Why Ang Lee is unhappy with the reaction to Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
ON THE face of it, Ang Lee has an eclectic approach to filmmaking. He’s veered from Jane Austen to big green super-heroes, from fantastical martial arts to a story about gay cowboys. His last outing saw him tackle a seemingly impossible adaptation in a big-screen version of Life of Pi. Now he’s taken on a film set against the backdrop of the war in Iraq.
And yet there is continuity running through all of his films, whether in seeking to push the boundaries of technology, or a universality of theme. “When talking about a thematic continuity, every few years my answer changes,” he begins when we meet up ahead of the release of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. “In the beginning I thought I was concerned with family drama. After Sense & Sensibility I thought it was personal freedom versus social obligation. Thinking about it now, it’s possibly something to do with a sense of security and faith.
