In the hit movie "The Flower Girl Murder Case", Ma Yili plays Wang Shuang, a mother and coach, a former figure skater who "gave up" her career to have children.
Stills from "Flower Girl Murder Case"
She is so strict and ruthless that it is suffocating, with sharp words and a sharp gaze, and she often "high-pressures" her children. In the intense training and daily interactions, the "crazy" mother and daughter each have their own obsessions, cutting open the hidden and complex corners of the family relationship.
The figure skating rink is where her daughter competes as an athlete, and Wang Shuang unknowingly regards it as the "battlefield" of the second half of her life. She strives to provide her daughter with excellent conditions, a rink for her to practice alone, the most expensive skates, and expensive costumes for her performances. However, her daughter encounters frequent accidents under high pressure, which makes her gradually lose herself between the identities of coach and mother...
Ma Yili plays figure skating coach Wang Shuang
This time, Ma Yili is very different from the impression we have. Her previous roles were always dashing and capable, always showing the beauty of women and making people yearn for them. From Xia Lin in the early years of "Struggle", who had an unruly and neat short hair, pursued love and never let go of her career, to Luo Zijun in "My First Half of Life", who gradually awakened in the sudden turn of fate and walked towards independence and self-reliance; to Lingzi, the proprietress of Nightclub Tokyo, who was smooth and affectionate in the fireworks of the market in recent years' "Flowers", or Zhang Fengxia in "My Altay", who was rough and unrestrained but always able to speak out the essence of life... Ma Yili constantly presents unprecedented female images to the audience.
This performance was also a special experience for Ma Yili herself. Before the movie was released, Ma Yili accepted an exclusive interview with The Paper, talking about her "discomfort" in portraying the character this time, her observations on the mother-daughter relationship, her encounters with the characters as an actor, and how to deal with "tense" issues in life.
Ma Yili accepted an exclusive interview with The Paper
[The following is Ma Yili’s story]
I don't agree with Wang Shuang, but I understand her
"Flower Girl Murder Case" is a very interesting story. The character I played is called Wang Shuang, a coach and mother. Coach is a professional identity, and mother is a family identity. These two identities are also concentrated in me.
Wang Shuang is different from the mothers I played before. I cannot agree with many of her behaviors, and I even feel uncomfortable when performing. But Wang Shuang is very lonely and a pitiful woman.
Wang Shuang is an anxious and tense mother in the film
The movie doesn't have that much time for this character, and every scene is crucial. Every time she appears, she combines the identities of mother and coach, but she herself has not clearly separated these two identities, which brings many problems.
In the movie, I will have a very intense conflict with my daughter Jiang Ning (played by Zhang Zifeng). I personally hate using corporal punishment to educate children. People of my generation have been beaten more or less when they were young, and we know how it feels. That feeling is excused by "for your own good" and in the name of love, but I must admit that these behaviors are reasonable in Wang Shuang. So when performing, I have to complete it even if I resist.
Every actor has to magnify a part of himself and give it to the role. Before acting, I also have to talk to myself and convince myself to use this extreme behavior to complete it. Looking back, this is reasonable. But at the moment, the real emotional investment makes me feel very uncomfortable. I believe that during the screening of this movie, most people will not be willing to stand in Wang Shuang's perspective to understand her dilemma as a mother. But as an actor, I empathize with her, even though she seems unreasonable.
Coach Wang Shuang and her "athletes"
The film revolves around the relationship between three women. I personally disagree with simply classifying this film as a "female theme". Movies are made for all movie lovers, and movie lovers are not divided into men or women, and are not divided into ages. What's important is how to present more of what I want to express in the story as much as I can.
My mother and myself are both important roles in my life. My mother is a very optimistic, positive and loving woman. She gave me the right to make my own choices at an early age and taught me to be content and grateful. These are the precious things I have gained from my mother.
Being a mother is also an important life lesson for me. I once thought that if I hadn’t become a mother, my performance might not be as rich as it is now. When I became a mother and experienced the process of raising a child, I understood the difficulties of many parents, and while experiencing it myself, I suddenly understood the difficulties of my children.
Fortunately, our generation has very smooth information flow and many opportunities to study psychology. I have always been grateful to my children, they are my mirrors. I see different sides of myself in my two children, which I could not see before. I grew up with them, and they taught me a lot.
The mother-daughter relationship in the film is intriguing
I've always wanted to meet powerful female characters.
This is a film that directly explores "ambition". The imbalance between Jiang Ning and Wang Shuang and their resentment towards each other also stem from their "ambition" that has nowhere to go. In the movie, both Jiang Ning and Wang Shuang are always facing the crisis of losing control due to tension. In life, it is not bad to occasionally press the pause button for ourselves and let ourselves take a breath, because I believe that the one who can help you in the end is still yourself.
Many people today are confused. The much-discussed “rolling” and “lying” states can all happen naturally to a person and are not contradictory. Life has its lows and highs. Accepting your lows is for the next high to take off again.
As for ambition, it is better to do what you can. From my own experience of growing up, every small goal is a magic weapon to bring more self-confidence. Don't look too far ahead, just look at whether the task at hand is done well. Small ambitions can achieve big goals.
The ice rink becomes a battlefield of life
I have been asked since I was in my 20s: What kind of roles do you want to play? In fact, as we grow up, we will find that there are still many unexplored secrets in life. But when I was in my 20s, I could not have imagined that there would be Zhang Fengxia, Lingzi, Luo Zijun, or Miss Li. I could not have imagined that I would play a woman like Wang Shuang and learn figure skating. These are the great "wealth" that movies have brought me.
Zhang Fengxia in My Altay
Lingzi in "Flowers"
I can't think of it, but I have always longed to meet those powerful female characters. If I meet them, I will hold on to them tightly. Over the years, because of the growth of creators, I have met "them". As the creators grow, we are also pleasantly surprised to see that the audience is also growing, which also makes me very confident about the future of Chinese films.
Rather than saying that I have created some vivid female characters over the years, I am actually very lucky to be able to "co-create" such characters with creators and audiences. First, the creators saw such women, and then I was fortunate to present them on the screen for more audiences to see.
Poster of "Flower Girl Murder Case"
