He was fiercely trying to unleash his inner Leonard Bernstein locks while starring in the production of “Macbeth” in Washington, DC, when Ralph Fiennes was not on stage watching the dagger in front of him. The Oscar-nominated actor was a last-minute addition to the cast of “choirs” set in a small town in England during World War I, and his role as a master of a tough choir had to fluent him into the baton. So, less than six weeks passed before the camera rolled over, Fiennes joined Natalie Murray Beer. Natalie Murray Beale enlisted as a major commander who taught Cate Blanchett how to run herds on orchestras for “tal.”
“I’m not reading music, so it was very difficult to understand not just the beat, but how the hands move,” Fiennes says. “But Natt was extremely patient. They say I got away with it thanks to the skilled camera angle.”
The Choral, which premieres at the Toronto Film Festival, is directed by Nicholas Hytner, a frequent collaborator of Fiennes on many of his stage shows. The two had been looking for a film to work together for a while, but Fiennes liked the way they alternated and funny and heart-pounding as the script of “chorus” written by Tony-winning playwright Alan Bennett expressed its impact on the community of war.
“The script spirit was very moving,” Fiennes says. “Even in the context of the terrible loss of life during World War I, I loved the essential message that music brings people together. It was very painful, but it was beautiful.”
However, Fiennes was only able to participate in “The Choral” after another project fell apart at the last moment. He spent his time working as a music director in Germany before the war, threw himself into the role of Dr. Guthrie, a closed-ended gay man who doubted his loyalty.
“He can’t talk about life as a gay man, so he puts everything in the music,” Fiennes says. “It’s where he gets fulfillment and meaning in his life, and it drives me. They have artists who are their beings, whether they’re writers, composers or painters.
On “The Choral,” a group of Yorkshire amateur singers gather under the guidance of Dr. Guthrie to perform Edward Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius” for the community. The pressure of war is worn by performers in many ways. Young men are working on the fear of being called to serve, many women have boyfriends on the frontline, while some of their older members have lost children in the battle. Given what is happening in Ukraine and the Middle East, Fiennes was able to find modern similarities.
“We’re confused,” Fiennes says. “In most parts of the world, you have fear and the destruction of war, and people don’t know people who don’t know if they’re going to fight or not.
Fiennes then trades the British countryside for Panem somewhere in the dystopian future at the beginning of the war-torn 20th century. He will play President Coriolanus Snow in “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” which will begin filming in October.
“I’m a huge fan of Donald Sutherland, who played a role in ‘The Hunger Games’, and I think it’s a smart franchise,” Fiennes says. “The script is very good and I have a scene with Jesse Lemons.
Fiennes plays a supporting role in the film, just like he does in “The Choral.” Despite his three Oscar nominations and his role in films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and The British Patient, he doesn’t mind sharing the spotlight.
“When you’re in an ensemble film, it creates a great community atmosphere,” he says. “If everyone has slices of cake, they feel much more invested. It’s like family.”
