UK - 2001 jan.

TRY FIDELITY

What do you do if Sophie Marceau, international screen goddess, invites you into her boudoir? Talk about the nature of fidelity, of course. 
By Toby Wiseman - Photograph by Ellen Von Unwerth

She appears at the door of her hotel room, long brown hair swept over her shoulders, uneven fringe partially obscuring sparkling eyes. "Would you like to come into my boudoir ?" she asks with a wry grin. Her voice is delicate and distinctly French; her English good, yet broken enough to sound incredibly seductive. She is beautiful, and I feel strangely small and disempowered. She is an international screen goddess and her name is Sophie Marceau.
You know who Sophie Marceau is. She starred with Mel Gibson in Braveheart playing Princess Isabelle, and more recently as femme fatale Elektra King in The World is Not Enough. Sophie gave us what Bond girls had hither to lacked: ambivalence and mystique. As Antoine de Caunes wrote in these pages, French actresses are "hot and cool passionate and aloof". Marceau is no exception, and you'll like her for it, that's for sure...

ESQUIRE: Hello Sophie, how are you ?
SOPHIE MARCEAU: Fine thank you. It's nice to be in London.

You like London ?
I love it. I would love to live here.

Why ? It's dirty, it's noisy, it's horrible.
No, seriously, I really do like it. I lived here for six months when I was doing the James Bond film, and for that time I lived like a Londoner. I think it's a marvellous city. The people are civilised, there are plenty of parks. Paris is beautiful but there's nowhere to breathe.

You were here filming The World Is Not Enough. How did the French receive the film? Were they supportive?
Oh yes, it was received very well. You know, I read newspaper articles here saying that the French people were annoyed that I was doing it, but in fact it was the opposite. They were really proud that a French actress was appearing in a film that they would have gone to see anyway. There was no bitterness at all.

Antoine de Caunes wrote an article for Esquire explaining why the English love French actresses...
Do you love French actresses ?

Well, umm, yes we do.
[Slightly bemused chuckle]

He said that the likes of you and Emanuelle Béart drive Englishmen wild because you're full of contradictions: strong yet vulnerable. What's your opinion?
[Another slightly bemuse chuckle] Well, I don't know how much the English really know us because you don't have many French films in your cinemas. Maybe they just see us in magazines. But then we're relegated to the status of models, which is a perfectly valid reason to be recognised in itself, but if you're an actress it can be a little frustrating.

There aren't many actresses who achieve what you do though. I mean, it's often the case that actresses are known either because they can act very well, or because they are very beautiful. French actresses usually are both.
Well, I'm aware that we have this reputation, and that's very nivce. There is something exotic about us, no? French women are not necessarily the most beautiful women on earth, but they do have a certain thing, though I'm not sure what that is. It's not a bad reputation to have.

Your latest film, Fidelity, was shot by the Polish director (and your husband) Andrzej Zulawski. All the dialogue is French with English subtitles. How do you think it will go down here?
God, I've no idea. I think that the people who have already chosen to go and see it will enjoy it. As for the others, I don't know. It's not exactly James Bond! But it's not a film that you can be indifferent to either.

It's pretty intense, isn't it ? It's about the trials and tribulations of a wife who manages to stay faithful to her husband despite the strong feelings she harbours for a colleague, right? I can't help thinking that if it was an American film, it would be called Infidelity and be about a woman who succumbs to wanton temptation.
[Laughs] I know what you mean, but I don't think that kind of thing is exclusive to American cinema; that could so easily be a French film as well. We were just trying to tell a very real, powerful story, you know? Consequently, it's very tough on the senses. I think that something will stay in the minds of those who see it.

Sounds pretty profound. Personally, I love watching films in different languages. Subtitles give films an air of mystique.
You're talking about the exoticism of French actresses again, aren't you?

No.Well, OK, yes. You see, to many English men, a beautiful actress speaking French on screen is a very appealing thing indeed. Does that make sense ?
I think so.

What do you think is the difference between English men and French men ?
[Laughing] Well, I don't know enough about either because I live with a Polish one !

What do French women think of English men ? Do you think we're all like James Bond ?
Well, James Bond is a very attractive man. Though, if I'm honest, I haven't met many Englishmen who look like James Bond. But it shouldn't be about two nations, you know ?

Would I have more chance impressing a French woman if I spoke her language ?
You want my advice ? Don't worry about it. You have a great language anyway, so why would you want to speak another one ?