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Interivew with CinemaScopio24-jun-03 By Kleber Mendonna Filho
After playing in the shocking “Caligula” (1979), he played a sadistic nazi in “The Passage” (1979) by J Lee Thompson, then appeared next to Nastassja Kinski in “Cat People” (1982) directed by Paul Shcrader. He also played in a few B movies or TV shows. He recently starred with Sophia Loren in “Between Strangers” (2002). McDowell, an English man from Leeds who now lives in California like any american citizen, has many fans who admire him especially for his interpretation of Alex and his strong presence. During the shooting of Evilenko, McDowell takes a pause to talk with us. Calm, attentive, he talks about his interpretation. Kleber Mendona Filho – What is Evilenko ? Malcolm McDowell – It’s about a serial killer, a movie about communism and the identity of the regim in the Sovietic Union. My character is a communist who one day recognizes that this system is a lie. This is a very serious movie with a politic and social screenplay which takes place in the Sovietic Union in Glasnost and Perestroika. KMF - Evilenko was a victim of this system ? MM – Not only a victim, we can see that like a human tragedy, but this is our point of view. KMF – The Soviets had difficulties to understand that they couldn’t change everything ? MM – Totally, the soviets thought that the existence of a serial killer was impossible, it could only be an american thing. During years, Chikatio killed thousands of people and the soviets just couldn’t stop him. It was very interesting to film that. KMF – What is your personal opinion about the URSS ? MM – I already portrayed a sovietic in Assassin of the Tsar (1990) by Karen Shakhnazarov, a great director. It had a lot of success here and it was an excellent personal experience. I have always been interested by Russia during the Cold War, and everyone was faced by this big politic propaganda against the regime “east against west”, and vice-versa, without any critical sense. It’s interesting to see that in the US we consider the ex-Sovietic Union badly, same for the Russians towards the Americans.
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Malcolm McDowell celebrated his 60th birthday while filming on June 13th. He will always be remembered for his part in “If...” (1969) directed by Lindsay Anderson and above all in “A Clockwork Orange” (1971) with the part of Alex, a drug-addicted guy who loved a bit of the old ultra-violence.
After working in a few plays, McDowell’s career has been marked by cruel and instable characters like the serial killer Evilenko in his new movie.