TOTAL FILM | APRIL 2020Robert Pattinson
ISBACKINBLACK...
HOT RIGHT NOW
After post-Twilight breakthroughs
under body-based intelli-horror hero
David Cronenberg (Cosmopolis, Maps
MhyMa^LmZkl), Pattinson has become
a reliably risk-taking muse for auteur
thinkers. He worked with :]:lmkZ’s
James Gray for Ma^Ehlm<bmrH_S and Vox
Enq’s Brady Corbet for Ma^<abe]ahh]H_
:yE^Z]^k; more recently, indie men-of-
the-moment the Safdie brothers cast
him in the thrilling @hh]Mbf^. He went
to space for Claire Denis in the bracingly
out-there Ab`aEb_^, while the salty-dogI
n a recent interview with The Times, Robert Pattinson reflected on his
famous nickname. “It’s weird,” he said of his R-Pattz sobriquet:
“A shadow self.” That ought to give him plenty to tap into right now,
while he spends his working hours lurking in shadows as a man of two
halves. The Batman marks a return to franchise work for the boy wonder, long
after his dreamy sojourns in the Harry Potter/Twilight sagas. Since then, he’s
worked hard to test himself, unleashing another shadow self: the indie star.MATTHEWBROOKES^/^ TRUNK^surrealism of Ma^Eb`amahnl^ saw him
work under genre experimenter Robert
Eggers, who admired Pattinson’s
in-the-moment commitment on set.
“There’s something about that full
commitment when you’re shooting,
when it’s do or die,” says Pattinson,
“that allows you to be more free.”
Factor in off-piste performances for
David Michôd (Ma^Dbg`, Ma^Kho^k) and
Pattinson’s return to mainstream movies
seems surprising – until you note his
considered director choices. He’ll soon beseen in M^g^mfor Christopher Nolan, who
Pattinson describes as “the one director
who can make an art-house movie for
hundreds of millions of dollars”.
For Ma^;ZmfZg, he’ll be directed by
Matt Reeves, no slouch himself with a
great monster movie (<eho^k_b^e]), a
strong Euro-classic remake (E^mF^Bg)
and two top-banana IeZg^mH_Ma^:i^l
movies (=Zpg/PZk) behind him. And
although Batman’s new suit and hot
wheels look tentpole-grade slick, he’s
still Pattinson’s kind of superhero: “His
morality is a little bit off – he’s not the
golden boy.” With another Denis team-
up for Ma^LmZkl:mGhhg also incoming,
looks like both halves of Pattinson are
in (shadow)play for the long haul. KHETA | 17 JULY 2020 / TENET OPENS THIS
SUMMER. THE BATMAN OPENS NEXT YEAR.