"Give it time." That's the response from her co-star David Harbour. She, for now, remains silent. Not so much out of embarrassment, perhaps a bit, but more to respect the Zoom turns. But she stays silent. "Give it 10 years at most, and she'll be the new Tom Cruise," insists the actor who plays Red Guardian in Thunderbolts*, the movie with an asterisk that, if calculations are correct, closes phase five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a franchise that, if the numbers are right, has already reached 36 productions not counting the dozen or so series. And in the midst of it all, Florence Pugh (Oxford, 1996).
She is the one who currently remains respectfully silent while everyone talks about her. Not in vain, setting aside the virtues and failures of the best film from the disastrous last batch since the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023 (it wasn't that difficult, to be honest), the actress is safe. Not only is her work the highlight of the film, but also, without blushing, she displays star manners in the broadest sense and, pushing it, she already has an award even before the premiere: her jump from the rooftop of the Merdeka 118 building, the second tallest in the world at 679 meters, has earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records. However, it's not clear in which category, whether among the most daring actresses, the bravest, or, why not, the quietest.
"The truth," now it's finally her turn to speak, "I am very happy to have done it. I remember it was in the original script. I was impressed to suddenly see it on the first page. I loved it. I loved reading how my character's voice-over overlapped with the body falling from that height. I remember thinking: 'Wow, that's the right way to start'. But shortly after, while we were filming, someone, I don't remember who, said: 'Absolutely not! We're not going to throw the protagonist off a building. That's not going to happen.' And it disappeared from the script. I felt devastated. I talked to the director, and he was the one who encouraged me to try to convince everyone and to prepare myself silently. If I was determined to do it, it had to be me and no one else who took action. No one else could bear that responsibility. And that's what I focused on from then on. I devoted myself to writing increasingly daring emails. I made sure that everyone with decision-making power listened to me. And so, one day, Kevin Feige himself (president of Marvel Studios) replied to me. 'Hope you like heights,' the text said. Then the only thing left to ensure was that I didn't die in the attempt." And Florence fell, but she didn't stay silent.
"What is most needed in the world right now is understanding, tenderness, and patience"
"You can do both. Being an actress is about that," she says to explain her effort to stay on both sides: on the money side, so to speak, and on the prestige side. "I take my work in Marvel as great fun. It's very enjoyable to play a role like this. But, make no mistake, it's also a great honor. The fans wanted me back, and I don't take it lightly. It's daunting to bring to life a character adored by so many people before you even knew who they were. Moreover, the most interesting thing about this movie, in my opinion, is not so much the fights and the effects but the character development itself. It's from them, not from their stunts, that we create everything."
"It's daunting to bring to life a character adored by so many people before you even knew who they were"
Anyway, and probably because of what has just been said, it's clear to everyone that Marvel's new movie strives from the get-go to be the deepest and most thoughtful of them all. All the characters, starting with Yelena Belova herself, carry a trauma they must heal from, all are lonely, and all find relief from their loneliness in the group. It's not Dostoyevsky, but give it time, as Harbour would say. "The theme is loneliness, isolation... Because people are afraid, isolated, alone, and they believe that a smartphone —with which they can order an Uber, food, have dates, or whatever— is the solution to everything... And you realize that it's the group, society, that has that solution. Isolation only breeds contempt for others," says the actress in an explanation of the movie and more. And now she continues regarding the group of misfits that make up the Thunderbolts: "Personally, I like to see unlikely and even unpleasant characters because I feel I can see myself reflected in them and identify with them. Continuing with the theme of loneliness, I believe that many of the things we see are false, too perfect, too clean. And, in a way, we have reached a point where too many people feel insecure and see that they are not doing well, that they are not doing things right. And all the while, their phones make them feel that their life is not as beautiful, colorful, or perfect as the posts they see on Instagram." It's clear.