While Andy Serkis has played numerous roles while wearing motion-capture pajamas, the one he will almost certainly be forever linked with is Gollum. The actor brought his Lord of the Rings performance back for the Hobbit movies, and now he's done so again, in something very different. In a new video, Serkis spoofs British Prime Minister Theresa May, performing her as Gollum in regards to the proposed Brexit deal. It's...weird. Check it out below.
Needless to say, this is a little disturbing. Seeing the voice of Gollum come out of a creature that looks like Gollum is one thing, but this is something else. Honestly, Andy Serkis dressed as Theresa May is already a bit uncomfortable to watch, but combining it with the voice makes the whole thing really wrong.
Of course, in this case, that's sort of the point. The video is published to its very own YouTube Channel, called We Wants It, and it's a call for a People's Vote in regards to the recent deal to leave the European Union which Theresa May has negotiated on behalf of the United Kingdom. A lot of people are unhappy with the deal. Some don't want to leave the EU at all, while others that do support leaving don't like the specific terms of this deal. This has led to many calling for the people to have a voice on the deal by organizing a vote similar to the original Brexit vote.
Although, more than simply calling for a vote, this video is clearly making some unflattering connections between Theresa May and Andy Serkis' Gollum. Gollum was obsessed with the One Ring to the point that it drove him completely mad. In the video, May's ring is the Brexit deal, and she's made to look equally insane. We see her completely driven to see the deal go through as is.
She occasionally has bouts of a better nature fighting through, as Gollum and Smeagol fought inside Serkis' character in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. However, while Smeagol was able to be the dominant personality, at least for a while, in the movie, here, May is portrayed as being ultimately Gollum.
Currently, the Brexit vote is planned to happen on Tuesday in the UK Parliment, though there is the possibility it could be delayed.
While it's difficult to take the politics out of the thing, Andy Serkis' Gollum is still an incredibly impressive character. Even though we don't get the motion capture character laid in over the actor here, we almost don't need it. The look in Serkis' eyes is enough to make you see Gollum, not the actor or even the politician being spoofed.
While there will almost certainly be those who don't love this clip as much simply because they don't agree with the message, it's still a pretty good performance on its own. Whether or not the video will have any impact remains to be seen.
