Benedict Cumberbatch, Transition Completed

by Lynnette Porter

  Cumberbatch tends to choose an interesting variety of projects. The script for The Fifth Estate must have been particularly appealing. Among the film’s selling points were these:

  A lead role in major studio DreamWorks’ mainstream film

  An enigmatic, controversial living person to portray

  Subject matter taken from recent news that raises intriguing questions about personal responsibility, national or corporate security, and the public’s right to information

  Director Bill Condon (among his many credits, director of another serious biopic, Kinsey, plus more recent teen thrillers in The Twilight Saga series, as well as critically acclaimed, award-nominated Dreamgirls)

  The pedigree for The Fifth Estate was excellent, and this type of film seemed well suited for the serious side of actor Cumberbatch.

  By the time The Fifth Estate was ready for its big debut as the gala opening film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), WikiLeaks did not seem to be quite the cutting-edge website it had once been, and its name was seldom in the news. Perhaps fortunately for the film’s promotion, however, whistleblowing once more became a hot topic during summer 2013. Chelsea (née Bradley) Manning’s sentencing still made headlines, as did National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower, Edward Snowden, whose story was still prominent when The Fifth Estate went into wide release in mid-October. Media interest in these high-profile stories provided the film with free publicity regarding the relevance of a story about whistleblowers.

  The real Assange kept the film in the news, too, throughout 2012 and 2013, from the time the movie began filming through its highly publicised premiere and release. He leaked an early version of the script and frequently complained to the media that the film would be highly biased against him.[57] The Hollywood Reporter, among other newspapers, noted that Cumberbatch contacted Assange before filming began,[58] a story that the actor later clarified during countless interviews at TIFF. He emailed Assange, who refused to see him. Closer to the film’s release, Assange published a letter he wrote to Cumberbatch, begging the actor not to take the role.[59] In the letter, Assange emphasises the connection “between an actor and a living subject,” adding that “we will forever be correlated in the public imagination”. After praising Cumberbatch as a good person and talented actor, Assange warns that “I believe you are well intentioned... By meeting with you, I would validate this wretched film, and endorse the talented, but debauched, performance that the script will force you to give”. Such communiques with the media only served to keep Assange and the film in the spotlight just when The Fifth Estate received its greatest promotion at TIFF in September and just prior to its October release, a prime time when serious films - and those seriously considered for later awards - are distributed.

  Beginning with TIFF and continuing throughout the film’s general release, reviewers compared The Fifth Estate with The Social Network (2010), a movie about the creation of Facebook and the personal fallout between the friends who founded it. Perhaps an even more salient comparison is with Margin Call (2011), which deals with the then-recent impending financial crisis and the investment bank insiders who belatedly tried to contain the damage. The sense of urgency depicted in Margin Call is similar to that in The Fifth Estate, and both films cover topics that may not automatically attract a mainstream movie audience looking purely for escapist entertainment.

  At the time Cumberbatch filmed scenes in Europe, bouncing among Iceland, Belgium, and Germany, the movie’s release date was more than a year away, and no one could predict that The Fifth Estate would provide a stark contrast to his Star Trek role in a blockbuster released only a few months earlier. Although several other films in which Cumberbatch has a role were released soon after The Fifth Estate, these are smaller parts within an ensemble cast. Even when he had two roles in the same film (briefly as the Necromancer and more extensively as Smaug the dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), the actor could not be seen behind the CGI. The characters may have incorporated his voice and mo-cap movements, but they do not look like the actor. To many film critics and industry executives, Star Trek and The Fifth Estate may be the roles seen in 2013 that best define Cumberbatch’s ability to carry a movie or bring an audience into the cinema just to see him.

  Although The Fifth Estate seemed ideally suited to Cumberbatch and the direction his career should next take as a leading man, the film turned out to be a bit lacklustre, even though it should not permanently tarnish his big-film career. The Fifth Estate did not meet critics’ high expectations, and the box office receipts disappointed. As a vehicle to propel Cumberbatch’s Hollywood career, the film provided quite a bit of mileage at film festivals and in media controversy leading up to the movie’s wide release, but it quickly ran out of gas on opening weekend.

  Acting as Assange

  Among the five 2013 films in which Cumberbatch has a role, The Fifth Estate by far gives him the most screen time. Furthermore, the role plays up Cumberbatch as an intelligent actor who often portrays smart characters. Sherlock and Khan, for example, both match that description, but they are flashy fictitious characters. Assange is a real person, not a modernised literary icon or a sci-fi supervillain. Whereas Cumberbatch’s best-known screen roles to date - as Sherlock and Khan - require running, leaping, or fighting, The Fifth Estate’s Assange mainly types or talks. Assange’s intelligence, leading to the creation of WikiLeaks, relies on words far more than on-screen action.

  Assange and collaborator Daniel Berg (Daniel Brühl) are often shown typing on a keyboard, looking at a computer screen, or watching instant messages scroll. The “action” in The Fifth Estate is the analysis of determining what should be leaked, when, and by whom; “chase” scenes are usually electronic, as WikiLeaks is shut down, only to pop up on mirror sites.

  Many visual effects were not created during post-production but instead were incorporated during filming. Images of the words representing Assange’s or Berg’s thoughts were projected onto the actors’ faces and the walls behind them as a scene was filmed. Cumberbatch and Brühl typed messages in real time and learned which keys to press in order to activate a special effect. Because of the use of in-camera graphics, the actors reacted to real computer information.[60]

  When Assange is not busy online, his activities include walking, public speaking, or staring moodily at the landscape. His greatest “stunt” is opening a bottle with his teeth. This film shows how good Cumberbatch can be even when the performance relies heavily on dialogue and minute variations in body language. The character’s smiles, for instance, tell a lot about his mood and thoughts. Assange’s tight smile is a mask of forced civility, but when he comes on to a beautiful woman, his smile looks genuine before turning predatory. Cumberbatch always has an expressive face, but in The Fifth Estate his body language and line interpretation are even more important in getting the audience to understand Assange.

  Director Condon insisted that viewers make up their own minds about the WikiLeaks founder, which resulted in a film that tries too hard to balance Assange’s point of view with both that of Berg and the U.S. government, whose documents were leaked through the website. “If you want the truth, you have to seek it out for yourself,” Assange says directly to the camera in the closing scene. “It’s all about you,” he adds in what could have been a motivational speech before he smiles, “and a little bit about me, too”. Cumberbatch’s coy delivery makes such insights believable as a theme for the film. It might have been designed to be about “the fifth estate” of public journalists or watchdogs, but it seemed to be far more about Assange.

  The actor had the difficult task of making Assange seem aloof and manipulative, yet also charismatic and passionate. In the film, Assange’s cool appraisal of those who fail to recognise his brilliance can turn into vindictive verbal evisceration. By alienating those who would be close to him, Assange sometimes finds himself perilously vulnerabl
e.

  Cumberbatch’s subtly layered performance stands out in one scene contrasting Assange’s bravado in “selling” his public image with his fear of being caught by CIA or Russian operatives. Assange gives a highly publicised speech at the SKUP conference for investigative journalism and afterwards celebrates with a drink at a hotel bar. When The Guardian’s Nick Davies (David Thewlis) alerts Assange to the presence of agents keeping tabs on him, he begins to quietly panic. After Davies suggests a meeting place from which Assange may escape, the journalist leaves.

  Assange sits alone, in full view of his enemies. As he nervously sips his drink, his demeanour quickly changes from braggadocio to fright, but he strives to act normally. His hand, however, gives him away; it shakes minutely. In this moment, the audience can empathise with Assange at his most vulnerable, no matter that he is largely responsible for getting into such a predicament without a great deal more backup. Such is the strength of Cumberbatch’s performance.

  Katie

  U.S. publicity for the film helped market it to a niche audience. Although already well known to many potential moviegoers internationally, Cumberbatch was nonetheless “introduced” to a new audience in the U.S. The film needed to tap the over-18 segment of the film-going public, which was especially important because many of Cumberbatch’s fans are under 18 and could not see R-rated The Fifth Estate (or other then-forthcoming films like 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County) without a guardian. Katie,[61] an afternoon talk show hosted by former NBC Today news anchor Katie Couric, attracted a primary demographic of young to middle-aged women. The show seemed the perfect venue to introduce Cumberbatch and the film a few days before its U.S. wide release.

  The interview segment was prefaced with a film clip, but during the ten-minute interview, host Couric checked off the “must-know” items about the actor. First, she commented on his “patrician” name, allowing Cumberbatch to use the “fart in the bath” description of what his full name sounds like, which he had first shared during a Chatty Man interview a few years earlier. Couric giggled and mimicked the actor’s British accent as she repeated the description, which encouraged him to say the line again in an American accent.

  Katie soon mentioned George Clooney’s advice to Cumberbatch about handling his current level of success, which led to a discussion of Cumberbatch’s work in the past decade, especially his role in Steven Spielberg’s War Horse. The Clooney inclusion further served to segue into the topic of Cumberbatch’s sex appeal, because both Clooney and Cumberbatch have been named the winners of numerous Sexiest Men polls.

  Every time the topic changed, so did the selection of photographs projected on a screen at the back of the set. When Cumberbatch looked behind and saw a group of larger-than-life photos of him in a variety of smiling, “sexy” shots, he joked about the visual evidence of his sex appeal. Although humorous in context, the actor’s comment astutely underscored the bullet-point nature of the conversation as, one after another, the salient biographical information about Cumberbatch was supported by background visuals.

  This preliminary biography eventually led to Couric’s praise for The Fifth Estate. Cumberbatch made an excellent “first impression” on a new audience and, at the same time, promoted the film. This interview was not designed for Cumberbatch converts, who had already heard this biographical information in several other interviews. Instead, this talk-show appearance was geared toward women previously unfamiliar with Cumberbatch’s name, face, and resume who perhaps could be motivated to see The Fifth Estate. They would perceive Cumberbatch as self-effacing, well spoken, gentlemanly, and talented. They had been presented itemised reasons why they should remember him and see his film(s): he is a respected actor working with Hollywood’s finest (e.g., the Spielberg and Clooney references), he is sexy but not conceited, and audiences will be seeing a lot more of him in upcoming films.

  Although the interview’s obvious structure limited Cumberbatch’s or Couric’s spontaneity, Katie provided a relaxed setting to cover several topics in enough detail to make Cumberbatch memorable. As such, this talk-show appearance was one of his best in the U.S. and, although the interview was timed to promote The Fifth Estate, it ended up being a more effective promotion of its star.

  Box Office Fallout

  The Huffington Post’s headline, “’The Fifth Estate’ Flops with Year’s Worst Opening Weekend,”[62] did not mince words. Entertainment Weekly, which has been highly supportive of Cumberbatch and his career, concurred that The Fifth Estate was a “box office disaster”.[63] Worse yet, their headline placed responsibility on the actor, calling the film “Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘The Fifth Estate’”. However, despite dire first-week ticket sales, The Fifth Estate ended up 161 out of 686 films released in the U.S. during 2013 and ranked by U.S. domestic gross.[64] Forbes agreed that the film’s pedigree should have led to success, but the box office receipts relegated the film to Forbes’ top turkey of 2013. The international box office only totalled $6 million (U.S. dollars). After all receipts had been tallied, given the publicity for the film (which could add another $25 million to the film’s $28 million production budget), the studio likely only made back about $3 million.[65]

  Reviews of Cumberbatch’s Performance

  Reviewers criticised the film as being too “safe” for a biopic about Assange or a thriller about leaking government secrets, yet they described Cumberbatch’s performance in far more positive terms:

  In the hands of a supremely creepy Benedict Cumberbatch, [Assange] has mystified the world at large and entranced a few key followers in particular... But despite Cumberbatch’s formidable presence, [he] remains elusive, a white-haired ghost - more of an idea than a fully fleshed-out and complicated man.[66]

  Cumberbatch... nails the essence of Assange’s voice and nervous energy, and is able to transmogrify his own charisma into the real man’s hypnotic pull.[67]

  Not everyone was won over, however. Screen Rant complained that Cumberbatch’s performance is not “commendable” and furthermore is

  an odd combination (Cumberbatch’s unorthodox looks and offbeat delivery) that never really escapes the level of an SNL parody sketch. Every time the story comes close to tapping into Cumberbatch’s more subtle talents as an actor, we’re pulled right out again.[68]

  Yet this critic admitted that Cumberbatch is hampered as an actor because the film’s design never permits the audience to get to know Assange intimately.

  These and similar reviews indicate most critics’ general satisfaction with Cumberbatch’s performance but dissatisfaction with the film’s insight into Assange. Even some critics who did not like this performance still see Cumberbatch as a good actor, just not in this film. No matter how much or often Cumberbatch’s film characters differ from Sherlock Holmes, however, at least one or two reviews inevitably linked the actor to Sherlock as the epitome of his work.

  In hindsight, The Fifth Estate does not carry the weight of an “important” film that changes the industry or makes its mark politically or socially. It also turned out not to be a successful commercial film. These criticisms, however, should not damage Cumberbatch’s future bankability. Many of his supporters like the fact that he does not always gravitate to a role simply because it will be popular or lucrative.

  Cumberbatch did not seem unduly worried about the film’s receipts: “Whether the film has a big box office or not, the response to how I have performed has done me huge favours. You know, it’s the first lead role I’ve had and it’s caused this much attention”.[69]

  55 Emma Dibdin. “Benedict Cumberbatch on Fifth Estate Flop: ‘I’m Very Proud of the Film.’” Digital Spy. 9 Dec. 2013.

  56 The Fifth Estate. Dir. Bill Condon. DreamWorks. 2013.

  57 Julie Miller. “WikiLeaks Leaks The Fifth Estate Script Along With Important Julian Assange Hair-Dying Clarification.” Vanity Fair. 20 Sep. 2013.
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  58 Marie Ginsberg & Gary Baum. “Benedict Cumberbatch Wants to Meet WikiLeaks Founder He’ll Portray Onscreen.” Hollywood Reporter. 24 Jan. 2013.

  59 “First Letter from Julian Assange to Benedict Cumberbatch Over The Fifth Estate.” WikiLeaks. Dated 15 Jan. 2013. Pub. 9 Oct. 2013.

  60 The Fifth Estate. DVD. “In-Camera Graphics.” Touchstone Home Entertainment, 2014.

  61 Katie. NBC. 16 Oct. 2013.

  62 Christopher Rosen. “’The Fifth Estate’ Flops with Year’s Worst Opening Weekend.” Huffington Press. 21 Oct. 2013.

  63 Grady Smith. “Box Office Disaster: Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘The Fifth Estate’ Has Worst Debut of 2013.” Entertainment Weekly. 20 Oct. 2013.

  64 Box Office Mojo. “2013 Domestic Grosses.” 12 May 2014.

  65 Dorothy Pomerantz. “2013’s Biggest Turkeys: The Films That Flopped.” Forbes. 11 Nov. 2013.

  66 Christy Lemire. “The Fifth Estate: Review.” RogerEbert. 18 Oct. 2013.

  67 Bryan Bishop. “’The Fifth Estate’ Review: Truth is More Interesting Than Fiction.” Verge. 15 Oct. 2013.