‘Sucked in’ and learning
Dakota Fanning tells Rob Lowman that the corset she wears for The Alienist is ‘‘so restrictive, it’s almost a metaphor for the time period’’.
‘Roles are always changing,’’ says Dakota Fanning. That’s certainly true for the 24-year-old actress who began acting in TV and films at the age of 6, came to prominence in 2001’s
Am Sam, when she earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination at age 8, making her the youngest nominee in history.
Now she plays a key role in The Alienist, Netflix’s highly anticipated 10-part series based on Caleb Carr’s 1994 best-selling novel.
Set in 1896 during New York City’s Gilded Age, this series follows Dr Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bru¨ hl), a brilliant but controversial ‘‘alienist’’, who is using new methods to treat mental illness.
The ritualistic murder of a young boy leads him to believe a serial killer is on the loose in the city, but the police are unmoved because homosexuality is involved, forcing Kreizler to reach out to the police commissioner, future President Teddy Roosevelt (Brian Geraghty), so he can pursue the case.
Fanning plays Roosevelt’s secretary, Sara Howard, who is from a wealthy family but is keen to do something more with her life. When the chance arises, she secretly helps Kreizler, and he, recognising a keen mind, enlists her in his investigation.
As the only woman in the police department, Sara is constantly harassed, and in the first episode she faces an incident that sounds right out
Iof today’s headlines when one of her colleagues purposely exposes himself to her. ‘‘It makes you wonder what’s been going wrong for the last 100-some years when it comes to workplace harassment,’’ says Fanning.
The Alienist is the first limited series Fanning has been in, and she enjoyed developing the character, figuring out what Sara’s femininity and sexuality look like.
‘‘As the only female in the New York Police Department, so much of her story is about finding her place in society as a woman and compromising her hopes and dreams,’’ says Fanning, noting that Sara and Kreizler are kindred spirits in a way. ‘‘Sara is constantly challenging the norm. So she sees someone challenging the norm in Kreizler with his new treatments.’’
She says the first thing she noticed about the character is she needed help to get in and out of her clothes. In fact, Fanning had to be laced into a corset every day during shooting, and there is a scene in The Alienist that shows the indentations into the skin that the undergarment makes.
‘‘It’s so restrictive. It’s almost a metaphor for the time period,’’ Fanning says. ‘‘To have to have someone help you get dressed and undressed was like a young woman being told that she couldn’t take care of herself.’’
Fanning says that wearing a corset helped her understand her character better. ‘‘It was helpful for me because it changes the way you even talk when you’re sucked in that much.’’
It’s been a long road getting The Alienist to the screen. Previous attempts have tried to reduce the psychological thriller to more conventional formats, including adding a love story.
The series, adapted by Hossein Amini and Cary Joji Fukunaga, isn’t a straight retelling of the novel but gives it its due as the investigators try to get inside the killer’s mind. It shows the beginning of the modern age of criminal science, with Kreizler employing psychological profiling, fingerprinting and forensic science.
As for the differences from Carr’s novel, Fanning – who gave a notable performance in 2016’s American Pastoral based on a Philip Roth book – says actors should focus on the scripts, but adds, ‘‘the book was good to have’’.
While so many child actors never moved beyond their initial successes, Fanning says she has always wanted an acting career and was determined to make the transition. Like her younger sister Elle Fanning, Dakota displays a remarkable down-to-earth quality for someone in the spotlight for so long.
‘‘There is such an emphasis on going from a child to a teen and a teen to an adult, As an adult, there will be a transition into your 30s and then into your 40s. The roles are always shifting, changing, and I feel you’re in a constant transition.’’
One significant difference from the novel is that Fanning’s character has been expanded, befitting of the times beginning to focus on stronger women.
‘‘We get to see Sara find her voice and stand up for herself as her ambitions grow,’’ explains Fanning, ‘‘and how she handles the many challenges she faces at the hands of men in power.’’
The actress says she is heartened by the conversations going on in Hollywood regarding sexual harassment and the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements
‘‘I think people finding their voices and standing up to injustice is exciting. It’s totally time for the conversation to take place,’’ she says. – TNS
❚ The Alienist
begins streaming on Netflix on April 19.