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Charlize Theron portrays a monstrous mom in 'Sleepwalking'

BY JOHN ANDERSON | Special to Newsday

March 16, 2008

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Charlize Theron doesn't play a serial killer in the new William Maher-directed "Sleepwalking," but she does play a kind of monster - a woman who abandons her child, pathologically picks very wrong men and, as Theron puts it, "is in profound denial." While the character, Joleen, regrets nearly everything she's ever done and keeps doing the same things - the classic description of insanity - Theron says there's a lot more going on.

"Joleen might do everything wrong," said the 32-year-old actress, "but she does it from a really good place. And as an actress, I think getting to the humanity of someone like that is a lot more interesting than most roles. I also think it's a lot easier for men to be flawed in our culture and society. Women are really complex. We are. But there's still a real Madonna-whore syndrome that dictates to women."

Clearly, no one dictates to the South Africa-born Hollywood divinity, who was a ballerina and a model before she made her movie debut in 1997's "2 Days in the Valley" (co-starring James Spader, Eric Stoltz and Jeff Daniels). Theron went on to co-star in "The Devil's Advocate" with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves, made a considerable impression in Woody Allen's otherwise unremarkable "Celebrity," and moved into such mainstream fare as "Mighty Joe Young," "The Cider House Rules" and "The Astronaut's Wife."

If there's a single significant factor in Theron's early screen career it was her ability to hold her own, sometimes dominate, in a host of testosterone-heavy movies - "Men of Honor," "Reindeer Games," "The Yards," "The Italian Job." This can, of course, be credited partly to her physical charms, but all beautiful women (and men, too, we hasten to add) turn into decor when they are given nothing else to do. Theron, conversely, always seemed to have the acting chops, something ultimately confirmed by "Monster" (2003), which won her a best actress Oscar.

The milieu in which "Sleepwalking's" Joleen exists - call it barely working-class squalor - recalls the world of Aileen Wuornos, "Monster's" homicidal protagonist. Theron agrees, but adds: "I've been doing this almost 14 years now, and I wouldn't want to pass on projects I emotionally tap into, just because it might take place in the same kind of area, or subject matters or economic circumstances I've dealt with before. Because at the end of the day, a good story is a good story."

To get it told, she has moved into the role of producer - a credit she had on "Monster," before moving on to help make the documentary "East of Havana." "Sleepwalking" was a script that screenwriter Zac Stanford ("The Chumscrubber") had written some seven years earlier and put in a drawer. Irish director Maher read it, and eventually the story made its way to Theron and her production company Denver and Delilah Films, based in West Hollywood.

"We're looking for projects that speak to us," said D&D's Beth Kono, another "Sleepwalking" producer. "Yes, Charlize gravitates to work that's socially relevant - any kind of relevant. But what we're looking for is work that we connect with."

Dysfunction across generations

"Sleepwalking," which is in theaters now, is about multi-generation dysfunction: Joleen loves her daughter, but has a habit of running off with men. Her brother James (Nick Stahl), who has his own problems, inherits Joleen's daughter, and, without giving too much away, eventually takes her to his and Joleen's father. That Dad is played by Dennis Hopper should give readers some indication of where this is going.

"I've always been intrigued by people who lost a lot of weight and then gained it all back," said the fat-free Theron. "Because nothing really changes: They thought all their problems were about the weight, and when they lost it they found all the problems still there. Joleen is like that with men. She thinks if she can just find the right man everything will be fine."

"It's a story about dysfunctional family and denial," said AnnaSophia Robb. "And adolescence. That what it's really all about."

Robb, 14, who plays Theron's daughter Tara (and was the champion gum-chewer, Violet Beauregard, in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), seems to have been profoundly affected by collaborating with Theron during the shoot, which took place in wind-blasted Regina, Saskatchewan. "She was just amazing to work with," Robb said. "I know it sounds corny, but she really took me under her wing and created a safe environment for me to work in. I wasn't afraid to try things. It was a great time; I got up every morning, y'know, 'Let's go to the set!'"

Advice: Leave it behind on the set

Robb said Theron also taught her the virtues of playing a weighty part, but leaving it on the set when it's time to go home, "so you can go back to your own self."

Theron explains: "I started when I was 19 and I read a lot of books about acting.... A lot of the people I admired were really 'Method' and I thought to be as great as them you had to do what they did. And in the process I lost my life. And I love life."

She said that early in her career, her absorption in roles damaged her physically and alienated her friends. "It wasn't who I am as a person and I was really torn," she said. "I didn't want to sacrifice my life for it. I feel pretty confident after doing something like 'Monster' that it's all about discipline - which may have come out of my ballet background - that you need discipline and can't give in to things."

Being able to let go of a role actually makes an actor more willing to "get darker and disturbed," she said "because you've made a decision to say, 'When I'm done I'm done.'

"Which is what I've told Anna," Theron said. "I wish somebody had told me that. I think she's a really good actress and wants to do good work, authentic work, work that seem real and not mechanical, and I wanted her to know - I wish somebody had said it to me - that you can do really, really great work without destroying your life. Or choosing one over the other."

A CHARLIZE THERON FILM FESTIVAL

Here are some of Charlize Theron's most notable films: