Nathalie Baye, a certain idea of French cinema
Having passed away today at the age of 77, the actress who started out with Truffaut, Pialat and Godard knew how to build a career without parochialism, at ease in all registers: drama, comedy, thriller… With a popularity which has never waned over the course of more than 80 films.
“ I would like to dedicate this César to the actresses. To all the actresses. To those in this room who are privileged like me. To those who are getting started, who are just starting out, who are afraid, who have doubts. And particularly to those who don’t work, who are waiting for phone calls, who are in the hole, who no longer believe in it. Because that’s the hardest thing in this job, when you don’t have a job. Because being good in a film is the least you can do. » These words, Nathalie Baye pronounced them on February 25, 2006 on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet while receiving the César for best actress for The Little Lieutenant and this role of female cop plagued by alcoholism initially planned… for Jacques Dutronc. His third, 24 years old and 23 years after those for A strange affair And Libra. This speech had marked those to whom it was addressed. And since then, it was common that in interviews, as soon as actresses were asked about their job, they would come back to these words. Clear, fair, without embellishments. Words that hit home because they tell the story of what Nathalie Baye herself went through and which she never kept quiet to remind us that these air gaps, more or less numerous, more or less significant, constitute the life of any actress, including those who regularly reach the top.
The disappearance of Nathalie Baye this morning at the age of 77 caused an immediate and unanimous wave of emotion from the profession. And the testimonies also went beyond the simple message of condolences. Her friends (Dominique Besnehard…), those who directed her (Nicole Garcia…), her partners (Isabelle Carré, Mathilde Seigner…) each had, beyond the sadness that gripped them, specific memories of the set to share, recounting both the involvement she put in her interpretations and this way of constantly including others, of supporting them when they had less experience than her.
Nathalie Baye loved cinema in its entirety, savoring its gildings because she also knew the wounds and bumps it can cause. She loved cinema, all cinemas, without the slightest partisanship. When she really thought she wasn’t the one for him. “ Coming from dance and the Conservatory, I long believed cinema was reserved for dazzling creatures. And then Suzanne Schiffman, Truffaut’s assistant, spotted me in the street. On our first meeting, François told me that I was not the script-girl character he was looking for. But he still hired me the next day. I, who didn’t think at all about cinema, didn’t immediately appreciate my chance of starting my career with a film that was about a cinema shoot. But it was on this set that I fell in love with it. » In the process, Pialat (The Open Mouth), Rider (Full of great), Godard (Save whoever can (life)) and again Truffaut (The Green Room) will call on her.
But immediately, she stands out, expressing through her choices the idea that auteur cinema will not constitute her only horizon. At the same time, we see her on TV in Quite a prankster by Jacques Rouland by Pierre Mondy (Proust’s Madeleine by his daughter Laura who wore out the K7 from watching it as a child) and at the cinema in I’m going to break alongside Christian Clavier. And, later, as soon as she had the opportunity, she would try to venture as often as possible into the field of comedy, of Absolutely fabulous from Gabriel Aghion to Alibi.com 2 of the Fifi gang. Not out of concern for the discrepancy or the search for counter-use but because she sincerely liked it: “ At the beginning of my career, I only wanted to do that. I asked for someone to write to me about it, but the projects didn’t come. So when I was finally offered one, I told myself that I couldn’t refuse, that perhaps it was the time to no longer control my image in the game, to let go. »
However, it is the dramatic register that will propel her to the top in the 80s, which began with her first main role, that of a French teacher in the midst of an existential crisis, in A week’s vacation by Bertrand Tavernier. Will follow A strange affair, The Return of Martin Guerre, Libra, I married a shadow… A succession of theatrical successes coupled with rave reviews for his acting and awards which gave him a central place in French cinema. All boosted by the media by her love story with Johnny Hallyday with whom she will also share a song (the unforgettable intro to Something from Tennessee) and a film (the Detective by Godard). Five years of madness followed by a period of relative lean times until a role changed the cards. That, mirror, of an actress whose career is experiencing a hollow moment in Every other weekend by Nicole Garcia. “ This is one of the first roles where I express so much violence whereas until now I was mainly entrusted with reassuring people with whom we could identify. This gave ideas to others. Without Every other weekendI would not have had offers of comedy or, conversely, dark films with dangerous and unsympathetic women “.
In the process, the 90s will hardly be fun (The Machine, Paparazzi…) but the link will never be weakened with the public. Because despite her star status, Nathalie Baye never seemed distant, untouchable and was always part of people’s lives. A popular actress, whose discretion is praised. Present but never omnipresent. And from the end of the 90s, there will always be a role that will give impetus to his career. A pornographic affair with an interpretation prize at the Mostra up for grabs, Venus beauty (Institute) And The Little Lieutenant of course but also Feelings by Noémie Lvovsky, the very daring Customer by Josiane Balasko where she portrays a woman who is a fan of escort boys, Just the end of the world by Xavier Dolan.
Until recent years and before the illness that would take her away took her away from the sets, she never stopped filming. Under the direction of Claude Berri, Steven Spielberg, Claude Chabrol, Guillaume Canet, Pierre Salvadori… but also and above all by regularly supporting filmmakers at the beginning of their careers: Bruno Chiche, Thierry Klifa, Martial Fougeron, Frédéric Tellier, Antoine Cuypers, his daughter Laura in her first short film as a director, Thomasor, more recently, Rag boy by Nicolas Maury, whose mother she plays, “ a role that would never have achieved this strangeness if Nathalie had not taken it on » he confided to us at the time.
Cinema as a playground without pre-established limits, without resting on its laurels. Not in a spirit of challenge but because there were always new territories to explore in the person we could regularly meet in Parisian cinemas. “ This profession would have less flavor if it were just a long, quiet river. But you have to know how to refuse projects in these low moments. Because suddenly when the right one arrives, it’s a joy like no other. This job is addictive thanks to this uncertainty “. Our addiction to Nathalie Baye is not about to end. 80 films to watch and rewatch will never stop feeding it.
