Margaret Qualley presents two competing films this year: “Kinds of Kindness” by Yórgos Lánthimos and “The Substance” by Coralie Fargeat. Interview with an actress in search of thrills.
“It’s not necessarily that I gravitate towards the weird; I think weirdness gravitates towards me”. Margaret Qualley knows how to get to the heart of the matter, both in scenes and in interviews. The subject came up while discussing Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness. After Poor Things, this is the second time that the American, born into a film family – she is the daughter of Andie MacDowell – has been chosen by the Greek director, whom she met in 2020 during a shoot for Ukrainian Vogue. “In those images, I had a second tongue, a third leg… I felt special. I feel like a whole person, full of hope, and I think I can find a space in Yorgos’ universe precisely because of that.”
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For the actress, revealed by the 2014 series The Leftovers, Kinds of Kindness explores in its own way the relationship between filmmakers and actors: “It’s hard not to draw a line when you see Willem Dafoe’s character in the first part.” – Editor’s note: a kind of guru directing a man’s life, to the point of pushing him to extremes. Here, the actors and actresses have several parts – four for her – which produces a group effect, akin to theater. “Willem has been on stage a lot, so he was present on the set even if he wasn’t acting in the scene. The same goes for Emma Stone, who was involved in every aspect of the film.”
Two years ago, Margaret Qualley had already climbed the steps for with Claire Denis’s Stars At Noon, which had a particular meaning for the actress. “I left home at the age of 14. Shortly afterwards, my father moved to Panama. He’d been living there for a decade when Claire told me she wanted to shoot there. I saw him for the first time in a long time, and he came to the set every day.” A lover of adventurous personalities, Margaret Qualley paints a typical portrait of the French director: “Someone who can adapt to their environment with sensitivity, but with an inner compass that points them in the right direction. The aim is to work with people who have a strong point of view. You try it on, like a piece of clothing, and see if it fits.”
In both Claire Denis’ and Lanthimos’ films, the actress brings forth the states of her body, through violence or nudity, while many contemporary actors, filmmakers and studios shy away from it. “With Claire Denis, I trusted her to show my body with respect. She imagines scenes where you’re vulnerable, exposed, but looks at you with tenderness. With Yorgos, the feeling of protection comes from his aesthetic genius. Even when a shot touches on the grotesque, there’s a specific context. In cinema, I’m less interested in whether my body is naked than in capturing a character’s way of moving through the world. That’s what reveals the most.” Margaret Qualley continues her exploration with Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, her second film in competition this year, a horrific tale on the promise of eternal youth. “Prepare to see a lot of my buttocks, even more than in the Yorgos film (laughter). In The Substance, a French director looks at Hollywood, America, the way women age… I think Coralie is trying to say, in an exaggerated tone: look what you’re doing to us. Demi Moore goes all out, and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
Before leaving, we ask the American about “Margaret”, the song on Lana Del Rey’s latest album, named after her. « It’s actually dedicated to my husband Jack (Jack Antonoff, a music producer for Lana Del Rey and Taylor Swift). I think of Lana as an angel who landed amongst us humans. The people I care about most, like her, get me out of my own head and closer to my heart.«
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