Let It Rain : Interview with Florence Loiret-Caille


What was it like when you met up with Agnès Jaoui?
I arrived for the test in a state of hyper-concentration, but because of the way the place was laid out, I could hear the actress who was before me. When it was my turn, I’d lost it; I didn’t know the words anymore and I was empty. I felt that Agnès wanted me to succeed but I was blocked. So I improvised. I don’t remember what I did but I did everything but speak the lines; I was in a state. I came out and I was distraught. And then one day, I was surprised to have a message from Agnès, offering me the part.

How do you explain her choice?
I think she firstly chooses her actors as people. On the shoot, I didn’t feel like I was acting; more that I was living. It’s not so much that I improvised, but I gave some very intimate things, as if I wasn’t aware of what I was doing, as if I hadn’t realized. Like being truthful despite oneself. That experience may seem unexpected within the framework of her filmmaking, which is above all about a very carefully-written script and dialogues. Yes, it’s a total paradox. When you read Agnès and Jean-Pierre’s script, you think that the dialogues are exceptionally precise. You feel like you’ve seen it all; that the scenes are simple and intelligent and that you just have to speak the lines and it’ll be fine. In fact, her movies oblige you to feel things inside in order to perform properly. If you don’t appropriate things physically, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Especially as they work a lot with long takes.

How did you reach that state of performance?
Agnès lets you be very independent. From the moment you’re selected, it’s left up to you. That’s not always easy but I think its what makes the shoot very intimate. Because behind Agnès’ apparent discretion, there’s an amazing generosity and presence. Agnès, Jean-Pierre and the rest of the team are always right up to speed with what’s going on. And that creates very strong relationships between people. You feel like you’re surrounded 360° and you have to abandon yourself completely to that. Agnès is watching the images and Jean-Pierre monitoring the sound when he’s not performing himself. His reactions also hit home. If you’re not right on the words, you can’t be in an Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri movie. The sound engineer, Jean-Pierre Duret, is not just a technician. He’s a musician and he makes you deliver your voice. Each time he comes to speak to you, it’s not to tell you about a technical problem; he comes to talk to you as a person. He’s not just there to record; it’s as if he’s physically there, at your side, in the scene, as if his presence helps you to completely forget yourself and to be totally submerged in the moment.

What can you say about your character?
I read the script with Agnès round at her place. It was a moment we spent together more to help us build a connection and establish trust than to talk about the character. But on the shoot, I kept Aurélie’s diary. I imagined what she’d feel after the scenes I was playing. It was the first time I’d done that on a film.
To me, the most emblematic phrase, even if it is relatively tame, is when Aurélie says to Karim: “It was lovely earlier, and now it’s cold.” All these characters follow the whims of their feelings. Even if they deprive themselves of many things, they also know how to ride the wave together, and share moments. They live very ephemeral experiences, but they change them. At the end of the film, each one has come though an experience.

Is the experience of being in this film important to you?
Yes. I came out of it wowed by this experience that has really made me grow up. Agnès and Jean-Pierre taught me that acting isn’t just preparing a role, thinking and taking notes; it’s also letting yourself be seen. Usually, you act to mask yourself. With this film, I also learned to not hide who I am.