What is The Missing about?
A family, a happily married couple and their adored and adoring four year old son called Oliver, go to France for the summer holiday. Through a series of fateful incidents, they have to spent the night in a little village called Chalons du Bois while their car gets fixed.
It’s during the football World Cup in 2006 and we spend the day having a lovely unplanned family day in the village. By the evening, the car has been fixed and we plan to leave the next day. But Oliver has spotted a leaflet in the hotel about a local swimming pool and wants to go for a swim. Tony, who I think like a lot of father’s feels a bit guilty about working so much, says he’ll do anything to please his boy and takes him for a swim
while Emily goes back to the hotel.
When Oliver wants a drink they go the bar where there’s a big crowd watching the exciting France vs Brazil match on TV. For one second, Tony gets caught up in it
along with the rest of the crowd. He’s been holding Oliver's hand and the next minute he knows he's not anymore.
From that point on it becomes a nightmare. We follow Tony and Emily backwards and forwards between 2006 and 2014 as their marriage disintegrates and as Tony disintegrates. He becomes more determined, more obsessed and more driven by trying to find out what happened to his son.
How did you react to the scripts?
It’s all very well having emotional material on a story like this but it has to be well constructed and believable, you have to be able to invest in it. The writing in these scripts was exceptional. The first reading was utterly gripping and terribly painful yet I became invested in the story just from the first page and was desperate to know what happened. I was fascinated and intrigued by the awful reality of something like this happening. We know this is a story that the public are aware of but the different journeys these characters go through can only be described as hell. The scripts are so arresting and beautifully detailed, intricate yet truthful. I was blown away by them and knew it was something I had to do.
How would you describe Tony?
I've been very fortunate to have a director such as Tom Shankland who is an actor's director and an intelligent director. We worked a lot on what was not in the scripts because we wanted to paint a picture of a complicated man. We looked at what Tony was like in his childhood because he often refers to a difficult relationship with his father and that would have had a huge impact on the kind of parent he wants to be.
He is very driven and protective of his family but he also has a bit of a dark past and a temper. Tony has a lot of jealousy and rage but as a parent he is doting and as a husband he is loving. There are certain triggers that can be pulled which turn him into a character who acts very explosively, spontaneously and almost blindly at times. But, at his core, Tony is a good and decent man whose side we're on.
What is Tony’s relationship with Emily like?
It’s been incredibly incumbent upon us to try and show the good marriage they had before Oliver's disappearance. Because it happened so quickly at the beginning, it is hard to show just how stable, happy and content they were before. They were good for each other and, because of Tony’s childhood, Emily had been a very good stabilizing force for him.
We really looked for those moments so it makes their slow disintegration much more painful. This horrendous thing happens and it begins to illustrate the cracks instead of pulling them together. Those relationship cracks get bigger until they become crevices and, in a sense, they become different continents.
We do find it difficult to play those scenes. You're always very wary as an actor of saying that it's been a painful process but it actually has. We've invested a lot in the characters and their relationship, as well as Oliver. Although we are at a place where they are almost separated, hopefully you can still see that there was a love there.
One of the great tragedies about Oliver's disappearance is what happens to Emily and Tony. Once he went, everything went - not only the family, but the marriage as well.
What is Tony’s relationship with French Detective Julien Baptiste like?
Julian, played by the marvelous Tcheky Karyo, starts off very differently. We don't spend much time together in 2006 and the time we do have is intense, aggressive and confrontational. Tony is brought in for interrogation, which is horrendous. Often the shadow of suspicion first falls on the parents and you have to cope with that whilst going through the pain. Their relationship seems to be a strong mutual antagonism at the beginning, particularly from Tony directed towards Julian.
In 2014, that relationship again starts off quite frostily when Tony comes back with a new clue and Julian becomes re-involved in the case. Their relationship then spills into what is hopefully a believable and beautiful admiration, but also a friendship. It was interesting playing one relationship, with Emily, starting well and disintegrating and then
another one, with Julien, starting terribly and blossoming.
Has there been any one scene that has been particularly difficult to film?
I have had to play the odd character with bits of emotion and usually have to prepare myself for those big scenes coming up. But on this it’s just every day! Some days it's hard to be ‘on’ and to tap into that. Various things can get in the way but you have to be pretty disciplined. It's a mixture of technique and raw emotion. Because the writing is so good and we respect the scripts so much and are so invested in our characters, it makes it easier. A lot of the time I'm adlibbing and I'm not even aware of it so it's almost like doing theatre.
How is Tony’s history of violence significant?
It is interesting dramatically but it also says a lot about his childhood and what he witnessed. Tony desperately wants to be a good parent since his father was such a bad one. Unfortunately he can't help but turn into the very thing that he doesn't want to be at times. Bits of his father come out of him and you see a man that is not perfect. He is not your stand out typical hero; he has flaws and is dark but is a driven family man which makes for a more interesting character.
Did you enjoy working in Belgium and with French speaking actors?
It's great to film in Europe and away from the UK because we’re surrounded by different countries and that really helps with the authenticity. We've had a lovely blend of French Belgian and Flemish Belgian in the crew and it's a great setting. It's difficult to be away from home but sometimes when you want to submerge or immerse yourself in something like this, you have to be away from your family.
The other thing I have loved about being in Brussels is that I used to speak a lot of French, I started a degree in French years ago, and so I've been able to use that again. Tcheky workedtirelessly on getting the English language right and he is brilliant. I can see it’s been a challenge for the French and Belgian actors but they've risen to it beautifully.
What is different about Tony’s character in the past and present?
In 2006 there are small technical differences like Tony is a little bit more upright. It helps that his look is different and the fact that the world around him is different. In the aftermath, he’s very driven and wants to get things moving.
In 2014 it’s like he's beaten it away. He's still on the track, still obsessed and still looking for Oliver but he's a wreck. So the shifts are at times very subtle and at times very obvious.
How does Tony’s obsession affect his life?
He feels guilty that his son went. He feels it was his fault that he took his eye off the ball for a minute. It doesn't matter how much he convinces himself because he feels that guilt and you never get over that. It’s like he knows that his destiny is to carry that forever, or for as long as it takes, and the only way of getting rid of it is to just try and find out more about his son.
But the guilt is a terrible cross he has to bear and it has destroyed everything in his life. He sees his little boy in his head every time he blinks and so the obsession to try and redeem himself is tough.
So sell this to NotJustMusics' readers, why should they watch the show?
The characters are believable and their flaws are believable. It's a story that people have come across before in reality that we still read about and hear about so it’s accessible. It explores the human spirit, which sounds like a terrible phrase, but it’s something that we're interested in. It is a story about loss, hope and despair. It’s about the very worst we can be and the very worst that can happen to us but also about love - the need for love and the sadness when love is taken away.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment, to ensure nothing offensive is posted we moderate all comments but this is usually done very quickly