James McAvoy on Andrew Tate, toxic masculinity and political extremes

James McAvoy is in no mood to hold back.

Ahead of the release of his new film “Speak No Evil,” the Scottish actor speaks openly with journalists about what fascinated him about this psychological thriller and how he believes the themes of toxic masculinity and manipulation it portrays reflect societal change.

“It seems to be OK to be more extreme, more fundamental, less nuanced and less willing to compromise,” he told BBC News.

When asked about the influence of social media and the rise of influencers like Andrew Tate on what national police chiefs consider to be “pretty frightening” He is equally direct when it comes to the misogynistic radicalization of boys and young men.

“It's no surprise that this is happening in the context of the discussion about masculinity,” he explains. “I think there's a sense of unease throughout society. People are looking for answers and sometimes it's uncompromising, unapologetic, strong-seeming people that you easily gravitate towards,” says McAvoy.

This is what makes his character Paddy so compelling – a charming, confident, yet darkly calculating individual who uses the cloak of societal norms and politeness to reinforce his toxic power over those he exploits.

The film is based on Christian Tafdrup's terrifying 2022 Danish horror film of the same name that terrified audiences.

It is about two families with children, including a mute boy, who bond on vacation and meet up for a weekend when they return. But the seemingly harmless reunion is ruined by a creeping unease that spirals from the edges of deception into a nightmare of gruesome intentions.

Critics praised the ambition of Tafdrup’s film, which the New York Times is described as “utterly fearless in its mission to unsettle,” which is underlined by the shocking final scenes.

Its simmering tension and unsparing social commentary on modern apathy, complicity and abused ideals earned the film a flood of nominations during the Danish awards season.

Two years later, “Eden Lake” director James Watkins reinterprets the film in his Hollywood remake from the perspective of insidious masculinity.

McAvoy's Paddy, a passionate, gregarious husband to his wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), exudes a seemingly rough self-confidence that appeals to American couple Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise Dalton (Mackenzie Davis).

Ben and Louise struggle with work worries, marital problems and fear for their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) and are unable to communicate properly with each other.

This makes Paddy particularly attractive to Ben, who has difficulty conforming to traditional male expectations.

McAvoy suggests that influencers like Tate, whom the actor previously said Empire was a direct influence Because of his achievement, he can offer a seeming solution to disillusioned young men who often feel forgotten or vilified in today's society.

“They seem to have the answer,” he says. “They seem to be successful. They seem to be capable of great happiness, and that's what Paddy is selling, so to speak. [in Speak No Evil].

“When you're lost, you look for someone who has found themselves and their own path. So why not go with them and try to find the answers?”

But McAvoy makes it clear that this “simplistic, selfish, fundamentalist approach to life” is ultimately “unrealistic … and barbaric.”

The film's tension between the values ​​we preach and our intentions is one of its central themes.

McAvoy says it was the balancing act between public acceptance and the dark, self-centered “animalistic version of humanity” that attracted him to the role.

In a four-star review, Clarisse Loughrey of the Independent wrote that while the remake was “cleaner and less daring” than the original, McAvoy's performance was one of the “most impressive and repulsive of the year.”

She said the “instinctive, uncomfortably familiar interpretation of arrogant masculinity” is “delivered with a self-satisfied smile, a thin veil for the violent anger underneath.”

James Mottram of NME praised the “wonderfully crazy… unpredictable” McAvoy as the highlight of a “first-class” horror thriller, which was also awarded four stars.

And Jamie Graham from Total Film said Watkins' “clever, engaging and enjoyably nasty” imagination isn't afraid to push the source material in new directions, with McAvoy being “perfect… for that particular brand of alpha-male brute.”

The 45-year-old's varied career is peppered with roles that delve into the depths of psychology – from the role of Macbeth in London's West End to the lead role in the film adaptation of Irvine Welsh's “Filth” to the portrayal of multiple personalities in M. Night Shyamalan's horror films “Split” and “Glass”.

But “Speak No Evil” is his first film set in a claustrophobic family environment.

Of course, Hollywood has a long history of grappling with crises of masculinity and family, such as in 1955's For They Know Not What They're Doing. with James Dean as a fearful, misunderstood teenager detached from his parents' pre-war values.

But Speak No Evil goes further and delves deeper into the causes and effects of toxic male behavior, which has become increasingly openly discussed over the past decade.

Unlike the Danish original, which McAvoy did not watch before filming so as not to be influenced, Watkins' script addresses the emergence of familial cycles of abuse – and explicitly refers to Paddy's trauma at the hands of his father. This is repeated in his own violent behavior towards his mute son Ant, played by newcomer Dan Hough.

In Watkins' version, the children are also given a much larger role in this exploration, leading to a significantly different ending than Tafdrup's.

Davis explains that Agnes and Ant embody a “clear channel through which their instincts can flow.”

This openness enables them, unlike their parents, to find ways of communicating and collaborating.

Davis believes this is a reflection of how important it is for adults to get “back to the place” where they can be as honest and unfiltered as children who simply say, “No, I know what's going on here. And I don't feel safe.”

The film's cornerstones – communication and breaking through barriers of superficiality – are ultimately brought together by Ant's relationship with his disability and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father.

The trailer reveals that he is mute due to an apparent tongue defect, but the reason for his silence is not what it seems.

Ant still tries to communicate the truth by leaving nonverbal clues wherever possible.

Not only does Paddy commit abuse, but he also uses his son's disability to cover his own tracks by acting like a saint – thus exploiting society's attitudes towards disability.

For McAvoy, this has personal meaning, shaped by his understanding of disability in his previous work.

The actor has twice played characters who use a wheelchair, most famously as young Professor Xavier in the X-Men franchise.

But when I ask him (I'm a wheelchair user myself) what he learned from the experience, he refers me to his first role: playing Rory O'Shea, a young man suffering from the life-threatening disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in 2004's Inside I'm Dancing.

Today, the film would probably be questioned within the complex debate about non-disabled actors taking on disabled characters.

McAvoy explains that during filming, he remained in a wheelchair all day, even off set, to get a more authentic sense of the physical and social obstacles faced by disabled people.

He says this confronted him with the insincere attitude of many people who seemed more interested in showing sympathy than in genuinely engaging with him.

“I found it really irritating,” he says, “because I just thought, 'OK, I'm sitting here in a wheelchair, but I can talk to you and we can talk about anything you want.'

“Instead of engaging with someone who is different or has more physical obstacles in their life than they do, they almost get… scared and just pretend, 'I'm a good person because I can feel sorry for you.'”

His frustration is clear: “It's an absolute obstacle to moving forward in a relationship or having a conversation that really means something.”

The core of these issues remains in Speak No Evil – a film remade for an age of social media where everyone is talking but no one is really listening.