An Independent Streak

Not too long ago, you could look back on the year in film and find plenty of powerhouse performances by big-name actresses in major-studio movies: Meryl Streep in “The Bridges of Madison County” or “Out of Africa” or “Sophie’s Choice”; Jodie Foster in “Nell” or “The Silence of the Lambs” or “The Accused”; Jane Fonda in “The China Syndrome” or “Julia.”

But for 2000 and most likely for 2001, there will likely be just one best actress Oscar nominee from a movie produced and released by a major studio: the victorious Julia Roberts in last year’s “Erin Brockovich” (Universal). Last year, Roberts’ fellow nominees all came from the independent world, and most of this year’s acclaimed leading-female performances have originated outside of the major studios: Sissy Spacek in “In the Bedroom”; Tilda Swinton in “The Deep End”; Halle Berry in “Monster’s Ball”; Thora Birch in “Ghost World”; Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles in “The Business of Strangers.”

The veteran dramatic actresses haven’t gone away; they’ve just moved out of the mainstream. Glenn Close, for one, is in Rose Troche’s new drama, “The Safety of Objects,” in which she plays a mother whose son is on life support. IFC Films plans to release the movie next summer. Close attended the Toronto International Film Festival in September on behalf of the film and sat down to discuss the film industry and why the independent world seems to have a monopoly on substantial female roles.

For many younger moviegoers, Close, 54, is best known for devouring the scenery as Cruella De Vil in “101 Dalmatians” (1996) and “102 Dalmatians” (2000). Close’s heyday came in the 1980s as she received three consecutive best supporting actress Oscar nominations (for “The World According to Garp,” “The Big Chill” and “The Natural”) and then back-to-back best actress nominations (for “Fatal Attraction” in 1987 and “Dangerous Liaisons” in 1988).

Her most acclaimed performance in the 1990s was as Norma Desmond in the Broadway musical version of the classic film “Sunset Boulevard.” Close continues to be active in film; she has appeared in Robert Altman’s “Cookie’s Fortune” (1999) and Rodrigo Garcia’s “Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her” (2000).

Close may enjoy her work, but she’s not shy about her annoyance over how much of a struggle it is.

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Question: Why are all of the good roles for women in indie films?

Answer: There’s an ideal age in Hollywood which probably goes from about 18 to 32 or 28 [laughs]. The same old thing: young, sexy.

The irony being a woman is that we get more and more interesting, though I think we get more and more difficult to categorize and pigeonhole. It takes really good writing to know how to write a really good woman’s part.

Q: I don’t even see good roles for women who are younger at this point.

A: I think we’re kind of at a particularly low point.

Q: For Reese Witherspoon to make the jump to the mainstream, she has to star in “Legally Blonde.”

A: It’s also very chauvinistic, that movie. If you want a smart woman, she has to be also incredibly sexy to make her smart. And she does it to get a boyfriend. She does it to get a man [laughs]. Which is like going back to square one.

Q: Do you think a Bette Davis or Joan Crawford would have careers now?

A: Not with the roles that are coming out of Hollywood now. I don’t think so. Where would they go? I’ve actually said that to people across a desk: “Where should I go? I’m at the peak of my power. There’s no place for me to go in this country.” So I’m a huge believer and supporter of independent film. You don’t make a living out of it, but it’s where you get the artistically and emotionally fulfilling projects, and I’m developing them myself.... These are the kind of movies that almost don’t get made or get made by the skin of their teeth, but the good ones always have an impact, and they’re not formula. [In] Hollywood, they don’t like risk and they don’t like passion and they don’t like sacrifice, which is basically what independent movies are about.

Q: Was there a point where you consciously changed your approach regarding your career strategy and goals?

A: I don’t know, I always feel like I’m in transition. I never really had an overall plan for my career. It’s always kind of an exercise in futility. And I’m very, very subjective about what interests me. I’d much rather stay at home than do something that I don’t think is good. So in some ways that makes it easy. But I think now it’s how to keep working and do projects that will stretch me as an actor--but that’s always what it’s been about. It would be nice if there were some big checks along with it [laughs].

Q: Did that change? There certainly were more movies where you could be front and center some time back.

A: Yeah, but I’ve been incredibly lucky. I’ve had Cruella, you know, and that’s a fantastic part, and to be able to do it twice is great. And it made me able to do other things.

Q: With a movie like “The Safety of Objects,” is what you’re doing now the same as what you did years ago or have you changed your approach?

A: I’ve lived more, you know. This role, the fact that I’m a mother--oh, man. I’ve never been the kind of person where you have to find someplace in your life and substitute that for the moment [while you’re acting]. I don’t do that. In fact, this [role], I couldn’t have done that, it’s too horrible.... I do know going into a project how much it will take out of me.

I find sometimes you feel like you’re a Ferrari in the garage. You wait till when you turn on the motor because you know what it’s going to cost when you turn on the motor. But that’s what we do. And you just hope that you’ll have enough chances to turn on the motor and to go into all five gears.

Q: Do you feel like you’re at the peak of your powers because you have that much more life experience and wisdom?

A: I think so. Yeah. The characters that I’ve played, I feel like they’re actual women that I’ve known and that I’ve learned something from, each one. Each one represents a huge amount of discovery and learning. Some you learn by making mistakes. Some you learn because it was really, really hard. I could talk forever about it. I’m sure any actor could. That’s a huge luxury of being an actor. You should only actually get better [laughs]. You shouldn’t get worse.

Q: Has the nature of celebrity changed in the years that you’ve been acting--not only in the amount of media but also how much people are expected to reveal about themselves?

A: I think that can be very destructive, actually, because we’re so built-in now to have short attention spans that you get saturated about this one person, and then you think it’s inevitable that people will move on. It happens all the time. Yeah, I think we’re in a celebrity frenzy in this country. It’s definitely changed....

People are never what they seem to be. They just aren’t. And I think everybody’s getting very onto that, how everybody is packaged and presented. I think that maybe makes them even more hungry for what the real story is.

Q: Did you have to make a conscious decision like “This is where I’m going to draw the line about what I will and won’t answer?”

A: Absolutely.

Q: Where is that line for you?

A: Usually on my personal life. I’ll answer anything about my work, but first of all I think I’ve basically said it all. I don’t want to bore people. But also ... I don’t think I’m obligated.

Q: If you could change one thing about the entertainment business, what would it be?

A: That they’d support independent film. That there would be more women in power roles, power jobs. There are very, very few women who really have the power behind the title. That would be nice for us.

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Mark Caro writes about movies for the Chicago Tribune, a Tribune company.