The movie that gave Margot Robbie an existential crisis: “The panic was palpable”

There has perhaps been no film more divisive than Greta Gerwig’s retelling of Barbie – a sugar-sweet story that caused a national shortage of pink paint and introduced feminist ideology to unsuspecting viewers who had previously never paid any thought to these ideas. After the adaptation was first announced in 2018, intense speculation began on how this story would be approached, along with curiosity about why Gerwig was moving from independent to studio filmmaking.

However, through her fabled union with Margot Robbie, the director was able to defy the doubt expressed in the story and bring her own chaotic vision to life, despite her leading lady having a few wobbles along the way.

While people may have initially puzzled over how Gerwig would bring Barbie to the big screen, the casting of Robbie in the lead role was never questioned, with audiences widely accepting that she was the perfect person to play someone with a sunny disposition who always looks great. The project was in pre-production for many years, with Robbie working closely with Gerwig to advocate for her vision and make sure it was brought to life in the exact way she pictured it.

After many years of careful planning, you can imagine how the pressure would become insurmountable, with growing buzz about the project and how it would look on the big screen. Because of this, when the shoot finally arrived, Robbie found herself having a slight freak-out about the imminent challenge of playing what essentially is a lifeless doll.

When describing the nerves she felt before shooting, Robbie said, “I went to Greta’s house and had that crisis. I’d spent years trying to get this movie going. And suddenly, we’re going to shoot the thing. And I was like, ‘Oh, my God, I dunno how to do this.’ It happens before every single movie I’ve ever done. A few weeks out, I have this meltdown where I’m like, ‘What am I doing? I don’t know how to act. Everyone’s going to suddenly realize that I can’t do any of this, and it’s going to be terrible.’ And then it is just sheer panic. So yes, I went to Greta’s house. The panic was palpable and debilitating. ‘I don’t know how to apply any of this research I’ve done, and I’ve done all the things, and I still don’t know who she is”. 

Robbie has played many layered and intriguing characters over the years, but most of them have an obvious complexity and backstory that she can latch onto to flesh them out, being able to draw on their childhood traumas or past experiences. However, with a character like Barbie who lives in a blissful state of permanent happiness and joy, she was tasked with constructing this person from scratch, building a character who has no inner world or burning questions. 

While the challenge of diving headfirst into a world in which there are no problems is an uncommon start for a film, both Robbie and Gerwig were able to do this with graceful ease, creating one of the most infamous films of recent years.

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