Inspired by Sacher-Masoch's novel, Polanski's French adaptation of David Ives' features Mathieu Amalric (a dead ringer for Polanski) in top form as a frustrated director sitting all alone in a Parisian theatre after a day of auditioning actresses for the play he is preparing to direct. He is not happy with the standard of those auditioning for his play, not one has the poise to play the leading role, but his luck and life changes when Vanda appears: an unbridled and brazen whirlwind of energy.
Emmanuelle Seigner (also Polanski's wife) strikes an imposing and impressionable Vanda, who embodies everything Thomas hates. She is crude, idiotic, and will stop at nothing to get the part.
When Thomas finds himself backed into a corner and lets her try her luck, he is amazed to see Vanda transformed. Not only has she found the right props and costumes, but she understands the character (whose name she shares) intimately, and knows all her lines by heart. The "audition" lengthens and intensifies, and Thomas' attraction starts to develop into an obsession ...
When Polanski read the script he was dazzled by the humour: "The text was so funny I found myself laughing out loud all by myself, which is pretty rare. The irony of the piece, which sometimes comes close to sarcasm, was irresistible. I also liked the feminist element. I immediately wanted to turn it into a film. Firstly, because there was a great part for Emmanuelle and we had been talking about working together again for a long time. And there's also a great part for a male actor. I immediately imagined it set in an empty theatre, probably because I am from a theatre background. A theatre creates another dimension, a certain atmosphere ... "
Venus in Fur follows Polanski's first-rate adaptation of Yasmina Reza's play Carnage, proving that he is a director who can effortlessly turn intimate spaces, and the intimacy between characters, into exciting and entertaining cinema. It has always been his desire to make a film that only has two characters, and Venus in Fur thankfully fell into the right hands.
Says Polanski: "It's a real challenge, but it's a challenge that inspires me, which presents an obstacle - otherwise I get bored. The challenge was to stay in a single location with only two characters without ever boring the spectators, without it looking like theatre filmed for television. It was an interesting challenge to take on, especially now, when going to a cinema means being blown away by the picture and sound. Making it through the trailers is the hardest part! There are always two or three that pack in all the violence from an entire film: a dozen explosions, a dozen flipped cars, and always the same sound between shots, as if that's all they had in their sound library."
The most important attribute of a great director is to be able to collaborate with the writer, and as Clint Eastwood has successfully done with Jersey Boys, Polanski's journey with Venus in Fur began by working closely with playwright David Ives.
An important change in the play was altering the location. In the play, everything happens in an audition room; it's fairly flat. However, in France, in particular in the private theatre, where there is no repertoire or company, auditions are often held on a stage. Polanski's first thought was to transpose the action to a theatre.
"Being in a theatre changes everything, right from the start. Being able to move between the stage and the auditorium, not to mention backstage, opened up a whole lot of new possibilities."
Our work was very detailed in that respect even though, when we were shooting, I changed some situations and improvised some movements. Polanski was not familiar with the bizarre world of Sacher-Masoch. A friend showed Polanski some Japanese sado-masochistic pornographic films.
Says Polanski: "Crazy - to the point of being a little scary. I had no idea that so many people could be into these sorts of things. I feel like there are parallels with punks and Goths: there is something affected about it, or at least, something of following a trend. I think some people do it to be part of a group, to be like other punks or Goths, rather than for the pleasure of piercing their cheeks or wearing uncomfortable clothes.
"There is something in sado-masochism that is not dissimilar to theatre: you become a director in your own fantasies, you play a part, you get somebody else to play a part. That theatricality is something the film plays with, that play within a play: a place where domination and submission, theatre and real life, characters, reality and fantasy, all meet, switch places and blur boundaries. In the film, the actress says: "Naked on stage? No problem. I'll do that for you for free. As for sadomasochism, I'm familiar with it, I work in theatre!"
Polanski finds that the relationship between directors and actors are sado-masochistic.
"Sure, it must happen, but it's something the film sends up. That line is one of the ones written by David Ives that really had me laughing and made me want to adapt his play. It was fun and exciting to find a different register for each situation, a different language, a different game."
Seigner agrees. "I have always said that. As much as I enjoy acting, I have a real problem with the passive element involved in being an actor. Being submissive and dependent on the will of someone else has always been difficult for me, although a little less so now, as I make music and I find freedom in that. Roman has always been aware of this duality in me, and this was an opportunity to play it. I don't know if I would ever dare to do what Vanda does, or whether I would be as pushy as her, but I do understand that rebellious edge, the determination not to be used. All that exists somewhere within me. Some directors are very tough, too eager to lord their power over us. But it is something very personal to me. There are actors who do not have a problem with it."
Commenting on what he found interesting about Seigner's performance as Vanda, Polanski noted that it was "her physicality, the image she projects, and her ability to switch from one emotion to another".
"I thought the regular character, the actress, would be very easy for her to play, but I realised during shooting that it was the other one - the character from the Masoch book, Vanda von Dunajev - which came to her more easily in the end even though she didn't have any real trouble with either of them. She switched between them as if it was completely natural, and could change between voices, accents, attitudes and physicality - almost between different bodies - with the greatest of ease."
Polanski feels that he was equally blessed with Amalric."He's a great actor and he's also a director, so he understands a lot of things and situations. He is gifted, intelligent and the right age. Everything that was needed to make the part a success! Few actors could have done what he did, and with as much subtlety."
What makes Venus in Fur intriguing is that Polanski only used one camera.
"For me, and especially for this film, there is only one 'best angle'. There might be others, a few good ones, but only one that is the best! I film from my perspective, following what I would want to see with the camera. However, I always use the actors to block scenes - I prefer that things come from them rather than me. You can't get hung up on some directorial idea and then try to paste it onto the actors. It would be like having a really well-cut suit tailored, and then trying to force some guy to squeeze into it! And at one point in the story, it is the actress who chooses her place on stage. Something similar happens when I am shooting. I start by rehearsing with the actors and then ask myself how to film them. The camera tells the story of what I saw. That's why I only use one camera. Not to mention that with this type of subject, the second camera would be likely to end up in the first one's frame!"
If you are looking for intelligent viewing that is rewarding and meaningful, Venus in Fur offers a unique opportunity of watching Polanski at his best, with the bonus of solid performances that guarantee not only to provoke your imagination, but captivate you from start to finish.
Venus in Fur opens on 15 August. Read more about the film and other new releases at www.writingstudio.co.za.
