Léa Drucker: “Xavier Legrand is very inspiring”

The actress looks back on her grueling role in the breathtaking Until the Guard and on her work with the director, Xavier Legrand.

In February 2019, Léa Drucker won the César for best actress for To the hiltalso winner of best film and best original screenplay. In his strong speechthe actress obviously thanked director Xavier Legrand and sent a message to women victims of violence.

We met her in February of the same year, when she released this shocking film, which will be rebroadcast at 9:05 p.m. on France 3.

To the Guard: The shock film from the beginning of the year (Review)

In 2013, Léa Drucker toured festivals to defend Before you lose everythinga stunning short film by a near unknown, Xavier Legrand, portrait of a mother under threat from a violent husband. Bitter, stretched like a bow, the short film won a plethora of awards including the César for short film in 2014.
Five years later, Léa Drucker reprises the role of Miriam in To the hilt recounting the complicated divorce of a couple with the custody of their minor child at stake. The actress once again imposes her presence, as determined as it is fragile, facing the massive Denis Ménochet – who would tend to occupy the entire screen. Like their brutal confrontation, To the hilt is a cinematic uppercut, a film where the subject fits the form perfectly and leaves you completely groggy.

When you shot the short film Before you lose everything in 2012, did you think that these characters, this story and this young director, Xavier Legrand, would carry you so long and so high?
I fell in love with Xavier from our first meeting where everything revolved around cinema. In particular, I talked to him a lot about Cristian Mungiu, in this very spectacular, very tense and very familiar vein. He told me he loved it… We then had a lot of fun making the short film but we couldn’t imagine what happened next.

Were you guaranteed to star in the feature film?
It never works like that. We have the delicacy of not imposing ourselves… I really wanted it and I would of course have been sad if the long journey was done without me. Xavier also told me that he had written the short for me, which had never happened to me.

How had this character lived in you during these five years?
I hadn’t forgotten him, he was always in the back of my mind. Before the preparation, however, I had a little apprehension. It impressed me to bring Miriam to life over a long period of time. The court was so strong, I was afraid I wouldn’t be up to it. Then, when we got to the heart of the matter, it became very concrete and this question no longer arose. Besides, I wasn’t alone. There was little Thomas Gioria and, above all, Denis Ménochet whose role took on more importance. It changed the dynamic of my character: in To the hiltMiriam is in a state of astonishment, of observation, which she was not in Before you lose everything where she acted. We had to make her exist differently, knowing that she is a woman in reconstruction.

Les Tickles, To the hilt: the committed speeches of the 2019 César winners

The film is based on permanent tension between your characters, with a vague interpretation of each other’s intentions. How do we play with mystery and ambiguity to this extent?
It escapes us a little, us actors, and we have to accept it. As it was necessary to assume a certain harshness of the character in the face of someone who appears threatening to him. This actually creates confusion for the viewer who has not seen the short. The judge sums it up well: “Which of you two lies more?” This ambiguity reinforces the dramatic tension.

Should you support a vaguely manipulative side of Miriam to attenuate the Manichean potential of Denis Ménochet’s character?
Of course. Denis, for his part, did a fantastic job on his character to give him more humanity. It’s very disturbing actually.

On set, were you the type to mess around between takes with Denis or were you not friends to stay in the energy of your characters?
It depended on the shots as far as I was concerned. I generally need to enter a state close to waking dreams. With Denis, whom I know very well, our relationship evolved in the middle of filming. As the story was shot chronologically (to accommodate Thomas Gioria, who plays my son), the tension between our characters continued to increase and we felt that we both needed to take a little of distance. It was instinctive.

How did you handle the most psychologically difficult scenes with Thomas Gioria?
I was helped by Xavier Legrand who perfectly prepared Thomas in advance by talking to him about domestic violence and ensuring his desire to play. There was also Love, his coach (you can’t make this up), who protected him a lot. Between each take, we played Uno, Thomas kicked the ball with Denis… It was both fun and professional. In the end, it was easy to play with him, he’s a real actor, he understood what this job demanded of you. We never took things out of him, he suggested them.

Xavier Legrand told us that what fascinated him was directing actors but that he did not have a particular method. How would you define working with him?
Something very sensitive emanates from Xavier to which we cannot remain indifferent. He is very inspiring. He also chooses the casting carefully, which contributes to general emulation. The work framework is well defined, rigorous and, within that, it leaves us a lot of freedom.

To the hilt is a great directorial film, very composed, with particular attention paid to ambient sounds, and to voices too. Does this contribute to the direction of actors?
The psychology of the characters stems from this, in fact. You should know that this work on sound was written in the script. I was particularly impressed by the description of the atmosphere in the car: the noise of the seat belts, the alarm, etc. Just reading it already made me feel oppressed. It’s rather rare.

In the party scene, you are talking to the other characters but the sound of your voice is drowned out by the music. Did you know that you wouldn’t be heard on video?
I told myself it was likely (she smiles). The result is stunning.

How do you move on after such a film which, undoubtedly, marks a milestone in your career?
It is indeed an important film for me but also because it marks the birth of a filmmaker. For now, I’m enjoying it. I’m very interested in talking about it.

Are you ready to speak out on behalf of women victims of domestic violence?
I can give my opinion, I have one, but I don’t want to be a spokesperson – I don’t think anyone will ask me. All the stories are so unique that it is difficult to consider oneself legitimate on the question.

Trailer:

The complete winners of the 2019 Césars