Given the recent headlines about Andrew Tate, the world of toxic masculinity comes at an all too poignant time at the Berlinale this year with John Trengove’s competition entry Manodrome. Described as a “nihilistic thriller,” this suspenseful and disturbing dive into incel culture and male fragility is directed by a perhaps unlikely guide, Jesse Eisenberg.
Eisenberg’s Manodrome character Ralphie — a gym-obsessed Uber driver and father-to-be struggling under personal and economic strains — is often seen as an insecure man with a more nervous disposition, and sees such fears manifesting in sheer rage, rage , which is violent, erupts after being assimilated into a libertarian masculinity cult (led by a typically charismatic Adrien Brody).
While Ralphie – a burly young man who is constantly on the verge of starting a fight – might not seem like a typical Eisenberg role, the Oscar-nominated star of ‘The Social Network’, ‘Zombieland’, ‘Now You See Me” and “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn’t quite see it that way. In fact, he admits, he doesn’t see it at all because he lives in a purpose-built “bubble” where he doesn’t watch any of his own films or read anything about himself, and which is virtually impenetrable to public perceptions of his career choices and Services.
Speaking to , Eisenberg — who also recently starred on the hit Hulu show Fleishman Is in Trouble — discusses how Manodrome’s production delays meant he’s spending much longer in the gym than ever before, his plans to get straight from it to go to Poland for the Berlinale to be a location scout for his second film as a director, and why people are now approaching him on the street to reveal their personal data.
I assume to get into the role of Manodrome you spent several years immersed in an incel cult?
I did! It’s called the United States of America. Ha! No. But I’m probably, like many others, intrigued by the growing fringe and not-so-fringe movement to embrace manhood in these weird and dangerous ways, which is obviously a backlash to the progress we’ve made.
Was that fascination pre-dating this film, or did you dive deep when you were offered the role?
It started a few years ago when I was making this film The Art of Self-Defense, which is like an absurd comic take on dangerous notions of masculinity. And I was really fascinated by these fringe movements that are becoming more mainstream. And when I made this film, which does a very serious, very dark, almost feverish dream dissection of this culture, I became more interested in the darker side of it. But there is also sports culture. What I actually spent most of my time doing in preparation for this movie was just spending time in the gym because I’m so naturally skinny that playing someone who was in the gym every day was really a big hurdle . So I spent hours in the gym and eating out for months because the film was supposed to be shot two years early. So I was getting ready at the gym every day, and then it was postponed for six months, but I couldn’t exactly stop.
So you just had to keep going to the gym?
Yes. But that’s the nature of independent films. I directed my own film [2022’s When You Finish Saving the World] in New Mexico and then go to the gym and then cut the film and then go to the gym. And it has consumed my life for so long. And it gets you in that mode, for me, having these unattainable goals. So in a way it overlapped with what my character was dealing with, which is this deep personal shame, insecurity and self-loathing. I just hang out in the gym all the time and I feel like my goals are getting further and further away.
When you finished the film, did you just stop exercising?
I go to the gym now, but without pressure. I can do the things I like. I mean, I’ve had a meal plan for a really long time and worked with trainers. We talked on the phone for hours every day. So it was just a lot. I haven’t seen the movie so I don’t even know how different I look. But it was just so complicated. As far as preparation goes, that stands out.
Was this area of masculinity something you’ve ever felt close to in any way? Was there any experience you could draw on?
Of course, just growing up as a theater kid in a regular public school. I switched to performing arts my senior year, but before that I went to a school where football players were at the top of the food chain. I didn’t tell anyone I did plays growing up and looking back it seems so strange to have to hide. I guess I grew up thinking that what I was interested in made me inadequate. So I feel it from this side. On the other hand, and what this film is discussing, this group formed in the story is a backlash to what I personally think is a wonderful advance in gender norms and gender roles, but to them it feels like their whole world threatened. And all of their personal insecurities and fears and feelings of inadequacy manifest as anger towards women instead of looking inward to resolve any issues that are going on with themselves.
What I found particularly interesting about Manodrome is that the toxic masculinity I’ve heard about seems to have more to do with misogyny and the treatment of women as inferior, whereas in the film it’s almost a complete rejection of women altogether.
Oh yes, that’s right. There are more extreme groups that simply swear off women. But everything is driven by the same fear of one’s own inadequacy that manifests as fear for one’s own gender.
I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but that felt like a very atypical Jesse Eisenberg character: a souped-up, pill-chomping, angry gym obsessive. Did it feel different from your usual roles?
I don’t really think about such things. The truth is, I don’t observe myself into anything and I don’t read anything about myself, so the only way I can deal with how the public perceives me is when I’m doing interviews like this, or when someone is telling me something I wasn’t aware of . i live in a bubble I’m not constantly walking around with my own thoughts about how I’m perceived. But somehow it felt different. I was spending time in the gym, although with this movie about a guy who spends a lot of time in the gym, I noticed that a lot of actors do it anyway.
Ralphie goes through a range of emotions in the film and spends much of his time in a state of extreme anger. Is that an easy emotion for you to get into or show off on camera?
I guess if I say yes, it’s like I’m a psychopath. I mean, I walk around with a lot of emotions that aren’t appropriate to show publicly, and then when I do a project where the characters have an extreme range of emotions, it feels really cathartic. Sometimes I’m also amazed at normal civilized society, where people aren’t that much annoyed or enthusiastic about everyday life anymore. But it’s cathartic. And I guess I felt a lot for the character and was really sad about what he’s going through.
you mentioned When you’re done saving the world. Has being behind the camera given you new respect for directors?
Yes. I’ve always had this kind of self-centered assumption that the directors were just stressed out all the time because I wasn’t doing a good job on their film. Now that I’ve directed a film, I realize they have a lot of other things going on. That was my most important revelation. I thought about 17,000 things that had nothing to do with the actors. So I feel a little more comfortable on set now.
Any plans to direct again?
Actually, I go to Berlin for location scouting in Poland during the day. It’s a movie called A Real Pain about two American cousins [Eisenberg directs himself alongside Kieran Culkin] who go on a Holocaust tour in south-eastern Poland. We start filming on May 1st.
You’ve just been spotted as a divorced father in the Hulu miniseries “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” which garnered a lot of positive reactions. How was the reaction to your character? Do you still get stopped with questions on the street?
Yes, I am stopped on a street by divorcees, doctors, Jews and sometimes all three, because they want to tell me that the show was about their lives. For the most part, it’s very nice and somehow a little interesting and provocative to hear about people volunteering personal information. I think the show is a very relatable and modern way of discussing universal fears and seems to have touched people in a very personal way.
Have you ever taken a photo of yourself flexing your muscles like Ralphie did in Manodrome?
I did it for this film. I had a wonderful coach – Colin Campbell, and early on he asked me to bend in the mirror and take a picture. But I was so disgusted with the idea that I couldn’t do it for months.