Vincent Cassel is an intimidating man to meet. Having built a reputation on the back of roles of brooding intensity, there’s an expectation that at least part of the on-screen Cassel will be reflected in reality. His physical size doesn’t help – at perhaps six foot three he towers over this writer by several inches.
Yet he’s a charming character; amiable, welcoming and passionate. The son of the veteran French actor Jean-Pierre, Cassel’s profile sky-rocketed when he starred as Vince, an embittered and explosive individual, in the iconic La Haine. Since then he has continued to work on daring, challenging films – Irreversible, The Apartment and Read My Lips – whilst pushing towards the mainstream with Ocean’s Twelve, Shrek and Derailed.
You always try to reach as wide an audience as you can, but you want to be true to yourself and to the project.
His most recent role is in Satan (AKA Sheitan, for which he also acted as producer) as the deranged housekeeper Joseph. Joseph has made a demonic pact that will spell trouble for his visitors, a small group of wet behind the ears city types. Director Kim Chapiron (part of the Kourtrajme collective, inspired by rap and techno, that Cassel considers to be the natural heirs from La Haine and Dobermann) has created a most unusual work; its off-kilter creepiness hitting a wall of surreal humour and Cassel dominating in a typically attention-grabbing performance.
Cassel is almost unrecognisable throughout Satan; his notable features obscured by a maniacal grin and a scruffy demeanour. His performance, however, is instantly recognisable with his usual captivating brew of ferocious energy and his ability to make such a despicable character almost admirable.
“The truth is that is I was freaking out. Once you define the character it’s ok, but it’s so far away from a naturalistic way of being that you have to allow yourself to be ridiculous and it’s not easy! The first day of shooting I didn’t get it,” he explains, adding that he thought that the crew were horrified at his initial poor performance. “On the second day we filmed the meal scene [key for Joseph’s character and for the film as a whole], so I drank – actually quite a lot – and allowed myself to go through it. And from that day I really had fun with it.”
Whilst Satan is an enjoyable blast when taken at face value, there’s a whole host of symbolism that embellishes the film with a greater depth. Even at the most base of levels, the contrast between Joseph’s family (the downright weird country bumpkins) and his visitors (who exude an arrogance that is rarely found outside major cities) says a lot about the cultural differences that can be found at even a relatively local level.
“The idea was to play with religion and religious taboos; sex with dogs, the idea of incest and things like that,” he says, citing Joseph’s constant racism as another factor. “Of course, not everyone in the countryside is like that, but I hope somewhere far away behind the forest there’s a village with these scary people.”
The film’s music, provided by Kourtrajme members La Caution under the pseudonym of Sheitan, is equally as impressive. A short video for what is intended to be the most hardcore rap group in the world is featured in the film and the uncensored version can be found on various video sharing networks (search for Sheitan, Batards De Barbares). “They slit throats, they shoot people in the mouth,” laughs Cassel demonically.
Satan is testament to Cassel’s desire to continue to push boundaries. But as he becomes a more regular fixture in mainstream American cinema, how can he achieve that notorious balancing act of taking on bigger films whilst remaining true to his roots?
It’s so far away from a naturalistic way of being that you have to allow yourself to be ridiculous
“You always try to reach as wide an audience as you can, but you want to be true to yourself and to the project. Take Irreversible; we knew it would not be a blockbuster… well, hopefully,” although for reasons unknown it became a major hit in Greece. “You know what you have to do for each movie and you want to please people. But it’s not like I think differently on any American production. I’m still trying to make it look good, be believable and be fun to watch.”
American productions tend to place Cassel as the stereotypical bad guy. Not that it matters; Cassel has the ability to transcend such limitations.
“I try to make my bad guys multi-dimensional. Like in Derailed, I came up with this split personality; he could be like a real thug hanging out with Xzibit, shooting RZA and then be really charming like someone you’d want to be friends with.”
No conversation with Cassel can ever be complete without a discussion of La Haine. Its initial influence was staggering; France’s Prime Minister Alain Juppé organised a special screening of the film to give his cabinet a wider concept of the nation’s social disintegretation. Almost a decade later, many observers drew parallels between the criticisms that writer/director Mathieu Kassovitz levelled in La Haine to the influencing factors behind France’s civil unrest in 2005.
“It’s one of a kind, like Irreverisible is,” he claims. “What I’m trying to do is make films that are special. We’re sitting here in the Tartan office and they’ve released all the strangest movies that I did; La Haine, Dobermann, Irreverisble and now Sheitan. If you look at those movies they’re pretty weird and that’s what made me who I am today. They’re part of my acting identity.”
