On the big screen, French actress Sophie Marceau is an ace at playing a lethal seductress and is known to use her sharpest tool — her sensuality — with fine precision. But when you are seated at the same table for a lunch with her, it is difficult to remember that this 41-year-old femme fatale once played the villain in James Bond's The World Is Not Enough. What's more, she had attempted to straddle Pierce Brosnan into submission.
Clad in elegant black Prada with over-sized Tom Ford glasses, Marceau, who was in Dubai to celebrate the first anniversary of Chaumet jewellery boutique, was the epitome of Parisian chic. It was clear that pretensions aren't her forte — how else would you explain the endearing manner in which she picked up her fork to check if she had spinach stuck on her teeth? She seemed to be unaware of the stir she had created with her arrival. It was also amusing to see a few men at the nearby tables rubber-necking without much success.
"I am not a narcissistic person. Like when somebody makes a compliment, I am very happy about it and it is good news. Though I think it is a cliché for a beautiful woman to say that inner beauty counts, I think your inner glow is what makes you accessible. There are so many beautiful women I know who are bizarre," Marceau said in English with a heavy French accent.
By no definition bizarre, the actress who was catapulted into spotlight at 13 with her hit teen-romance La Boum, is as grounded as they come. Since her stellar debut, she has acted in more than 30 French films and several Hollywood projects, such as the Mel Gibson epic Braveheart.
Loved and lusted after in equal measure, the darling of French cinema admits her showbiz struggle has not been a fairytale ride.
Adopting an ambivalent stand, she said: "I don't know whether it was good or bad. All I know is that La Boum gave me an opportunity to struggle with something and make something out of my life. I didn't choose to become an actress — it was a lesson and it made me grow up fast — maybe too fast, and become famous fast."
Mellowed with time
But the teen sensation who is a mother of two dropped her guard when asked if she wishes a similar future for her 7-year-old daughter, Juliette, or her 14-year-old son, Vincent.
"No, no… no. They come from a different world. They would not be prepared to handle it. Even I was not prepared, but at least I was looking for something to happen.
"I don't think my children are from the same world, they have different style of life. I doubt they will be ready. I know it's not going to happen."
She was equally vehement while describing her tryst with fame at a young age. A self-titled rebel, she said she has mellowed with time.
"Even at 15, I had a strong feeling of my own freedom. I don't know where it came from, but I had this feeling that nobody was going to tell me what I can do. The feeling was stronger than what it is now.
"I am more mellow now and I now understand life has to be harmonious. But I guess, that is because I have control of the situations now," Marceau said.
Freedom
"At 15, I had no control whatsoever and people wanted to control me and take over me. When somebody tried to take away my freedom — I was like a dog whose bone being taken out of her mouth — I held on to the bone tighter.
"Also, I didn't know there were rules. I didn't know that people were there to manipulate you. I didn't know there were people who wanted you to do the same thing because there is a business behind it," the iconic actress said with a distant look in her eyes.
Her rebellious streak came to the fore at the age of 16 when she raised the 1 million francs (Dh5.46 million) to buy back her contract from Gaumont Pictures — the studio that had represented her — thus purchasing the freedom to select her roles independently.
"Sometimes it felt weird when people were not frank about what they wanted from me. When I wanted to do something, they didn't want me to do it. I didn't understand why."
But her teenage troubles are a thing of the past. Marceau is in complete control and her latest film with Monica Bellucci, Don't Look Back (Ne Te Retourne Pas), made its first outing at the Cannes 2009 festival. Directed by Marina de Van, the film deals with identity crisis and sees the metamorphosis of Marceau into Bellucci.
"Working with Monica was wonderful. Though we did not have many scenes together, I think she is adorable and it was good to work with her. I still remember the first time when my agent told me that a director was interested in making you become Monica Bellucci. I was intrigued and I wanted to read the script then."
The outspoken actress has even posed naked with Bellucci for a magazine cover shoot. Though she didn't touch upon the brazen episode, it was evident the she has the highest respect for the Italian sexpot.
"We have similar anecdotes in our life. We began very early in our career, we are very professional and she is a mother too. But we are very different otherwise, but I think we make sense as a couple. That was important to me."
Marceau was equally vocal about her appreciation for its director, De Van. "She has a clear vision about what she wanted and what she didn't want. I consider myself an interpreter of that vision. I don't like working with people who have no focus, because I end up doing their job too."
Her professional diktat extends to her personal life. One of France's long enduring stars added that she is still fascinated by the world of cinema. "Imagine you can be everything you want to be without ever entering a classroom or a diploma on it. I can even be a scientist without studying a single lesson.
"That's what I love about movies and I am still here because I enjoy what I do."
Marceau in her own words
Having a luncheon with Sophie Marceau is an enlightening and an invigorating experience. She gave us plenty of interesting topics to chew on. Here are some…
ON FILMS: "I didn't like Slumdog Millionaire. It was a stylised approach to filmmaking and took the attention away from the story." — On Danny Boyle's Oscar winner. "French cinema is going through a tough phase. It doesn't help that Hollywood is making expensive movies in the name of entertainment. I don't understand some Hollywood movies." - On French cinema being sidelined by Hollywood magnum opuses.
ON DUBAI "Are the journalists in Dubai so nice and friendly? You are all so pleasant." — Her candid take as she took her seat and found herself facing a beaming pool of journos.
ON MOTHERHOOD "Raising teenagers is a tricky thing. I think it is best to leave them be and let them take their own decisions... I enjoy taking my kids to school every morning. It is wonderful to see them grow."
ON PROMOTING DON'T TURN BACK AT THE 2009 DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL"It depends on my schedule. It is impossible to follow my movies everywhere. But film festivals are good for French cinema and it gives them good exposure."
Typecast
Sophie Marceau may not be the biggest fan of Hollywood films, but internationally she is known as the vampish Bond girl Elektra King in The World is Not Enough."I know many people only know me from the Bond film. They associate me with that movie. But in French cinema, I have done so many other different roles. Can I help it if some people only have seen me in that Bond film?"On being objectified, Marceau says, "I take it as a compliment. Even at 41, I am surprised it is still on…"
Not a slave to fashion
Did you know Sophie Marceau — the face of the prestigious jewellers Chaumet Paris' advertising campaign — is no slave to fashion? "People who know me will know that I am not fashion oriented. On a daily basis, I go for practical clothes."
