SURPRISED BY THE ’ 60s
Ewan McGregor brushed up on his U. S. history to direct ‘ American Pastoral’
LOS ANGELES — Based on Philip Roth’s Pulitzer Prize- winning novel, “American Pastoral” ( opening Friday) is focused on the life of Seymour “Swede” Levov, a champion high school athlete who marries Miss New Jersey and ends up running his father’s successful glove manufacturing business in Newark.
Set in the 1960s, the film reveals how the Levovs’ seemingly perfect family life is shattered when their only child, a daughter named Merry, becomes radicalized in the anti- Vietnam War movement — leading her to work with domestic terrorists who commit acts of brutal, deadly violence.
Along with portraying Swede, Ewan McGregor also makes his feature film directorial debut in “American Pastoral,” joined by Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly playing his wife, Dawn, and Dakota Fanning as Merry.
Long attached for the role, McGregor explained his reasons for jumping behind the camera as well.
“I wanted to direct for so long, and the planets sort of lined up to give me this
IN MOVIES Read Richard Roeper’s review of “American Pastoral.”
opportunity. What grabbed me about the story initially was the relationship between the father and his daughter. I’m a dad of four girls, so I know very much about that relationship and how powerful it is and special and unique it is.
“I was heartbroken when I read the script about this poor man and his poor daughter, but I also felt so much for all the characters in the piece. I could really see it in my head.
“When the film wasn’t being made, I saw it was suddenly my opportunity. [ Chicago native] Tom Rosenberg at Lakeshore Entertainment put his trust in me. It was very much his baby. He had secured the rights to Philip Roth’s novel very early on, and he’s been trying to make it for 15 years.”
As for Roth himself, McGregor admitted he would really like to meet him — even if the experience might intimidate him a bit. While the author already has sent word through his agent that he’s pleased with the way his novel was interpreted on the big screen, McGregor still has a bit of trepidation.
“I’m glad he liked it, but I still would be a little uncomfortable discussing it with him. … I would have felt a great sense of failure if he had not liked it.
“Of course in the final analysis it was my interpretation of his novel. Yet at the same time, I wanted it to reflect his novel and have a certain Roth- iness to it.”
As McGregor considered the radical politics of the story, he learned a lot of things about America in the 1960s he previously hadn’t known.
“It was such a tough time. … There was such an incredible amount of bombings that went on at that time. I had no idea. I knew about Vietnam and the politics affected by Vietnam in the U. S. I also had a strong sense of America in the ’ 50s — the post- war America when America had won the war and anything was possible.
“But the bombings in the U. S. took me by surprise. … We found this incredible piece of footage where the newscaster is going, ‘ Between May of last year and June of this year, there have been over 4,000 bombings in the United States of America.’
“I was gobsmacked! Over 4,000 bombings! I have always assumed that 9/ 11 was the first attack on American soil. But here we have so many bombings going off. Of course individually, not to the same scale of 9/ 11 — but still quite the revelation for me.”