Noémie Merlant discovered that she had a lot in common with her character in Emmanuelle.
Her involvement in Audrey Diwan's new film, in the lead role, was so influential that, she says, it helped her reexamine her relationship with female pleasure. “As Emmanuelle, I was completely disconnected from my body,” says the French actress The Hollywood Reporter.
With its world premiere opening the San Sebastian Film Festival on Friday night, Emmanuelle has received acclaim for its graphic content. Diwan's film, starring Naomi Watts (Mulholland Street, Bird Man), Will Sharpe (The White Lotus) and Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger things), draws inspiration from the erotic novel by Emmanuelle Arsan, and this eroticism is certainly the driving force behind the project.
Emmanuelle focuses on a woman on a business trip to Hong Kong, where she works for a luxury hotel group. In search of lost pleasure, she seeks her excitement in experiences with some of the hotel's guests. One of them, Kei (Sharpe), seems to constantly elude her.
Merlant's performance is subtle. She plays a robotic woman who attempts to exercise autonomy over her sex life and instead finds a connection that doesn't require any physical intimacy. Below, with responses edited for brevity and clarity, Merlant discusses with DAY What was his first impression after reading the script, inspired by the French #MeToo movement, and why, if Merlant had been a footballer, Cate Blanchett would have been his Diego Maradona.
First of all I would like to congratulate you on your film.
A thousand thanks.
What was going through your head when you first read that script?
When I first read the script, I was like, “Oh, I’m going to read a script that explores female pleasure, and I really need that right now.” Because like Emmanuelle, I was completely disconnected from my body. After the #MeToo movement, I started thinking about all these years of doing things just to give pleasure to other people. I was like, okay, I know I’m not really happy, I don’t really have a libido. Why? As a woman in my 30s, I don’t really share eroticism or orgasms with people. And there’s a sadness in that. In the script, there is.
She takes the risk. Emmanuelle, who is like a robot and has no pleasure… She has the power of independence. But she is alone. She can manage her life, but sometimes she is in this luxury hotel where she always has to think, spy on others, make sure everyone gets what they want quickly. I had a strong bond with her. And in the end, she says what she wants and when she wants it: “Can you put your hand here? I want this. Can you change the pace?”
Have you found that playing Emmanuelle has helped you explore your sexuality and your relationship with eroticism?
For me, to do Emmanuelleit was an exploration. It broke something: I feel more comfortable, more free, even just saying out loud what I want. So I can start living a new life of exploration, of my desires.
Were you intimidated by the graphic nature of many of the scenes, or were you thrilled? I wondered if you were in any way nervous about making a film that some actors would find so vulnerable.
I'm just vulnerable in being good, in being in the right place on the scene and giving emotions. I don't feel vulnerable when I expose my body in sex scenes. When there's a respectful environment and strong ideas and a space of respect and consideration offered to me, I can go really far, as far as I want. And that's what happened in this film. So I wasn't scared at all, I was excited. It was, “Oh, this is the best for an actress. I have Audrey Diwan with a fabulous vision, I have a crew that knows what they're doing.” We did a lot of rehearsals with the actors, with an intimacy coach to think about what we do.
After the #MeToo movement, there are a lot of people who are like, “Oh, now with intimacy coaches, we can't do anything anymore.” I think that's just a small group of people. Yes, maybe they feel like they have less freedom, but for the rest of us, there's more freedom. Audrey once said, and I feel the same way, that when there's space, a lot of collaboration between people, and even an intimacy coach, we go a lot further. There are a lot more surprises because you have more people giving ideas.
I would like to ask about the #MeToo movement. It started in the United States, but the next country to lead this movement is France, especially at this time. Audrey said that this film is an exploration of eroticism in the post-#MeToo era. What message is she sending with Emmanuelle?
Before any message, I think she wants it to be an experience of sensations. We have been fed so many images of sex, of nudity, of pornography, but in this patriarchal gaze completely dominated by violence. So she was trying to make a film in which we ask ourselves: “Is there still room for eroticism and sensations in [women’s] lives?” Try to make us take our time. Because eroticism and sensation, I think, can grow when you’re in the present moment. But to get to that point, it takes time. The same goes for the female orgasm. It takes time.
Just because it's a feminist film, doesn't mean it's not for a man, [Diwan] she says. Hopefully with this film, when you see her feeling pleasure, men can feel pleasure too. Like all the films we've seen about men, we watched them and sometimes we felt emotions. So it should be the same in the opposite way. I think it also means that consent is exciting. They work together. No one is forced. Everyone listens to each other. And you can feel excitement through that.
One of the focal points of the film is this amazing connection that you and Will Sharpe, who plays Kei, have. I love how it develops and how it actually subverted my expectations in a lot of ways by the end of the film. I wonder how you saw their connection.
For me, sometimes he was like a ghost. But I liked that he was a mystery, because most of the time it's the woman who is the mystery in movies. I like the mirror between them, both of them are disconnected and they don't feel pleasure. I like that you can have a strong relationship with someone without having sex. It's not an obligation. That's the story I told myself with Kei: you represent, for me, the man who doesn't fit into the dominant dynamic of the male gaze. They won't feel pleasure if the woman doesn't. He's also looking for equality and a real connection. It takes time for him, maybe eventually, later, he'll have it again. But he's listening to her. I found that very poetic.
With something like Portrait of the Lady on FireIt seems to me that you have become a true champion of cinema for the female gaze. How important was it for you, and how important is a film like Emmanuelle after decades of cinematic experiences for men?
It is essential, in my life, to try to give more space to women. And to work on this, not only for women but for all the people who have no faith in this world. Because you have to find a meaning in life. So for me, it makes sense and makes things much more surprising and exciting.
How was it on set? There was Will, Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower. Lots of English people. Do you hope to do more English language projects in the future?
I would love to because I love this language. There are more opportunities because more films are being made in English. So, of course, you have more opportunities for crazy things, working with amazing directors and actors that you admire. I would love to work in different languages.
Is there a particular language you would like to shoot a film in?
Japanese or Korean.
Why?
Because I watch a lot of Japanese and Korean movies and I love the language and culture.
I imagine you really enjoyed filming in Hong Kong.
Yes! It's amazing. I thought I wouldn't like Hong Kong, but I loved it.
How come you thought you wouldn't like it?
I don't know. Because I felt like it was just too much. But actually, there are beaches, there is space with nature, the people are so kind.
You've worked with so many amazing people. Is there anyone on your list, a director or an actor, you'd love to work with?
I love Yorgos Lanthimos. I love Phoebe Waller-Bridge. I love Nicole Kidman, Jane Campion, Justine Triet.
I wanted to ask about the work on Tar with Cate [Blanchett]who receives her Donostia Award at this year's San Sebastian Film Festival. What was it like working with her?
It was fabulous. For me, she is Maradona if I were a footballer. I had the chance to meet an absolutely phenomenal actress. I was able to watch her so many times because I was the assistant in [Tár]. So I could just sit there and watch how she shot the scenes, how much love she puts into this job. There's something magical, because some people ask me, but how is she so good? There's a lot of things, but there's also something just magical that you can't explain. She's so kind. I remember there was a scene that we shot from an angle and we had to hug each other, and she was trying to hide her head to make sure I was the one in the frame. It was really cute.
Very nice. And last question, which is simply: what's on the horizon for you?
My movie, The Balconieswill be out soon. Then there is Pietro Marcello's film [Duse] which will be out soon. There are two other films that I can't say anything about. [Points.] That's my agent. [Laughs.]
Read THR's review on Emanuel here. It has been announced that Neon is about to win the US distribution rights. Emmanuelle will be released in French theaters on September 25, distributed by Pathé.