HUGH Grant created one of the most violent murder scenes ever seen on TV when he begged writers of the hit drama The Undoing “make me a monster” it was revealed yesterday.
Viewers of the finale of the Sky Atlantic crime thriller were left shocked by the gore as which Grant’s character turned his stunning lover’s face to mush with a hammer.
But the original script had Italian actress Matilda De Angelis’s character killed by a single blow – until Notting Hill and Love Actually star Hugh pleaded for more horror.
The resulting scene had children’s hospital doctor Jonathan Fraser smashing victim Elena Alves’s face 14 times with the hammer.
The 60-year-old British star – famed for bumbling comic roles – revealed how he reworked the bloody conclusion of the final episode with show producer David E. Kelley.
Grant’s children’s doctor character was revealed as the killer of his beautiful lover after twists pointed to other characters, including his psychiatrist screen wife played by Nicole Kidman.
Discussing how the brutal scene evolved with the New York Times, Grant said: “It was kind of ambiguous at first.”
But Kelley revealed: “Originally, Jonathan snapped — one swing and suddenly she was dead. And Hugh really did not want it to be grey. He wanted Jonathan to be a monster.
“I looked him in the eye and I said: ‘Really? Because we can go down that route.’ Most actors want to push you the other way: ‘I’m willing to behead seven people, but can I at least be sympathetic?’
“Hugh had no such compunction. He really wanted to go for it. He urged us to make him a monster.”
Grant went on: “It’s more fun if he’s definitely a killer. And then Susanne Bier (director) wanted to flesh out the murder scene.
“That was never in the script. When we cut away to the actual killing, that was something she and I put together because David was off fishing.”
Kelley said: The murder itself was always part of the architecture. It was scripted, but it was not scripted with a huge amount of detail.
“That was for Susanne and Hugh to figure out. It can be folly to marry yourself to the scripted words because this is such a heated moment.”
Grant added: “We had a long exchange of emails, and then we had to make Matilda comfortable with the rubbish I’d written. We were just trying to find out what tipped Jonathan over the edge. “We came up with a thing where she says that Henry and Miguel could be friends, she and Grace could be friends, they could all meet up and have hot chocolate or something.
“And that’s what caused Jonathan to snap, like a dog in a car when someone approaches.
“We went into a rehearsal room with a hammer, and we just experimented. It could not have been more awkward because it was the first week of shooting, and this poor actress, the first thing she has to do in America is kiss an old man and then be beaten to death.
“ ‘Kiss me. Smash me on the head with a mallet’ – I felt really bad for her.
“And I just didn’t know how the car ride with my son intercut with brutal sex and murder would go down. It was nail-biting.”
Women viewers went on Twitter to voice their shock at the extreme violence against the female character.
UK based literary agent Alice Sutherland-Hawes said: “ I’m so so bored of stories based around violence against women! So bored! It’s not fun and it’s not interesting.
“It’s distressing and harmful.”
Independent British screenwriter Laura K-A wrote on Twitter: “Are you f**king kidding me???
“Ok we absolutely did not need to see the murder in such explicit detail. That was really unnecessary and gratuitous. Served zero narrative purpose. Just… horrible. I’m actually pretty disgusted“
Louise Ridley said: “I don’t like seeing a scene of violence over and over, feels quite voyeuristic and not needed.”
Another tweeter called Megan said: “Does TV violence really need to be so graphic and should we not be concerned about anyone who actually does like it.”
But other viewers supported the depiction of extreme violence.
Health consultant Merridith Leston said on Twitter: “The Undoing was right to be as brutal as it was.
“If we don’t have representations of violence against women in their full extremity, the issue is sanitised and will always fight for visibility and prioritisation on the global agenda.”
Did you miss our previous article...
https://thecelebreport.com/television/im-a-celebrity-reunion-axed-over-coronavirus-fears
