Nearly two decades later, Moss reprises his career-defining role in “The Matrix Resurrections,” written and directed by Lana Wachowski.
Carrie-Anne Moss was 32 years old when she entered the firmament of science fiction movie legends. Taking her place alongside Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley and Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, Moss played Trinity in Matrix (1999), by defying gravity with a martial arts show. Supple, pale, clad in leather and PVC, Trinity and Keanu Reeves’ Neo formed two androgynous halves of a heroic ensemble in a story of man against machine that became a cultural obsession around the world.
The film’s box office success spawned two immediate sequels, Matrix Reloaded Y Matrix: Revolutions (both released in 2003). Now, nearly two decades later, Moss reprises his career-defining role on Matrix Resurrecciones, written and directed by Lana Wachowski.
resurrections, the film that hits theaters and HBO Max on Wednesday, required Moss, now 54, weeks of intensive training before embarking on a demanding shoot that took the cast to San Francisco and Germany, among other places.
In addition, he had to bear the tremendous weight of expectations: it is very rare for a woman over 50 to be an action star at the same time and the romantic lead in a major studio movie.
“I feel responsible to the women who love Trinity and who were attracted to her, to be authentic at this age and not be some unattainable idea that perpetuates this myth about what it means to be a woman,” the likeable and down-to-earth Moss told me. in a recent video interview from his home on the East Coast. “All the time, during the process, I thought about that.”
Here are the edited snippets of our conversation:
In 2016, you wrote an article for The Guardian in which you mentioned that you had “a moment of clarity” realizing that you play women who are strong but vulnerable. When did you first understand that?
R: It happened in an acting class with a teacher, Sandy Marshall, who teaches the Meisner technique. He made that point about me having strength and vulnerability. It became a powerful idea for me to accept myself. I always wanted to play characters that were very different from myself, but when she showed me that, I felt like I had permission to tackle what I was good at. Trinity came to me soon after.
It’s an ideal way to describe Trinity. She’s obviously tough, but she loves Neo, and that implies a certain kind of vulnerability. They form a collaboration between equals.
R: I always considered movies [de Matrix] like a love story. My entry into the character and into the film was always based on that love that is central to the story and to Trinity. I found a diary from that time, there is a moment at the end of the first movie where Trinity says to Neo: “The Oracle told me that I would know who the Chosen One is because I would love him.” I had written that story between Trinity and the Oracle [como preparación para el papel]. That was like a hidden treasure when I found it. I had forgotten I had that diary. I went through all the memories from that time. It was a very significant moment when I shot the first three movies.
What do you remember about that time in your life? What was it like living that experience, when Matrix became an essential part of popular culture?
R: It was a bit overwhelming at first. I remember the first time I saw Matrix with a non-Hollywood audience. The way that people reacted to certain lines that Trinity said was very moving for me, because I felt that the audience encouraged her from the beginning. After those movies were over, I set out to have a family. Sometimes there are dramatic moments that anchor you. I was considering a movie that had been offered to me and I was also holding my baby. So I thought, “At the end of my life, will it matter more that I have another movie on my resume or that I carried my babies?” It was an easy decision. I could spend the rest of my life with a sleeping baby on my chest.
In the first movies Matrix, you injured your ankle, you broke your leg, you learned to ride a motorcycle. Do you have doubts about participating in resurrections, knowing what the physical demands might be?
R: No. Making those movies was great. It doesn’t happen often so [me emocionó] to be able to do it again, to be in that creative space with all these amazing artists. I flew to San Francisco to do a reading with Keanu and Lana and a few other people. I did not know anything. We hang out; he hadn’t seen Keanu in a long time. He was sitting next to me. It was as if no time had passed at all.
How did you prepare for the action sequences?
R: Nothing makes you want to get in shape faster than knowing you’re going to see yourself on the big screen. I had to train for months to get strong and fit and learn the fights… That took a long time. For me it was important to get rid of any idea in my mind that I had to look the same way I did when I was 30 years old. I discovered that, as a woman, thinking equals being desperate, and I didn’t want any kind of despair. I knew I wanted to look good, but I didn’t want to go through a juicing, I didn’t want to do anything extreme. Sometimes I laugh because it felt so cool, like I’m saying, “I can do it.” Somebody would take a video, watch it, and say, “Oh my gosh, I don’t look great at all!” I had to constantly relax that part of my brain. I continually chose to know that it was going to be enough. I could have chosen that pressure, but I decided not to experience it.
As soon as you were on set, did you feel like you were playing someone completely new or was it like meeting an old friend?
R: It was like playing a different person [con Trinity escondida en alguna parte], but don’t we all identify with that? I am not the same person I was at 30 years old. The wonderful thing about shooting those movies is that all that training builds the character. All those things, the time with Keanu, you soak up that. It was almost as if that energy just went through me; it’s not something you can touch. I love that after you’ve done all that work, you hear someone say “action,” and you just hope you can move on. For me, working with Keanu is very easy and it is a deep activity. It feels like a connection of our souls in a way that goes beyond the intellect. As an artist, I know how extraordinary it is to feel that. It was as if he could feel other living entities, those characters. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
