness for much of the film’s running time I didn’t remotely think it was going to, is the relationship between Statham and Benjamin. These two performers have an intensity and a naturalistic animosity that’s immediately believable, and even when the picture stumbles watching them in the same scene together is almost always a constant joy.
André Benjamin in Samuel Goldwyn Films' Revolver
“He’s one of the smoothest characters you’ll ever meet,” says the actor about his costar. “He’s very much an individual. His fashion sense, his demeanor, his very clean sort of living style; he’s a smooth dude, a good mate. It was great, because you’ve got him and then you you’ve got Vincent Pastore on the other hand, you couldn’t get two people more at opposite ends of the spectrum. And yet, they’re my two best friends in the film. These are the guys who are going to save me from myself.”
And then on the flipside you have Liotta. His mobster isn’t about to save Frank Green from anyone let alone himself, the actor diving headfirst inside his character with the typical maniacal relish we’ve come to expect. “That’s just great casting,” exclaims Statham. “It’s just a dynamite concoction. I think we owe that one to Guy. He’s got a great sense of who he does and who he doesn’t like, who is going to best fit the part. It’s funny. We always seem to like the same actors and we tend to have the same taste in movies and that’s kind of helpful, really, because you never get disappointed by the choices of who chooses to be in one of his films.”
For all the picture’s unevenness, there is one scene in the film that’s truly remarkable and it’s a set piece inside an elevator with Statham stuck between floors. It is a battle of duality, bits and pieces of the id hammering away at one another like two boxers searching for a place to land the knockout blow. I ask the actor how he prepared for such an emotionally difficult scene and what it was like to play one side of his own psyche against the other.
“It was one of those strange moments,” he admits. “But we shot it a couple of times. We put more to it and it became a [very] long scene. It’s very cool to watch but if you don’t understand what is going on you would just get up and walk out. But if you do understand what is going on it becomes a really interesting scene because you’re dealing with that voice in your head we all know so well. It seems almost like I’ve descended into a world of hurt and pain even though I have to sort out all the things, like gambling, and guns and drugs, that voice will lead you up and bully you into.”
“Everybody has a weakness, and that voice in your head is what gives you that weakness. Will lead you down that garden path to be the bloke you don’t want to be. So, we try to tackle that and I had to try and figure out how that voice in your head sounds, that nasty side, how he comes at you in so many disguises. He can sometimes appear like he’s your best friend. He’s not always going be giving you something bad to do. He might actually give you something good to do only to find something bad to end up smashing you with.”
“We talked about [the scene] a lot, had a lot of discussions about that kind of stuff. But I think it makes the movie work on a couple of different levels, that spiritual and metaphysical level but also on that on an entertaining level. You just have to be aware that this is not Lock, Stock, it’s not Snatch, it’s a different movie. It’s not all about success and winning. It’s not all about power and money. Now, it’s good to have no concerns and no worries, to take care of your family, to use [what] you gain from success, but also it’s still best to be aware that’s not the going to be the most important thing in your life. You have to keep working and you have to take risks, that’s what it’s all about and success will come if you have [that outlook].”
Jason Statham as Frank Martin in 20th Century Fox's The Transporter
Speaking of success, I can’t let Statham off the phone without asking him about his signature character, Frank Martin, and whether or not we can expect him to return for another adventure in The Transporter 3. “Actually we’re putting petrol in the car right now,” he confirms with a laugh. “We’re going to do one next year. Maybe be in the early part of [2008], certainly no latter then by the summer. I’m looking forward to it, ready to get back on the horse.”
“We’ve actually had a lot of conversations over the last year or so and we want to resurrect that franchise and have some fun. I’ve been training recently and I’m in good shape and hoping to exceed what we did on the last two. Make it even more fun, more entertaining.”
As for Revolver, the actor realizes he’s asking for a lot from audiences in his latest production but he still can’t help but hope they’ll embrace the project, even if it doesn’t happen right away. “It’s a very provocative film and I think it deserves a fair amount of conversation,” states Statham forcefully. “[It] deserves a second review, definitely. People will visit it again. I think you’ll see more the next time you go and the more you can talk about it with somebody I think you’ll learn a lot about yourself. Let me put it that way. I know I learned a lot about myself making this movie.”
“There’s nothing wrong with a provocative movie. I’ve done couple of great romps and riots and great black comedies, so why not do something more challenging? Why not do something with a few more layers to it? You can’t just keep batting the same nail on the head. You have to do something more interesting for yourself and I think this kind of thing should be embraced. Those questions are there only if you want them answered. It’s all about the pursuit of knowledge about yourself. If you want to know more about yourself and what weaknesses you have then this is the only way to go about it."
Additional Links:
- Revolver Theatrical Trailer
