POWER PLAY A DISC U SSI ON WI TH RAMPART D I R E C TO R O R E N MOVER MAN
After scoring two Oscar nominations with his 2009 war drama The
Messenger,
journalist-turned-director Oren Moverman shed a grim light on the shadowy underbelly of American society in his follow-up, the police drama Rampart. Much like his film, Oren is direct and brutally honest. Here, he talks with us about power, sexuality, Sigourney Weaver, Woody Harrelson, and Ice Cube. interview:
Maranda Pleasant
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photos:
Merrick Morton, Courtesy of Millennium Entertainment
MP
: It seems like the film is dealing with some big themes and subjects—issues of power, control, brutality. Were you making a particular statement? Or was it just a story? What did this mean to you?
OM
: Oh it’s all of the above, hopefully. I mean, you always hope to have a part on every level, on every layer. For us it was very much a conversation about power and sexuality and brutality. And really all the issues that are in that world, in that space, come down to one word, which is “masculinity.” That’s really the big inspiration of this movie. It’s really looking at a man who’s really showing all the traits and all the characteristics of the classic patriarchal country, where he’s of military power, he’s the king of the hill at home, as well as in the streets. He has the liberty to live where he wants. He’s living out a fantasy over this harem that he’s created for himself,