Noémie Merlant discovers she has a lot in common with her character in the film Emmanuelle.
Her role as the eponymous character in Audrey Devine’s new film had a huge impact on her, and she says it helped her re-examine her relationship with female pleasure. “Like Emmanuelle, I was completely disconnected from my body,” says the French actress hollywood reporter.
The film had its world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Friday night, Emmanuelle Attracted attention for its graphic content. Deavan’s film starring Naomi Watts (mulholland drive, Birdman), Will Sharp (white lotus) and Jamie Campbell Bower (stranger things), inspired by the erotic novels of Emmanuelle Arsan – and that eroticism definitely dominated the project.
Emmanuelle It focuses on the story of a woman who travels to Hong Kong on business to work for a luxury hotel group. In search of her lost happiness, she seeks awakening in her experiences with some of the hotel’s guests. One of them, Kai (Sharp), seems to be avoiding her.
Merante’s performance is subtle. She plays a robot woman who attempts to exercise autonomy over her sex life, but instead finds a connection that requires no physical intimacy at all. Below, answers edited for brevity and clarity, Merlant & THR Inspired by the #MeToo movement in France, what were her first thoughts when reading the script, and why if Merante were a footballer, Cate Blanchett would be her Diego Maradona.
First of all, I want to say congratulations on your film.
Thank you so much.
What was going through your head when you first read the script?
When I first read the script, I thought, “Oh, I’m going to read a script that explores female pleasure, and now I just need that.” Because like Emmanuelle, I was completely disconnected from my body. After the #MeToo movement, I started thinking about the things I had done over the years just to bring joy to others. I was like, okay, I know I’m not really happy, I really don’t have a sex drive. Why? As a 30 year old woman, I don’t really share porn or orgasms with people. There is sadness in this. In the script, that’s it.
She is willing to take risks. Emmanuel, who is as unhappy as a robot…she has the power of independence. But she was alone. She can handle her own life, but sometimes she has to think on her feet at this luxury hotel, spying on everyone else to make sure everyone gets what they want quickly. I have a strong connection with her. Finally, she says what she wants when she needs to: “Can you put your hand here? I want this. Can you change the pace?”
Did you find that playing Emmanuelle helped you explore your own sexuality and your own relationship with porn?
For me, do Emmanuellethis is an exploration. It broke something – I felt more comfortable, freer, even just saying what I wanted to say out loud. So I can start a new life exploring my desires.
Were you intimidated by the graphic nature of many of the scenes, or were you excited? I was wondering if you were nervous about filming a film that some actors considered so fragile.
It’s just easy for me to perform well, be in the right place in a scene and express emotion. I don’t feel vulnerable when exposing my body in sex scenes. When given a respectful environment, strong ideas, and a space for respect and consideration, I can go as far as I want. That’s what happens in this movie. So I wasn’t scared at all, but rather excited. It was, “Oh, this is the best thing for an actress. I have the vision of Audrey Diwan, and I have a team that knows what they’re doing. We have a lot of conversations with the actors.” Rehearsing and having an intimacy coach to think through what we were going to do.
After the #MeToo movement, a lot of people said, “Oh, now with intimacy coaching, there’s nothing we can do.” I think that’s just a small group of people. Yes, maybe they feel they have less freedom, but for the rest of us, there is more freedom. Audrey once said, and I feel the same way, that when there is a lot of room for collaboration between people, even between intimacy coaches, we get further. Because more people contribute ideas, there are more surprises.
I wanted to ask about the #MeToo movement. Its emergence came from the United States, but the next country to push the sport, especially at the moment, was France. Audrey said the film is an exploration of pornography in the post-#MeToo era. What message is she trying to convey? Emmanuelle?
Before sending any messages, I think she wanted it to be a sensual experience. We are fed so many images of sex, nudity, pornography, but are completely dominated by violence within this patriarchal gaze. So she tried to make a movie that makes us ask ourselves: “Is there room for eroticism and feeling in movies?” [women’s] Still alive? She tried to get us to take a moment. Because I think when you’re in the moment, your sexual desire and your feelings are heightened. But getting to this place takes time. Same with female orgasm. This takes time.
Just because it’s a feminist movie doesn’t mean it’s not for men, [Diwan] explain. We hope that through this movie, when you see her get pleasure, men can get pleasure too. Like all the movies we watch about men, when we watch them, sometimes we get emotional. So the reverse should be the same. I think she also wanted to say that consent is exciting. They work together. No one is forced. Everyone listens to each other. You can feel the excitement through this.
One of the focal points of the film is the amazing connection between you and Will Sharp, who plays Kay. I loved the way it developed and how it subverted my expectations in many ways by the end of the film. I’d like to know how you see the connection between them.
To me, he seems like a ghost sometimes. But I love that he’s an enigma, because most of the time the enigmas in movies are women. I love the mirror between them, both are disconnected and cannot get pleasure. I love that you can still have a strong relationship with someone without having sex. This is not an obligation. Here’s the story Kai and I tell ourselves: To me, you represent a man who doesn’t fit into the dominant dynamic of the male gaze. If women don’t do this, they won’t be happy. He also seeks equality and true connection. It will take time for him, and maybe in the end, after that, he will have it again. But he was listening to her. I find it very poetic.
with something similar Portrait of Burning WomanI feel like you’ve become a true champion of female attention in the film industry. How important is this to you and how important are movies like this Emmanuelle After decades of male film experience?
Trying to give women more space is crucial in my life. Work towards this, not just for women, but for everyone who has no faith in the world. Because you have to find the meaning of life. So to me, it makes sense and it makes things more surprising and exciting.
How was it on set? You have Will, Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower. So many British people. Do you hope to do more English projects in the future?
I’d love to, because I love the language. Because more films are made in English, there are more opportunities. So, of course, you have more crazy possibilities, working with amazing directors and actors that you admire. I’m happy to work in different languages.
Is there a language you particularly enjoy filming in?
Japanese or Korean.
Why?
Because I watch a lot of Japanese and Korean movies, I like the language and culture.
You must really enjoy shooting in Hong Kong.
Yes! marvelous. I thought I wouldn’t like Hong Kong, but I do.
Why do you think you don’t like it?
I have no idea. Because I think this is too much. But actually, there are beaches, there are natural spaces, and the people are nice.
You’ve worked with a lot of amazing people. Is there anyone on your list that you would love to work with, whether a director or actor?
I love Yorgos Lanthimos. I love Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I love Nicole Kidman, Jane Campion, Justin Treat.
I want to ask about work storehouse with kate [Blanchett]It won the Donostia Award at this year’s San Sebastian Film Festival. How was it working with her?
marvelous. For me, if I were a footballer, she would be Maradona. I had the opportunity to meet an absolutely amazing actress. I can see her many times because I’m the assistant [Tár]. So I could stand there and watch her perform her scenes and see how much love she puts into this job. One thing is amazing, because someone asked me, why is she so good? There’s a lot going on, but there’s also some magic that you can’t explain. She is so nice. I remember there was a scene where we were shooting at an angle and we had to hug and she was trying to hide her head to make sure it was me on camera. Very cute.
That’s cute. The final question is a simple one: What is your future?
my movie, balconycame out soon. And then there are the films of Pietro Macello [Duse] coming soon. There are two movies I can’t say anything about. [Points.] That’s my agent. [Laughs.]
Read THR’s review Emmanuelle here. Neon has been announced to have acquired U.S. distribution rights. Emmanuelle EMI will release it in France on September 25th.
