Emmanuelle Seigner is frequently asked to be seductive and difficult to read. We rate her more highly for the emotional complexity of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a supporting performance that deserves attention of its own.
Fi1m perspective
In The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), Emmanuelle Seigner plays Céline Desmoulins, the loyal former partner of Mathieu Amalric’s Bauby. The word “former” matters: affection has survived a relationship, and loyalty cannot be taken for granted. Seigner makes that emotionally complicated supporting role worth attending to in its own right. We were moved by the film because Julian Schnabel lets Bauby remain a complicated man, even while asking us to care about him.
Her international breakthrough came opposite Harrison Ford in Roman Polanski’s Frantic (1988), with Bitter Moon (1992) and The Ninth Gate (1999) following in their collaboration. Seductive, enigmatic and strong-willed women recur in her work, and that casting gives a thriller something useful: a person whose wishes are not immediately available to us. There is a limit to how long we find mystery satisfying, though. A role still needs to give an actor something to play beyond the effect she has on everyone else.
Venus in Fur (2013), with Seigner as Vanda opposite Amalric, offers a different sort of opportunity: a substantial lead in a meta-theatrical film. It is a useful corrective to an account of her work made up entirely of mysterious women in thrillers. Yet we would not treat leading roles as the only measure of an actor’s worth. Céline is enough reason to ask for parts that allow her feelings to matter as much as her presence.
Our recommendation is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, despite Schnabel’s occasional over-absorption in making beautiful images. There is enough feeling in the performances to survive that distraction. Seigner returned to Schnabel for At Eternity’s Gate (2018); we would welcome more parts that ask her to deal with feelings as difficult as Céline’s. Start there for Seigner, and give the supporting performance its share of attention.
Biography
Emmanuelle Seigner is a French actress and singer. She was born on 22 June 1966 in Paris.
Seigner is known for her roles as Michelle in Frantic (1988), Mimi in Bitter Moon (1992), the Girl in The Ninth Gate (1999), Titine in La Vie en Rose (2007), Céline Desmoulins in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007), Esther in In the House (2012), Vanda in Venus in Fur (2013), Madame Ginoux in At Eternity's Gate (2018) and Pauline Monnier in An Officer and a Spy (2019). She has received César Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Place Vendôme (1998) and La Vie en Rose (2007), and for Best Actress for Venus in Fur (2013).
She has been married to director Roman Polanski since 1989, and he has directed her in several films including Frantic, Bitter Moon, The Ninth Gate, Venus in Fur, Based on a True Story (2017) and An Officer and a Spy.
