Theron at Castro: earnest, funny, ribald
Charlize Theron, an actress equally comfortable in dramatic, comedic and actionpacked roles, showed the same degree of versatility during the San Francisco International Film Festival’s tribute to her on Sunday, April 8, at the Castro Theatre.
Dressed in Castro-appropriate black leather shorts, Theron, 42, moved from earnest to funny, dropping fbomb-laced anecdotes during Q&A sessions before and after a screening of her new film “Tully.”
In the film, written by Diablo Cody, Theron plays Margo, an overwhelmed mother of three who gets some relief when “night nanny” Tully (Mackenzie Davis) comes to her home to help with her newborn.
Margo is more together
than Theron’s caustic, alcoholic character in the 2011 film “Young Adult,” but playing her required a similarly raw approach. Margo is sharp-tongued like all Cody heroines, but dulled in demeanor by postpartum depression and sheer exhaustion from caring for a newborn with minimal help from her husband (Ron Livingston). The baby even intervenes, in absentia, on Margo’s one night out on the town, when Margo leaks breast milk during a visit to a punk club.
The comedy/drama reunites Theron with director Jason Reitman and Cody, with whom Theron collaborated on “Young Adult.”
“What she delivers is a punch in the face,” Theron said of Cody, during a post-film conversation with Reitman and the evening’s moderator, film writer Anne Thompson.
Reitman, Theron said, “is the guy who finds what (Cody’s) strength is and my strength is, and meets us in the middle.” When approaching Cody’s material, “I am fighting between (acting out the) tragedy and these funny lines. And he will say ‘Just do that,’ and I will say, ‘OK, I will do that.’ ”
In return, Reitman called Theron “one of the most fearless actresses alive,” his sentiment echoing the montage of Theron screen moments that opened the evening. Clips from Theron’s Oscar-winning performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2003’s “Monster” joined those from her action films “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Atomic Blonde.”
When Thompson asked Theron about the motivation behind a memorable moment in which her “Fury Road” character emits a memorably gut-wrenching scream, Theron grew dishy.
“I might not have had the greatest experience with my co-star,” Theron said. Asked Thompson: “Would that be Tom Hardy, perchance?”
Theron waited a beat before her non-answer. “So …” she said, drawing a big laugh from the Castro crowd.
Thompson later pointed out, during a longer discussion of the impact of the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements in Hollywood, that Theron has long collaborated with female directors, including Patty Jenkins on “Monster” and Niki Caro on “North Country.”
These days, “I am stalking Lynne Ramsay,” Theron said, referring to the Scottish director of the noir “You Were Never Really Here,” opening Friday, April 13, in San Francisco.
Thompson sounded wary when she asked Theron to talk about the 50 pounds Theron gained — and since has shed — to realistically play a 40-year-old who just had a baby. Theron said consuming enormous amounts of sugar and processed foods made her feel depressed for the first time in her life, but added that it further helped her get into character. Still, she did have some fun at the beginning, according to progress reports she sent to Reitman from In-N-Out.
“She sent me cheeseburger photos and milkshake photos,” Reitman said. “After one of them, I wrote ‘J’adore,’ ” he added, alluding to Theron’s glamorous perfume ads.
“Tully” opens in theaters May 4.