Meeting with Daniel Auteuil
With The threadDaniel Auteuil returns to his work as a director, after having stepped away following the disappointment of the poor receptionIn love with my wifereleased in 2018. His fifth film as director, after the adaptation of the play by Florian Zeller and three films adapted by Marcel Pagnol (The Well Digger’s Daughter, Mario AND Fanny), has a peculiarity: it is a deeply dark legal thriller, based on an original screenplay of which he is co-author. Almost totally original, finally, since the trial he stages is inspired by a story by the lawyer Jean-Yves Moyart, known online under the pseudonym Master Mo and whose blog full of legal stories and chronicles has fascinated Internet users.
Since he exonerated a repeat offender, maître Jean Monier has stopped dealing with criminal proceedings. His encounter with Nicolas Milik, a father accused of murdering his wife, touches him and shakes his certainties. Convinced of his client’s innocence, he is ready to do anything to make him win the assize trial, thus finding the
A film and stage actor since the early 1970s, Daniel Auteuil seems to have already had the feeling of having explored his subject a few years ago. Twice Caesareanized, awarded at the Cannes Film Festival in 1996, after having filmed with several important French directors, The thread It is therefore like a rebirth for the actor and director. At 74 years old he knows what he does and how he did it, to the point of monotony perhaps, and with this film he says he has rediscovered desire, the taste for risk, the desire to try something else. We met him and it is, in contrast to the darkness of his excellent legal thriller, with humor and enthusiasm that he tells us in particular about the genesis of the film, the presence of his daughters behind and in front of the camera, how he presents himself and the films that inspired him.
After a warm welcome at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, your film The thread arrives in theaters. What was the starting point of this return to directing, six years later? In love with my wife ?
Daniel Auteuil : The starting point is my daughter Nelly, producer of the film with Hugo Gélin, who brings me a story, from a blog, which is the account of a trial. I tell myself that the story is so strong that no screenwriter would have dared to imagine it. I immediately see the opportunity for interesting roles, for a comparison. But at first I don’t know which side to take. And then one day, I make the role my own by thinking about what can motivate me as an actor, motivate me to direct again and to defend this guy. In fact, it’s the same trigger.
Le Fil: Daniel Auteuil offers a legal thriller as captivating as it is disturbing
Have you given up on the idea of making a new film?
Daniel Auteuil : I made up this story about a guy who stopped being a criminal lawyer because he acquitted a repeat offender, in the same way I stopped directing because my last film didn’t convince me.
And suddenly I rediscover the desire, like a young director, a young actor and this lawyer rediscover the vocation and the element of illusion of his profession. It allowed me to tell my story and to tell this story.
And then it was also the region that interested me. The real story is set in the North and I live in the South. As I was walking around and taking my son to school, I saw these magnificent places and I said to myself that if I made a film again it would be a beautiful setting. So I had a setting without a film on one side and this story on the other. This story, these places, my personal story, was structured like this. It represented 3 years of work.
Unlike your previous creations, all adaptations, The thread It’s an original screenplay, co-written with Steven Mitz. How did you develop it?
Daniel Auteuil : I had this strong structure of the trial in mind, which is the anchor, and I thought, without making a chronological story, that the trial scenes would allow me to “reach” the viewer. The fact that I have been writing music and songs for several years, the fact that people like it, gave me confidence. I started writing, especially for Aurore, my daughter who plays in the film, monologues, lyrics, it came naturally to me. I was as close as possible, at the center of… I don’t know how to say it well, but it seemed to me that we had to give life to this story, and it was easy to bring it.
I have three films that inspired me: Otto Preminger’s “Autopsy of a Murder,” Clouzot’s “The Truth,” and Sydney Lumet’s “Verdict.” That’s what I wanted… I wanted to show off, really! (Laughs)
How does director Daniel Auteuil direct actor Daniel Auteuil?
Daniel Auteuil : I’m used to playing. When I work for someone else, I try it and I know when it’s good.
Sometimes directors want to do it twenty, thirty, a thousand times, it makes me angry… (laughs) But hey, I know when it’s good. Look, my priority is others. I walk in front of the camera as if in front of a photo booth. The fact that I direct myself allows me to move quickly, to “get rid” of this actor. I trust him (laughs). So it’s good.
Why did you choose to almost never show the victim, Cécile, in the image?
Daniel Auteuil : Because she’s dead! She’s just not here anymore – I’m a simple guy, you know -. She’s not here anymore but she comes to haunt us. In little pieces, she exists little by little. It’s Nicolas Milik’s character who brings her back to life in what he says about her. I was told: “but don’t you want to show it first?“No. I had the feeling, and for everything, beyond this character, that the less I showed the stronger it would be. I wanted to take this risk, and this time, and in the game also from the lawyer. Make him at first hesitant, who doubts, that the search for the truth is difficult.
With this story and this search for truth I also wanted to tell the story of the province. We are not in Paris, it is not a Parisian affair, there is no media, only 2 or 3 local journalists. It is femicide. Every day there is one, it is almost an act of ordinary justice, while remaining terrible. And justice explains this in a very pragmatic way. It is… very small. I wanted to show this reality.
You offer a major role to Grégory Gadebois, who plays the alleged murderer. Was it obvious to you?
Daniel Auteuil : I immediately thought of Grégory Gadebois, because… he’s the ideal victim! The face of that child… He’s a prodigious actor, and he doesn’t know to what extent. Realize that he doesn’t even watch his own films, he can’t see himself. He’s extremely sensitive. To drive, I did what I like to be driven. You go there, go out and do more or less. The rest of the time I talked to him but… it’s not the words – well, I do it like that – it’s the hands, the touch, the energy that passes.
The thread It’s also a family film, since in addition to Nelly in production, your other daughter, the actress Aurore Auteuil, is in the casting.
Daniel Auteuil : Yes, there’s also Aurore, I let her settle accounts with me since she gives me the middle finger (laughs). It’s magnificent. I cared about this character, like those people you see in court, on TV, who just scream”bastard!“, people who don’t have access to speech, who suffer and are full of pain. A court is like this, it’s a receptacle of tears, pain, tragedies, words and little gestures like that. It’s chilling. I wanted to show this, without it being a documentary, but to make us feel that reality.
What event, film or director inspired you to become a director?
Daniel Auteuil : I don’t remember anymore, I’m too old (laughs). I think it’s the actor-directors. All things considered, of course, geniuses like Chaplin. There’s also Clint Eastwood, Vittorio De Sica… All these actors who one day manage to have the eye of the director. It takes time!
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
