Judith Mora |
London (EFE).- The Australian Margot Robbie not only embodies the “stereotypical” doll with blonde hair and blue eyes in “Barbie” but is also the producer of the film; the woman who, with a keen commercial eye, saw that “something incredible” could be made from the controversial history of that toy.
The 33-year-old actress got her company LuckyChap to obtain the rights from the toy company Mattel and hired her admired Greta Gerwig to conceive the script and direct the film, which opens in Spain and in several Latin American capitals on July 20.
“I didn’t know what the plot was going to be, because it would depend on who wrote and directed it. But I did know what we wanted to achieve and I felt that it was a great opportunity, being such a recognized name and such an iconic and polarizing figure on a global level, ”he declared in an interview with EFE in a London hotel.
Happy with the result of the film
Robbie says that “I couldn’t be happier” with the result, a film with excellent performances, costumes and music that combines parody and criticism of the patriarchy with an inevitable promotion of the brand.
“Part of the reason I wanted Greta was because I knew she would confront all the issues (surrounding the doll) while also providing an entertaining experience (for the audience) and something with a lot of heart,” he says.
The interpreter of “I, Tonya” reveals that she told the director that she “would not be offended” if she did not choose her to be the “stereotypical Barbie”, the reference specimen to which she is accused of being an unattainable model of a woman. Gerwig however opted for her.
Robbie also explains that, although as a child she was “agnostic” about the doll created in 1959 by Ruth Handler, making this film has helped her “appreciate what Mattel has managed to do with her, by transforming her into a type of professional woman of different sizes and ethnic minorities.
“We wanted Mattel to support the film, but we didn’t need their approval. We didn’t have to stick to some requirements”, maintains the actress, who observes that, precisely, one of the people who is most mocked in the film “is the CEO” of the American company.
Thanks to Mattel
“They were amazing in letting us do that. I can’t imagine any other large corporation that would have agreed to be represented like this, ”she says, adding that, in any case, the mockery“ is affectionate ”.
Gerwig, known for “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Little Women” (2019), confesses for her part that, when she received Robbie’s request, she did not know where the project would go, which she approached with her “partner in life and in art”, Noah Baumbach.
“We wrote it during the confinement of the pandemic and I think it was born from that isolation and sadness,” he explained to EFE, at the same presentation of the film in London.
“I didn’t set out to tell a ‘Barbie’ story like this right away. Rather, as we started working on it, it was, in a way, like listing almost everything that would make the film impossible and looking there for the story,” he recounts.
Gerwig, who remembers that as a child she only had inherited Barbies because her mother was not amused, says that “the most gratifying” thing about this “amazing” film is “seeing people laugh and cry watching it together in a dark room.”
Bet on racial diversity
“Barbie” is committed to racial diversity with actors like Issa Rae (the Barbie president) and Simu Liu (one of the Kens), while the American-Honduran America Ferrera plays Gloria, a “fan” of Barbie matures in “the real world”.
“When I was little, I never saw myself reflected in the world of Barbie, it was out of our reach (…) I was a daughter of immigrants, dark-haired, poor,” she tells EFE.
Although she was “surprised” when she was offered the role, she was interested in working with Robbie and Gerwig and, she explains, tried to portray Gloria as “a woman in all her facets”.
The second best in the Barbie world is, of course, her eternal admirer, Ken.
To outline the character, whose main title is the Canadian actor Ryan Gosling, Gerwig asked the interpreters to imagine themselves as giant children playing in the sandbox of a park.
“Everything in the process was unexpected. It’s layered, it’s complex, it’s multifaceted, but most of all, it’s fun. It’s like a party to which everyone is invited. In a way, it’s not just a movie: it’s like an amusement park where you can ride whatever you choose,” she declares.