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The burly, sadistic camp commander Amon Goeth in 'Schindler's List' here, the transparent, fragile dreamer in 'Oscar and Lucinda' there. Here the vain, self-satisfied Charles Van-Doren in 'Quiz Show', there the 'english patient' marked by love death and war, or the corrupt ex-cop in 'Strange Days': it is not easy to pin down the actor behind all these characters, all of whom shine in such different ways, who links them together - and it often takes a while before you recognise that they are Ralph Fiennes at all.
In view of this almost eerie ability to transform himself it seems only logical that Ralph Fiennes has now undertaken to play three roles in a single film. Over three generations he portrays the fates of the men of the Jewish Sunshine family and endures, always in new ways, the turmoil of this century with its revolutions and wars. And as with the other unhappy and despairing heroes of Istvan Szabo's films, such as 'Mephisto' or 'Colonel Redl', so too Ignatz, Adam and Ivan have difficulty in reconciling the private and the public and in remaining clean during dirty times.
In contrast to the extreme characters that he has played. Ralph Fiennes appears shy and unassuming in person. He does not see anything in the challenge presented by such difficult and often dark roles: "I don't find it so difficult to identify with these men. I like their honesty. They have their weaknesses and they are ambitious, they have moral deficits and suffer defeats, and I can identify with them for precisely those reasons; they are like the rest of us. That is real life. I don't believe that that is the dark side of humanity, that is humanity."
It comes as no surprise then that Fiennes has for some time felt drawn to Istvan Szabo's work, has keenly followed his films for many years and so has developed a particular fondness for 'Colonel Redl'. The experienced director made it easy for him to come through the tour-de-force, to tackle three characters at once: "He gave me more time and more attention than I have ever received from a director and he prepared every single moment of the film with me beforehand."
The film's title is entirely appropriate; 'Sunshine' is Szabo's most optimistic and romantic film, in some ways a summary of his previous work, but also a cinematic return to his native Hungary. At the same time, however, there are moments of heart-rending sadness, distressing despair and terrible cruelty as, for example, when a naked Adam has water poured over him by the Nazis on a freezing cold winter day in a camp, and in front of his son, until he is frozen into a Christ made of ice.
Ralph Fiennes' work is interspersed with such images, whose intensity are carved into film history - images in which entire life stories culminate: the English patient who recapitulates the loss of his great love in the ruins of an Italian villa, whose grief remains tangible even behind the gauze bandages and facial scarring. Oscar, whose life slips away in his floating glass church like that of a tender insect. But also Amon Goeth who signals the whole cruelty of Nazi dictatorship from his balcony when he shoots at people as at clay pigeons.
He who gives himself over so unconditionally in body and soul to his roles must select them with extreme care: "All sorts of different thins can make me enthusiastic about a film; directors, a screenplay but my instinct is always the deciding factor. It is not about whether a film will be successful, but rather about the quality, the intelligence behind a screenplay or idea."
The role of cult-agent John Steed in the film version of the TV-classic 'The Avengers' seems almost out-of-keeping with this: "I wanted to play something completely light-hearted and humorous - unfortunately it didn't work. It also had something to do with childhood memories; I always loved 'The Avengers', it was a truly stylish semi-thriller series."
Ralph Fiennes, who sets great store by the antiquated, aristocratic pronunciation of his first name ('Raif') was born in the British county of Suffolk in 1962, the eldest of six children, and comes from an extraordinarily artistic family; his mother was a writer and his father a farmer and photographer. Among his brothers and sisters there is a director, a composer and a producer who have just combined forces for the first time for the Pushkin adaptation 'Onegin'.
The spark of interest in acting began early for the eldest child: "I loved to plunge into the fantasy-world of the cinema and, later, of the theatre. I was really drawn into this world and always asked myself what sort of people were hiding behind these actors, who they really were. Someone like Paul Scofield gave me goosebumps"
Ralph Fiennes becomes impassioned when he speaks of such things and his watery-blue, and a little tired, eyes come alive: "I loved the language spoken on the stage. Theatres were filled with a sensory charge. It was something almost primitive I think." In the meantime his brother Joseph has also conquered the big screen in spectacular fashion as the young 'Shakespeare in Love', and when he plays a despondent lover with a disfigured face in Paul Schrader's new film 'Forever Mine', you could imagine Ralph in the same role.
However, competition does not appear to be an issue for this happy family: "No, Joseph is eight years younger than me, he plays quite different roles. I don't sense any competition at all and feel more like the older part anyway."
In all defiance of fame Ralph Fiennes has always remained loyal to the theatre and openly admits to being a workaholic. Is the passionate actor also drawn to directing? "I have often considered it, I would like to do it but believe that it is extraordinarily difficult. I think you need an unbelievable self-belief to do it. But I'll do it one day!"
There it shows through once again, that shy modesty which you so often forget
when you watch him on screen.
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© EL STEPHO
Added to the RF Reading Room on February 11, 2000
EL STEPHO