By ANNIE S. ALEJO
April 5, 2011, 5:50pm
“The Roommate” stars two of the most popular young TV series actors in Hollywood. The movie revolves around Sara (Minka Kelly of “Friday Night Lights” and “Parenthood”), a talented young design student from Iowa, who arrives in Los Angeles for college. There she meets Rebecca (Leighton Meester of “Gossip Girl” fame), a wealthy girl from Pasadena who immediately becomes her friend. As the movie progresses, Sara begins to make other friends of her own and Rebecca doesn’t necessarily take this well; even more so when Sara begins spending more time with new boyfriend Stephen (Cam Gigandet of the “Twilight” film series). And as Rebecca’s behavior only serves to push Sara to move out of their dorm, the obsessive former roommate spins violently out of control, which culminates in an explosive confrontation between the two.
Meester has now been faced with a challenge of going into the deep end with her character, Rebecca, a role that obviously demands more from her, physically and emotionally, than her Blair Waldorf turn in “Gossip Girl.”
“It wasn’t an easy movie to make, but it was always interesting,” she admits. “[Director] Christian [Christiansen] had a very specific vision of how he wanted things, which made me confident that it would turn out beautifully. He’s all about making things as real as possible and getting the most honest performance out of everyone.”
A successful actress since her early years, Meester never really went through the whole roommate experience most college students have had, but she has her thoughts on the subject. “Being assigned the person you’re going to live with for the next eight or nine months sounds a lot like a blind date,” she muses. “It’s strange to think that when you come to college, you have to live with someone you don’t know at all.”
But she admits it is an intriguing concept for a movie. “The idea of sharing some totally intimate moments with somebody you don’t know that well is disconcerting and a great jumping off point for this story. I think everyone who sees this film will interpret it a little differently.”
Getting into the psyche of Rebecca, Meester even had to consult with psychiatrists to learn more about what made the character who she was. “This is the story of the psychological deterioration of a human being who has no real identity of her own and is trying to appropriate another person’s,” she notes. “The character has so much depth. I had to find whatever I could in her to love, because I don’t think she means anybody any harm. Her relationship with her parents was particularly interesting.”
Meester describes Rebecca as “grossly misinterpreting” her newfound friendship with Sara, and that’s when things got out of control. “She progresses into this completely irrational alternate universe, thinking that Sara needs her as much as she needs her.”
Helping her develop the role further, Meester relied on Christiansen’s vision as well as the edge and rawness of his earlier films that she’s come to admire. “His style is not overly manicured,” she says of the director. “Christian does what I think of as ‘ninja’ directing. He doesn’t spell anything out. He just plants an idea in your head. Even if it’s not something that’s in the front of your mind, it’s back there, and the wheels are still turning. He conjured as much from me as he possibly could.”
Fans of her TV series have come to expect backstabbing and general mischievousness from Meester, but perhaps they are yet to see her this creepy, devious and, perhaps, even dangerous.
“The Roommate” descends into madness beginning April 6 in local theaters.
Source : http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/312941/the-gossip-girl-becomes-even-more-obsessive-the-roommate
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