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‘I TOLD DEPARDIEU HE WAS THE WOMAN IN THE FILM'
Tom Dawson meets Xavier Giannoli, the writer/director of hit French film The Singer, and discovers how he tamed Gerard Depardieu
he l‘reuch director Xavier (iiannoli can
pinpoint the moment cinetua entered his life.
He was liye years old and asleep in his pat‘ents‘ flat in Paris. when he woke up to the sound of tanks and machine guns. It turned out that the noise was coming from the flat downstairs. where a new neighbour. the famous lirench singer (‘hristophe \Villem. had moy ed in.
‘llc was a cinephile. who had his own projection facilities and who watched films on celluloid.’ recalls (iiannoli. 'In time. he showed tue King Kong. West Side Story. and The sly/UNI]! Jung/e. One day we'd watch an intellectual (iodat'd film and the next Mary Poppins. l deyeloped a clandestine relationship with film: we were worried that the police might cotne and confiscate the films. because it was illegal then to screen them in your own home on celluloid.‘
'l‘hree decades on and (iiannoli has retained his passion for film. particularly for filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and 'l‘errence .\lalick. and has become an acclaimed writer and director in his own right. llis short The Interview won the Palme d’Or in NW and last year his third full-length feature The Singer » a mming \lay-Decetnber romance between an ageing dance-hall crooner Alain (Gerard Depardieul and a troubled estate agent Marion ((‘ecile de France) — was selected in competition at Cannes. So what. I ask Giannoli. attracted him to
making a film set in the far-from-glamorous milieu of
pt'oyincial (iallic showbusiness'.’ ‘\\'ell. my pt‘L‘\l0lls film Only the Night had been a
38 THE LIST «1 Sc". :3."
setback for me - it was a real slap in the face. because the audience wasn‘t there for it. I started thinking about what l felt like when I listened to certain songs. why they touched me. why they swept me off my feet like certain films. I remembered a line from a French writer. “Maybe it's more important to inspire affection than admiration".
'I came up with the idea of making the main character a dance hall singer. and after research I ended up meeting the chanter Alain Chanone in (‘lermont-Ferrand. Alain realised he wasn‘t a great singer and he would never be star. but it was important for him that his job was well done.’
Certainly (iiannoli elicits from his star Gerald Depardieu one of his finest performances in years. with the actor imbuing his role as a fading. promiscuous and smooth—talking chanter with dignity and vulnerability. ls there a secret to directing someone of Depardieu's reputation? ‘I just told (ierard not to lie.‘ replies Giannoli. ‘And I said to him that l was looking for an actor. not a star. He understood that straight away. I also told him that the character he played was the woman in the film — he's the one taking care of his hair. who is sensitive and afraid. who is waiting at home for the phone to ring. while it's his androgynous-looking co-star Cécile de France occupies the more masculine role. I think his work in The Singer shows him at his best.’
The Singer, GFT, Glasgow, and Filmhouse, Edinburgh, from Fri 28 Sep.
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THE BEST FILM & DVD RELEASES
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* A Mighty Heart Angelina Jolie stars in Michael Winterbottom's moving adaptation of Mariane Pearl's book about the kidnapping of her journalist husband Daniel in 2002. See review. page 40. General release from Fri 21 Sep.
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* Michael Clayton Exemplary conspiracy thriller set in a large corporate New York law firm starring George Clooney. See feature. page 10. General release from Fri 28 Sep.
* The Singer See interview, left. GFT, Glasgow and Fi/mhouse, Edinburgh from Fri 28 Sep.
* Superbad Simple but very funny teenagers in search of booze and a party comedy. General release.
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