Jude Law doesn't want to take everyone Credit.
One of the many irresistible performances in Ron Howard’s “Eden,” a stranger-than-fiction thriller about European settlers searching for a new life on an uninhabited island in the Galapagos Islands. As the film’s official tagline puts it, “They think they’ve found heaven—only to discover that hell is other people.” And yes, it is actually based on true events.
Despite his character, Friedrich Ritter, a doctor who lives in complete isolation with his wife (Vanessa Kirby) before all this other stuff Law insisted he wasn't the only actor on set who took this creative step, as one scene in the film featured people completely naked.
“We all had to be bold,” Law said at the “Eden” premiere at the Toronto Film Festival during a post-screening Q&A after curator Cameron Bailey suggested that playing Ritter “maybe took more courage” than others.
“You mean walking around naked?” Lou laughed. “For me, the challenge was trying to find movement in his stillness. He didn’t want to move or bend. That was the challenge for me—and the nudity.”
Law believes his friendship with co-stars Ana de Armas, Kirby, Sidney Sweeney and Daniel Brühl has made it easier for him to be free-spirited on screen. He’s not the only actor who has had to do something outrageous. Sweeney’s character, German housewife Margaret Wittmer, who moves to the unwelcoming enclave with her husband, has a wild birth scene in which she must fend off wild animals when her waters break. De Armas, the self-proclaimed heiress known as the Baroness, has sex with three of her loyal employees in the ocean.
“There was something seductive about being in a band,” Lou said. “At first, we’re all like, ‘How far are we going to go?’ It’s a beautiful, fluid game of trust and chance.”
De Armas plays a chaotic force—one of many fighting for power and control over the island—who hopes to build a luxury resort despite the hostile conditions in the area. She admits she was scared to take on the diabolical role but fell in love with it. “I was on the phone with Ron and I said, ‘This could be the end of my career. But it sounds like fun. So I’m going to do it.’”
During a climactic scene with her character, audience members at Roy Thomson Auditorium began cheering. De Armas noticed. “By the way, I heard you guys celebrating… It seemed personal,” she joked to the crowd.
“I'll just say that Anna is a great character actress because she doesn't look like the Baroness at all,” Howard interjected.
The film’s premiere on Saturday night was interrupted by a medical emergency after an audience member was taken away on a stretcher. When Howard took the stage for a post-screening Q&A, the director immediately asked about the person’s health. The Toronto Film Festival’s Bailey assured the person “he’s going to be fine,” prompting the rest of the audience to burst into applause.
Howard, the Oscar-winning director of “A Beautiful Mind,” “Parenthood,” “The Da Vinci Code” and “Frost/Nixon,” has described the film as “a step beyond anything I’ve ever done” in terms of style and tone. However, he feels “Eden” fits in with the rest of his filmography.
“I’m fascinated by stories based on true events,” Howard said. “Even though the story is dark and weird, we’re proving that survival of the fittest is about love and family. It’s a family story! From ‘Parenthood’ to ‘Heaven’… don’t you see that?!”
Plus, he joked, “It could have been crazier. There were twists and turns that we didn't go through.”
