CANNES DISPATCH
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Words by JANE CROWTHER
‘He’s someone who is a really nasty guy,’ French actor Benoît Magimel admits of his latest character in Léa Mysius’ The Birthday Party (Histoires de la Nuit) which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last week – earning a 12-minute ovation in the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Greg Williams shot the actor at his hotel before he walked the rouge carpet. Magimel plays Franck, a disgruntled dad who disrupts a surprise birthday party in the home invasion thriller based on Laurent Mauvignier’s bestselling novel.
‘The character to begin with was very brutal, very tough,’ Magimel told assembled journalists at the film’s press conference. ‘I thought there should be contradictions, more nuances. Then he came back with another version that was absolutely perfect, magical.’ Not so magical for the family living in remote marshland who get a visit from Franck and his friends. Thomas (Bastien Bouillon), his wife Nora (Hafsia Herzi) and her daughter Ida (Tawba El Gharchi) plus Monica Bellucci’s neighbour, find their rural idyll shattered by Franck, by turns charming and violent.
The cast and crew filmed the project over 31 sweltering days during a heatwave in Bellac and the oppressive temperature and claustrophobia is tangible for audiences. Magimel said that his inspiration for his performance was Henry Fonda and reviews praised the singular menace he brought to proceedings.
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Words by JANE CROWTHER
Benoît wears sunglasses by Jacques Marie Mage
The Birthday Party premiered at the 79th Cannes Film Festival
