kirstendunst cover story manhattan

8/3/2019 KirstenDunst Cover Story Manhattan

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Star-print si lk and lace dress,$2,295, at Dolce & Gabbana. Ondanecklace in 18K yellow gold withperidot, amethyst, citr ine anddiamonds, $54,000, at Bulgari.


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Kirsten Dunst was born geriatric. Not in terms of wrinkles orwattles, nor any kind of wearines s or woebegone weltschmerz. Tothe contrary: Physically, the 29-year-old Manhattan-based actressis the incarnation of dewy freshness, Botticelli-like, fair of hairand health with an almost picture-book prettiness that escapesthe Precious via a light-bright air and att itude contrasted with analmost preternatural knowingnessone that burns behind hereyes and often plays across her face.

Call it an unexpected juxtaposition. Call it subcutaneoussagacity (if you have a dictionary at hand). Call it, as did SoaCoppola (who directed Dunst ine Virgin Suicidesin 1999 andMarie Antoinettein 2006), that mysterious quality that makes youwant to watch someone. Or just cal l Dunst an old soul wrapped

in a new package.Regardless, its this ineable there-there that shines forth from

Dunsts character Justine, the lead in Danish director Lars vonTriers Melancholia, out this month, for which Dunst won theBest Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival last May. Its herrst major award (if Teen Choice and MTV Movie Awards arediscounted), and Dunst is particularly proud. To be part of thatgroup! she says, referring to previous winners, who have includedVanessa Redgrave, Joanne Woodward, Helen Mirren, AnoukAime and Meryl Streep. Its just a superb group of women.

Justine is, to say the least, complicated. And ifles mots justestodescribe Dunstsje ne sais quoiare hard to nd, consolation can befound in Justine, whos tongue-tied, too. Likely clinically depressed,she is down on her wedding day and equa lly so about the end of theworld (a rogue planet called Melancholia is about to collide with

Earth, news of which would admittedly cast a pall over any nuptials).Shes trying to do all the things expected to make her feel better,Dunst says, adding that Justine is almost psychic.

But while Justine gets her groove on in the apocalypse, Dunstmust give a performance thats largely taciturn. e dialogue is

pretty sparse, but in the script there are clear, long descriptions:Justine calmly does this, goes there, looks out at Lars a lso putin references to songs and paintings, says Dunst, who calls playingJustine very cathartic, like f rom a great cry while acknowledginghow grueling the process could be: e constant exploration ofself and feeling takes a lot out of you.

Its a performance built on Dunsts unique abilities, whichaudiences rst appreciated in 1994s Interview with the Vampire. Inher big break, Dunst played Claudia, a 12-year-old Creole-turnedfanged bloodsucker who ages 30 years throughout the course of thelmwhile changing corporally not at all. is progression, frominnocent victim to calculating killer, as well as from prepubescentgirl to a mature woman trapped in a prepubescent shell, was

conveyed with precocious nuance and wit.Her rst words as a vampire with ringlets who has just tasted

the blood of her rst victim? A succinct but penetrating I wantsome more. Drollery dropped 30 years later in Paris at the eatredes Vampires, where Claudia learns shes witnessing vampirespretending to be humans pretending to be vampires? How avant-garde. Dunst stole the show from Tom Cruise, then the worldsbiggest box-oce behemoth, and from rising star Brad Pitt. Shewas 12 when the movie was released, 10 when it was shot.

Born in New Jersey in 1982 as the elder of two, Dunstmoved to Los Angeles in 1991 and has worked consistently, attimes continuously, since thenher childhood, adolescence andyoung adulthood chronicled on celluloid (much in the mannerof actresses of older generations during the heyday of the studiosystem: Elizabeth Taylor was 12 when she had her big break with

National Velvet). Its an early path and committed pace Dunstnds neither all that noteworthy nor too unusua l. I had a prettynormal childhoodschool, friends, she says. Dont kids trainfor gymnastics their whole lives, too?

A model by age 3 (she was with Ford, and

Cosmic GirlFor more than two decades, weve watched Kirsten Dunst ride the ups and downs of Hollywood. Now, with

the critically acclaimed Melancholia out this month, the Cannes award-winning actress is poised to take on

the worldand outer space.

| By Andrew Myers | Photography by Warwick Saint at copiousmanagement.com || Styling by Heathermary Jackson at Streeters | Shot on location at Juliet Supperclub |

November 2011|


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Lace dress, $1,295, by Carven at OpeningCeremony. Coat, $950, at Acne Studio.Plexiglass headband by Miu Miu; similarstyles available at Miu Miu. Two-row Swagnecklace with aquamarines and diamondsin platinum, $45,000, and Metro diamondbangle in 18K gold, $6,300, both at Tiffany& Co. Diamond rings set in platinum, bothpriced upon request at Harry Winston.


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Jacket in saharienne gabardine with silverembroidery, price upon request, at Yves SaintLauren t . Two-row Swag neck lace withaquamarines and diamonds in platinum, $45,000,and Metro diamond bangle in 18K gold, $6,300,both at Tiffany & Co.

Hair by Sebastian Scolarici at Jed Root Inc.Makeup by Scott Andrew at Jed Root Inc.


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continues to pose; currently shes the face of theBulgari perfume Mon Jasmin Noir), Dunst made her lm debutin 1989 in Woody Allens New York Stories, followed byeBonre of the Vanitiesthe next year, in which she played TomHanks daughter.

In the ensuing two decades, there have been a smatteringof TV shows, such as ER, on which she played a recurring role,

as well as a T V movie or two. But the bulk of Dunsts resume isdevoted to lm: critically well-received blockbusters such as theSpider-Man trilogy, in which she literally played the girl nextdoor; teen hits including Bring It On; fun fare such as Dick;literary adaptations like Little Women and e Virgin Suicides;critical successes, among them Eternal Sunshine of the SpotlessMind; titled leads, namelyMarie Antoinette.

Inevitably, there were also a few bombs, such as 2008s How

to Lose Friends and Alienate People, after which Dunst took asignicant break, perhaps her rst since the womb. She endureda bout of depression, sought help, questioned her life journeyand basically wrest led with the angst and big questions commonto college students the world over. Changes were madeshemoved to New York, for oneand she emerged recommittedto her craft and career.

Working with von Trier was a big aspect of that resolve.Dunst fought hard for the role, ying to Copenhagen to meetthe director in person. Look at his previous movies, Dunst says,referring to the likes ofBreaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark,Dogvilleand Manderlay. eyre centered on womenreal,authentic women. You dont get the opportunity to play theseroles very often, she adds, noting her desire to work with two otherEuropean directors, Pedro Almodvar and Michael Haneke, bothof whom often feature complicated female protagonists.

And just as Dunst v iews the role of Justine as a professionalwatershed, so does she view her preparation for the role as aturning point in terms of how she creates a performance. Myprocess is much more intense now, says the actress who exhibited

a strong work ethic even as a child, a punctuality and precisionshe attributes to her German-born father. As far asMelancholiasJustine, Dunst engaged in what she coins character therapy.By turns analytica l and whimsical, it ranges from a survey of thescript (resulting in pages of annotations), and a breakdown ofthe character and story, to free-associative musings on the planetMelancholia and Justine herself. I feel she came from the planet

[Melancholia], that she has an unearthly romantic lost love, saysDunst, who feels much closer to her characters as a result andthinks this anity translates to the screena belief that seemssubstantiated by her award at Cannes.

Indeed, if there has been a thorn in Dunsts bed of Frenchroses, it came unexpectedly from von Trier, who in a pressconference four days before her victory launched into a whackedoration involving Nazis and Hitler, Jews and Israel. It was, thecontroversial auteur subsequently explained, intended as a joke, anexample of the Scandinavian sense of humor gone subzero cold.Raising hackles, not hilarity, it won him a one-way ticket out ofthe Festival de Cannes, where he was declared persona non grata:no happyMelancholia party, no grand dinner. In short, nichts.

Perhaps even worse for Dunst, she was sitting next to von Trier

during his inadvertent performance, her shock and incredulity now

set in the amber that is YouTube (Lars, shut up, this is terrible, shecan be heard saying). He apologized, and obviously I forgave him,she says, adding that he says crazy things all the timeatsjust Lars, and he honestly, honestly didnt mean what he said, buthe just kept going, digging himself deeperwhile also noting hisoensive comments couldnt have had worse timing, coming on theheels of fashion designer John Gallianos drunken anti-Semitic rant

last winter (yes, also ndable on YouTube).Awkward moments aside, Dunst has nothing but praise

for von Trier as a director. She cites his support on location(Melancholia was shot in Sweden in the summer of 2010); hisfaith and trust in her and her abilities (I hate over-talking thingswith a director); his candor in helping her prepare for her role(He spoke with me about his own depression); and his overallgenerosity as an artist: Working with Lars is like being at the bestlm school, says Dunst, who has directed severa l short lms andis interested, eventually, in directingand producinga feature.

Not that she wears career-only blinders. Dunst takes vacationsnowlong ones, even. She talks with certitude about having kids.(Two kids would be good. Maybe three.) Shes open to forks in the

road: I have no problem with acting not being my life; there are manyother things to explore. Shes comfortable going o-piste: Im prettywait and see what happens. Well, unless its about my HalloweencostumeI cant believe I haventgured out this years yet!

Above all, Dunst is energized, and says shes inspired andcontent. To support her cla im, she points to Justine: You have tobe in a good headspace to play depressed. M

Look at [von Triers] previous movies. Theyre centered

on womenreal, authentic women. You dont get the

opportunity to play these roles very often.

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November 2011|

kirstendunst cover story manhattan

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