Mélanie Laurent is Marie Antoinette and Guillaume Canet her husband Louis XVI in Italian director Gianluca Jodice’s Le Déluge (The Flood), which opened the 77th version of the Locarno Movie Competition on Wednesday night time within the Swiss city’s Piazza Grande, which seats 8,000 folks through the fest.
On Thursday afternoon, the 2 stars, together with their director, met members of the press to debate the film, which is ready in 1792 when the 2 principal characters and their kids have been arrested and imprisoned in a chateau in Paris, awaiting their trial.
THR‘s Locarno evaluation known as the film “an intriguing palace drama chronicling the final days of France’s final royal couple,” additionally highlighting that “nuanced performances from each Canet and Laurent assist to make the well-known couple greater than mere caricatures.”
The celebrities on Thursday shared how they received into their characters and their mindset. Actress-writer-director Laurent (Inglourious Basterds, Now You See Me, 6 Underground) shared that she learn Stefan Zweig’s well-known biography Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Common Girl. “From her start to her demise, it had all the main points and all of the tales,” she recalled. “I began the film after I understood her and I preferred her. Whenever you learn a script about Marie Antoinette, you [know] she’s going to be chilly and simply be this and this – all these cliches now we have. All the films type of cease after they get arrested. We began the film there.”
Added Laurent: “That was tremendous thrilling to begin the film there, when she lastly has time to be a mom, and perceive the lads of her life, however is dropping her finest pal, going from coldness to despair. So it’s most likely essentially the most attention-grabbing a part of her when she is aware of, as a result of she’s far more lucid that they going to die, and he or she’s scared for the primary time.”
Actor-writer-director Canet (Advert Vitam, The Seashore, Out of Season), the companion of Marion Cotillard, shared that he began with an incredible script from Jodice and co-writer Filippo Gravino. “So there have been lots of issues that I used to be discovering as an viewers,” he defined. “There are a lot of issues that I as a French [person] didn’t know. So I discovered lots of issues by the script, and it gave me the want to go and browse another issues, just like the [Jean-Baptiste] Cléry e-book the place [the former valet of the king] tells all these particulars about Louis XVI – how shy he’s, the difficulties he had being in society and with lots of people, his relation together with his ladies, and this sort of autistic facet. The outline of him was actually like a toddler.”
Shared Canet: “So it was very attention-grabbing for me to know that this is likely to be one of many causes how the revolution might [happen]. His father knew that he was not able to holding a rustic [together] with the identical power, and craziness possibly, that the opposite kings had in France previously.”
How did Laurent and Canet develop their well-known characters’ relationship on display screen?
“We had totally different readings of the script with Guillaume, after which individually with Mélanie,” Jodice defined.
“We knew one another and we didn’t spend that a lot time [discussing things] earlier than the taking pictures,” the actor stated. “You simply play your half, and for those who don’t find yourself with an actor or an actress who may be very egocentric, it goes nicely.”
The bodily transformations to turn out to be Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI have been at occasions onerous. Sporting a corset, “it doesn’t matter what you do makes you are feeling and stand straight, after which you haven’t any strategy to be like this,” Laurent stated, hunching over. That was key within the first a part of the film, “when she actually appears like a queen, after which, over time, I used to be allowed to only change physique and [physical] angle. So I didn’t have these 4 hours of make-up day-after-day. Thank God! I ended the film with actually 10 minutes of make-up, which is the very best for me.”
It was totally different for Canet. “I had 4 hours of make-up day-after-day. So it was lengthy and tiring,” he shared. “I used to be fairly scared originally, I used to be fairly anxious as a result of seeing myself within the mirror with all these prosthetics was actually scary. You’re scared about not having the ability to categorical issues, feelings and stuff since you are all hidden behind this masks.” However he received optimistic suggestions on his first photos. “As soon as we began, fairly instantly I understood and realized that it might assist me greater than being an inconvenience, as a result of it helped me stand straight, having this royal posture. And this man has difficulties expressing feelings. So in a manner, it was fairly attention-grabbing to have this sort of masks.”
Laurent shared that when she directs together with her appearing background, “You simply know precisely what an actor thinks earlier than he says something.” That’s the reason she enjoys having a greater understanding of various components and roles within the filmmaking course of. With out that, “I feel more often than not there’s a language challenge. There may be lots of misunderstanding due to that,” she argued. “On the final film I directed, I took the digicam and I used to be framing the film, and I used to be discovering a complete new world. I noticed that each one these technicians are there to make you are feeling snug [as a director or actor]. I opened a brand new door and simply found one thing technical that I didn’t know. So I feel can be nice to have everyone alternate jobs for 3 days, so we all know what everyone does.”
Canet additionally appreciates having seen filmmaking from totally different vantage factors. “There are lots of nice administrators who’re additionally actors, and I like that. And there are lots of administrators who’re actually good actors additionally,” he stated. “When you’ve the prospect to expertise each, you be taught rather a lot.” He then quipped, “I do know that typically I’ve been a ache within the ass for Gianluca, and the one factor that was calming me down as an actor was to know that as a director I might hate this occurring to me.”
On the finish of their chat with reporters, Laurent and Canet have been requested about work-life steadiness and the way necessary movie work is for them. “It’s visceral for me,” Canet shared. “I can’t have any breaks. I don’t know the way to go on trip. It’s my objective typically to spend every week with out writing one thing or watching one thing or fascinated by one thing or studying one thing, and simply having fun with a trip and having some naps. I might like to understand how to do this, however I simply can’t. It’s an obsession. I’m a workaholic.”
That stated, he stated he loves his time together with his household. And Canet added: “Crucial factor to have the ability to keep inventive and the one strategy to feed your self is being in actual life with actual folks.”
Laurent additionally loves diving into movie work, and “I hate trip,” she advised reporters. “I feel I’m writing tales and I’m telling tales as a result of I feel life sucks a lot whenever you see the world and whenever you see what humanity is doing proper now,” the star supplied. “I like to jot down some very sturdy feminine characters. I need them to have the final phrase. I prefer it when love tales finish nicely. I adore it when I’ve the ability of telling a narrative extra inspiring than life, and that’s why it grew to become an obsession.”
The 2 French stars additionally shared the pressures that include superstar and social media. “More often than not, and I’ve needed to face that for me and my companion, Marion, persons are imagining stuff about us, our life, the way in which we dwell, what we do in our lives, the place we dwell – I imply I typically hear loopy stuff about my habits,” Canet defined. “And the issue is that lots of people, with social media and every part, consider that at this time. … I feel one of many issues at this time with social media is how recognition can typically change features of your work and the way in which persons are taking a look at you.”
Laurent chimed in, saying, “I’ve an answer: no social media.” After some laughs, she defined that, “I don’t learn something, whether or not it’s good or not good. I finished 12 years in the past, and I’m dwelling in a bubble.”