Could you imagine that scene near the beginning when Weronika is with her boyfriend in the stairwell?
"Is it raining? I hadn't noticed" *shudders*
Hats off to Irene Jacob, she was really good in this, if I wasn't so enchanted by Juliette Binoche's wounded-animal-cuteness, I'd definitely fall for Irene
J Dilla Changed My Life. Rest In Beats.
I agree.Irene was perfect.
shareAndie MacDowell could have never projected the mystery, interiority, and complex emotional gravity of a dual role. Thankfully Kieslowski had the divine Irene Jacob play Veronique/Weronika, whose presence and abilities blended naturally with the part and created a brief, yet very rich collaboration between these two people, and the result is a film that is arguably the peak of each other's creative powers.
share^What he said.
According to the Criterion booklet, Kieslowsi wanted to cast MacDowell and she agreed to be in it, but the producer didn't allow her to sign on immediately thinking a verbal agreement was temporarily solid enough but eventually she took another role that paid more money. I think it's serendipitous, because Irene Jacob was glorious in the dual roles, on par with Kim Novak in Vertigo. Kieslowski noted that casting the younger Jacob changed the shape of Veronique/Weronika, because he originally envisioned her as a woman (hence casting the older MacDowell), but over the course of filming, he realized it was a girl's story.
I've got love and anger, they come as a pair
You can take your chances but buyer beware
Another interesting thing to note: if you look at Andie MacDowell's filmography, it seems probable that the movie that she took more money to be in was Hudson Hawk of all things! If she really gave up being in an art-house classic to be in one of the most notorious bombs of all time....ouch.
shareTo be fair she was good in both "Sex,lies and videotape" and "Groundhog day" but in this little gem she could not possibly fit. Maybe it's the European flair that even top models cannot possibly bluff their way through...
shareWhen I first saw this thread I thought, "Er, OK, but why did you pull Andie MacDowell's name out of thin air?"...so I was surprised to check into it and see that Kieslowski did indeed think of MacDowell for the film. In hindsight, it does seem pretty weird, but to be fair, MacDowell was recently coming off of Sex, Lies and Videotape which won over Cannes and apparently Kieslowski became smitten with her as an actress. Can MacDowell speak French? Ehh, in any case, Irene Jacob was thankfully the right choice.
Fighting the frizzies, at 11.
she ruined rain for me
so many movies, so little time