When I first meet Audrey Tautou in a courtyard at the Four Seasons, I'm immediately struck by two things: Tautou's delicate, porcelain beauty, and the fact that this tiny woman, dressed to the nines, is struggling to lift and reposition a gigantic, shade-granting umbrella. Sure, it might be a little easier if we just move our chairs into the shade that's already there, but Tautou isn't daunted by taking on the tougher task, and it's that same sense of impossible, irrepressible ambition that makes her such a perfect fit to play Coco Chanel in Anne Fontaine's new biopic Coco Before Chanel, which traces the headstrong designer's eventful early life.
After Tautou finished with the umbrella, she sat down to talk with Movieline about her own childhood, her affinity for Chanel, and her position on doing more English-language films.
Coco Before Chanel makes the argument that what happened before Chanel's fame was the most important time in her life, that many of her most important qualities were forged then. Could I say the same about Audrey Tautou?
I think that in Chanel's youth, she was your typical Romanesque heroine. She came from a very, very poor family, her mother died when she was young, her father abandoned her in an orphanage, she was a self-made woman...and of course, that's all the truth! It makes that part of her life very interesting. As for me? When I was a teenager, I thought nothing would ever happen to me because my childhood was so normal. I had this complex of normality. Maybe that's why I've been playing a lot of orphans. [Laughs]
I'm sure everyone has asked you about your own similarities to Coco Chanel, but I'd like to know what you think Anne Fontaine has in common with her.
Yeah, that's the wiser question to ask! I think that Anne had a real strength and she's a woman who's able to assume responsibility and drive the team. She's an independent woman and she has a way of talking that's very straight and direct. In acting, that's something you really respond to.
Anne told me that to a certain extent, she blackmailed you into doing this project. If you hadn't agreed to do it, she said she wouldn't have written it.
Well, before starting to research a moment in Chanel's life which would be interesting to Anne, she wanted to know if the idea of playing Coco Chanel was inspiring me. But she didn't tell me, "If you don't do it, I won't do it," she just said, "Would you be interested in playing Coco Chanel? I'm not sure if I will find a movie in Chanel's life that will interest me because I don't want to make a movie about fashion or clothes or just a superficial thing about her own life. I want to focus, maybe, on the most Romanesque parts of Chanel's life and go as deep as possible in her psychology."
You had been offered a Chanel biopic many times, but you only said yes to this one. What was it about Anne's pitch that convinced you?
I really felt that Anne had a good approach to Chanel's life, in the manner of how she wanted to treat this biography. Her approach was very original compared to others in this genre, and she had an understanding of Chanel's psychology that was very precise and accurate. My interest began in her very early years, her childhood, and the place she occupied at that time in history. As well, her relationships with men she had and how they changed her life, all of these aspects really intrigued me.
Even though the film cuts off before Chanel becomes famous, how much did you let what you know of her later life inform your performance?
Well, I read several books about her and watched videos and photos, so I tried to guess, what were the aspects of her personality that remained with Chanel in later life? What were the character traits that disappeared when the success came? And what character traits only came when she achieved fame and success? I was interested in the "diamond in the rough" before the facets were created by all the circumstances and events in her life. I'm trying to guess, because in Edmond Charles-Roux's biography, a witness said she was reminded of Chanel at the cabaret singing, and she said, "I remember her as shy and ambitious." And I thought, "Shy? That is not an adjective I would immediately think of for Chanel."
She was eighteen or nineteen at the time, and it was written that she had a lot of success with men, that she was very charming. And that's the same thing: "Charming" is not a word you'd immediately think of when you think of Chanel. So I thought it was really important to show her strength, but also maybe to show the vulnerability that she had that maybe she lost or managed to hide [underneath] her talent after. You see what I mean.
How was it to act opposite the American-born Alessandro Nivola, who speaks French in this film? I knew that he could do accents, but I've never seen him do a whole film in a foreign language.
Yes! He did an amazing job, because as a French person, when you listen to him talking, he speaks an amazing French, really amazing. He was great, very professional. He gave this look to Chanel which was the thing...it was that look that gave her confidence and fortitude.
Alessandro was the only actor on set performing in his non-native language. I'm sure you can relate to that, having made English-language films before.
Yeah, yeah, yeah! I always kept telling him, "I know it's hard, but don't worry, you're doing wonderfully well." It can be very frustrating to speak in a foreign language because you don't have the same freedoms as in your language. Sometimes you just want to feel freer!
Does that influence your desire to seek out English-language projects?
I've received some English-speaking scripts, but I was not interested in them. I would love to occasionally do English-speaking films, but the script is as important for me as the director. I'm not ready to do any compromises for my work.
You made Coco Before Chanel last year, but I don't see anything on your IMDb after that. Have you made any movies since?
Yes, I just finished a comedy with Pierre Salvadori. He's the director of Priceless [a 2006 film starring Tautou] and we've done another movie together.
Who do you play?
I play a woman working in a salon, and in spite of herself, she wants to please her mother. No, not in spite of herself...she wants to please her mother in spite of the fact that her mother doesn't expect anything from her. My mother has been completely brave since my father left her. I try to do everything to make her happy, and my mother doesn't ask anything of me. It's a very complicated story, it's burlesque, it's convoluted, lots of mix-ups.
And who plays your mother?
Nathalie Baye.
Oooh, I love her.
Do you mind if I take your picture?
What? My picture?
Yes, do you mind? I sometimes like to do this.
OK.
[She pulls a strange old camera from her purse and attempts to fiddle with it while simultaneously smoking]. Sorry. Hold on. [More fiddling.] Sorry.
It's no problem. Should I pose or do something?
You don't have to. OK, wait. [She finally takes the picture.] OK! There. Thank you.