A QUIET
WEEKEND IN THE COUNTRY…
Alexandre Aja jokes, "The film has
no message, except maybe that revising for your exams in
an isolated farmhouse can endanger your health."
Gregory Levasseur takes up the idea: "We had a lot of fun
writing the film. We dreamed up all the scariest situations we
could think of and we put them all together for 90 minutes of pure
suspense."
The director adds, "We play on people's most basic fears:
the unknown, the dark, claustrophobia, the significance of death.
In a single night, the two heroines confront pretty much the whole
spectrum of flesh-crawling experiences."
He goes on: "Of course, around our basic idea, we built a
whole structure of intriguing twists and turns. We are in a genre
where the unpredictable plays a huge role. We started out with
the idea that the whole movie would take place in the house. The
killer finds a way in and the battle lasts until sunrise. But we
soon realized that this restricted us and we decided to prolong
the chase outside of the house to make the night itself a kind
of suffocating enclosed space."
Gregory Levasseur adds: "The killer is no more than a bulky
shadow for the first part of the movie. You have to wait a long
time before you glimpse any more than that. At first, he exists
through his actions and his heavy breathing, his shambling footsteps,
the blade, his coveralls…"
Alexandre Aja notes: "The movie opens with an idea that everybody
can identify with: two friends are going for a weekend in the country.
As night falls, the atmosphere changes and soon becomes absolutely
terrifying."
He continues: "In the face of horror, people reveal their
true selves and emotions are heightened. Everything becomes more
intense, more urgent. What would we do in that situation? Each
decision, each movement, could be your last."
TWO ORDINARY YOUNG GIRLS…
Alexandre Aja says, "The choice of
the two leads was vital. The audience's identification with
the story depends on their ability to seem real. The plot
revolves around their relationship. They drive the story.
As actresses, they also had to be able to take on everything
that was in the script. The two roles are equally demanding
physically and psychologically. The actresses are in the
front line and have to switch between varying emotions in
the blink of an eye. Cécile de France enjoys the genre
and liked the script. She quickly got behind the project.
She brought a lot to the character of Marie and brought to
life all that we had hoped for when we wrote it. That wasn't
easy. Maïwenn also had to take on a heavy load. She
played the game to the very end, with buckets of energy and
honesty. Her character is definitely the one that allows
people to identify with the protagonists. She's the only
normal person in the whole nightmare…"
Gregory Levasseur adds: "If you break the movie down, only
the first few scenes required a classical acting approach. Things
soon start going wrong and each new scene cranks up the tension
a little bit more. This required total physical and mental commitment
from the two actresses. They threw themselves heart and soul into
each scene as if it was a battle to be won."
Alexandre Aja continues: "Fortunately, we were able to shoot
some of the movie in chronological order, which means the characters
can evolve with the story. Our shooting schedule enabled the actors
to get a real grasp of their characters. Cécile and Maïwenn
could only be sure of one thing: that the next day would be a little
tougher than the one just gone."
THE FEEL AND LOOK OF THE MOVIE…
The movie was shot in six weeks,
mostly at night. Alexandre Aja emphasizes that "a
tight schedule like that is almost inherent to this kind
of picture. They've always been made fast without much
money, forcing people to be as creative as possible. It
imbues the film with energy, rhythm and a very distinctive
feel."
Gregory Levasseur recalls: "We were careful to ensure that
the movie is as universal as possible. It's impossible to say where
and when exactly the action takes place."
Alexandre Aja adds: "That was very important. We did all we
could to stick to that principle. The action takes place over a
single night, almost in real time. We wanted the plot to unfold
in a linear way without people being able to predict what would
happen next."
Gregory Levasseur notes: "The night is almost a character
of the movie. Darkness is everywhere. With DP Maxime Alexandre
we decided to make the shadows a real protagonist, whether the
scene takes place in the house, on the road or in the forest."
Alexandre Aja concludes: "We had to work hard and very fast.
We often finished at dawn, exhausted from a night where each shot
demanded total commitment. Every day, we just hoped that we'd got
what we needed so that audiences would forget their surroundings
and join Marie in her nightmare."
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