THE DARKNESS IN ELEKTRA
Actress Elodie Yung finds the sociopath in her superhero character in Marvel’s Daredevil,
Elektra, the ninja warrior and love interest of the Marvel superhero Daredevil, has not fared well in the minds of some fans.
The last time we saw her she was played by Jennifer Garner in the 2005 movie of the same name. Garner, wife of former Daredevil Ben Affleck, played Elektra less as damaged psychopath and more like a suburban soccer mom with a bag full of ninja flying stars.
That image will likely be erased with the introduction of the second season of Netflix’s Daredevil, which landed Friday.
French-Cambodian actress Elodie Yung has been cast as Elektra Natchios and she seems determined to hew to Frank Miller’s much more intense vision of the character.
“She’s basically a sociopath,” says Yung. “That’s basically how I played her. She can’t bond properly with anyone. For her it’s a game. She is a complex character who suffered when she was young and now tries to fight her demons. But she copes in the sense that if she has a goal to achieve, nothing will stop her.”
Yung seems born for the role of Elektra. For one thing, she is a black belt in karate. She’s also got smarts, having a master of laws from the University of Paris. This is also not her first time at the ninja superhero game, having played the very Elektra-like Jinx in G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
“I think yes, she has some darkness in her definitely. I think there’s a journey to her,” Yung says.
“She will question all that. She will try to find the truth about herself . . . She’s a very mysterious character when she comes back into Matt (Daredevil) and his world. But still, there is something deep going on between the two.”
The complexity of the character seems to suit the new, darker Netflix Marvel universe; the first season of Daredevil proved to be a hit.
The follow-up series, Jessica Jones — the best superhero show of 2015 — followed on that premise, with several more series still in production, which will culminate in the team-up series The Defenders.
Fans of Season 1 of Daredevil will find Season 2 mostly satisfying but not as intriguing as the first. This time around, Daredevil has some superhero buddy help to keep things interesting. Critics were given the first seven episodes of the season.
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) is joined by not just Elektra, but Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, played by Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal. Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson and Rosario Dawson also return.
What made Season 1 riveting was the origin story of how a blind lawyer turns into the man without fear. The character arc of Murdock coincides with the rise of the Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio) as one of the best villains on television.
Without a charismatic villain, the writers don’t get the luxury of that kind of backstory to play with in the new season. Much of the first half of the second season is Daredevil jousting with his new superhero buddies, which is good fun but not the psychodrama of Season 1.
Bernthal’s Punisher feels flat, although the character is difficult to play since his mood ranges from rage to over-the-top rage, and it’s hard to find emotional common ground.
Yung’s Elektra as love interest and superhero is more rounded and intriguing. She adds an icy, submersive element that contrasts with Matt’s boy-scout leanings.
Yung says she grappled with the character when she was first cast.
“It was my big problem at the beginning when I started to dig into what is a sociopath. I needed to get empathy, not to judge her. She lies, she kills, I didn’t want to judge that,” says Yung. “I needed to understand that aspect of her to portray her. It’s one of the most complex characters I’ve had to play.”
So far Yung says she has not viewed the 2005 Elektra film because she didn’t want to be influenced by the role. She did read the comics though.
“I got really inspired by them. It’s a wonderful piece of art.”