Are there any similarities between the two films?
Even though the films are completely different, it is easy to find some points of comparison. Let’s start with the cat. She plays with a cat as a metaphor. It is like a mother-in-law, like a burden, but if she escapes, then she is scared. So there are all these contradictions like one carries in one’s self. In both films, you have a cat and a crazy mother.
It is not the first time you play a woman on the borderline. Does it change you?
By no means. It makes me think. A movie makes you think, so I am like a spectator in my own films. It makes me think, but it doesn’t change me. It is acting. You can act and feel at the same time. It is always a game between a character that is different to yourself, and that resonates with yourself in a really hidden, unconscious part of yourself. It pleases me. It does not hurt me.
Are there enough strong roles for women?
Yes, there are.
What is your upcoming Michael Haneke film “Happy End” about?
It is about that family, and the story takes place not far from the migrants. The minute Haneke said it was near where the migrants are, everyone said it was a film about the migrants. I would say it is precisely not about the migrants; it is about the family. It is a bit early to talk about it. It is a very wealthy family. It is always like in Haneke’s films. In the broadest sense, it is very political and critical about our world.
What are you doing next?
I just finished “Madame Hyde,” and I am in the middle of the preparation of [Benoit Jacquot’s psychological thriller] “Eva.” It is based on a book, but it is a free adaption, even thought the characters are the same.
How do you prepare for your roles?
If it is with a director I have worked with already, I might not have quite the same detailed reading of the script, because I know the director and his work. In the case of “Madame Hyde,” I had worked before with Serge on “Tip Top,” and he really is a very talented French director, and he has a universe of his own. I read the script in that light, knowing what he did before. It is a split personality. I am a Madame during the day, and “Madame Hyde,” a kind of evil person, at night, who is polarized, and becoming evil and carrying the bad. I think all good projects explore the good and the bad. It is not quite the good and the bad, but I was thinking that all good projects explore the limitations between love and lack of love. Certainly “Elle.” Most of them are about that.
Why did you get into acting?
Why did I get into acting? What time is it? Well, let’s take it to the present time. What drew me to acting is what drives me to acting, even now. Which is, you know, it is very simple: I like it. It is easy, and it pleases me, and it is what I like and feel happy doing. It is always a good moment in my life, when it comes to acting.
Do you ever watch your old movies?
No. I would rather watch new films, and not mine. Sometimes, unexpectedly, I will see an old film on television.
Do you like working overseas?
I’ve always had the idea of working in France, and in other countries, in order to explore the differences and similarities. Cinema is a common medium, but doing it in Poland or America or France is different; I always liked that from the very beginning.
How is it working with different directors, old and new?
When it repeats, it is wonderful. When you meet someone for the first time, you have to break the ice, even though that…is done quite quickly on film, because you become close quickly. Everyone is a bit surprised when I say that Paul and I never discuss anything. We never said one word about the character, because the filmmaking has that sort of discussion.
Filmmaking is a language that settles the character. I have read some interesting things from Orson Welles about what he expects from characters. It is exactly what I say: Only the filmmaking should make it possible for the actor to complete his performance, and the director should be ready and welcoming to everything the actor does, instead of giving a precise indication based on something as arbitrary as what the character is. The character, by definition, does not exist, so it is important for the actor to bring his own personality, so that is the mystery about the fusion of the actor and the role. Having said that, everyone is different.