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How many appointments and do we ever meet the real actor?

posted 12 years ago by thao
14 replies | jump to latest

Do we ever meet the real actor in the film? When we first see him he is older than when we see him later and he has hair. Is he playing a part then? And is his conversation on the phone in the beginning part of that role? And if so, is that the first appointment or just leftovers of the one he had the night before?

He is told that he has 9 appointments. I counted them when I watched the film again and they are 10 (11 if we count the person we meet at the beginning):
Old beggar lady
CGI scene
Beauty and the Beast
Father and daughter
Intermission: Playing the accordion
Killing with a knife
Killing the banker
Old uncle dying
Meeting an old friend/actress/lover
Monkey family

So that leaves the question, which one of these are not appointments. Were some of these not planed and was this real? There are three possibilities (because the other times we see him looking at the script): Father and daughter, killing the banker and meeting the actress. Still all of those scenes suggest that they are appointments. He stands up after being killed when he kills the banker. The actress starts to sing and she says that she is playing the last night of this character and the car he drives in the father daughter scene is just perfectly placed in the film. Do we really believe that the limousine broke down exactly where his car was?

So we really don't know which of these were real life. And if they are all acts/appointments, why do one extra?

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[–] perorewen 12 years ago

I've discussed these things with other people as well, and I wonder whether I'm the only one who noticed that the banker he shoots is the same guy he was dressed up as in the first scene, when he leaves the house for work.

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[–] thao 12 years ago

That is a very good point! What does that mean for the whole film. I feel like I need to see this film for the 3rd time!

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[–] Mighty_Emperor 12 years ago

Do we ever meet the real actor in the film? When we first see him he is older than when we see him later and he has hair. Is he playing a part then? And is his conversation on the phone in the beginning part of that role? And if so, is that the first appointment or just leftovers of the one he had the night before?

I assume we only get to see the real him in the scenes within the limo.

The ending reveals that the beginning was the end of the previous day's appointment. Even then that initial part where they discuss guns doesn't seem to have any bearing on the film so that could be the previous night's role going through to the next day. However, he also has the security guards he mentions for the first scene before they disappear. It is that bit on the phone that I can't really place. Then again, doesn't he make an appointment to speak to someone later? Was that with the man with the red mark on his face (I thought it was a port-wine stain, but seems to be an angioma, at least if he is the man in the credits as "L'Homme à la tache de vin")? Might be a clue there - definitely a film that needs a few watches.

that leaves the question, which one of these are not appointments.

It seems to be the scene with Kylie in it, which appears to happen spontaneously when the limos nearly crash and they are both dressed for different appointments - he for the previous one and her for the next one, which this segment seems to segue into, when all the others have had distinct "breaks" between in the limo. In all the others he prepares for the role with costumes and props, even when it appears spontaneous, like the shooting of the banker.

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[–] thao 12 years ago

So are we to believe that she really brakes out in a song?

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[–] Mighty_Emperor 12 years ago

Apparently. After all, they lead a very weird life where they are expected to do anything at the drop of a hat ("have sex with a camel: pass me my stepladder"), so they don't only need to be adaptable but spontaneous and uninhibited.

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[–] Doodlebuger 10 years ago

Yes he was a banker the previous day, with a very posh house and bodyguards. In the phone call he makes an appointment for his character at the Fouquet's, where his other character (the murderer) shoots his former character (the banker). Hope this is clear ! The meeting with Jean is obviously NOT an assignment. Leaves a lot to be guessed as to what happened previously between them, of course, but she clearly gets ot of her blond hair and raincoat, to become the suicidal hostess.

[–] Tristan!-2 12 years ago

Meeting Kylie Minogue wasn't one of them. She on the other hand did have an appointment, quite a terminal one. But he met her by chance following a car accident and this was not one of his scheduled appointments. We know this because after the uncle scene he has one left, and then still has one left (the monkey family) at the end.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 12 years ago

On another thread someone described the meeting with Jean (Minogue) as a meta-scene and with them I agree. It was not a scene booked for Oscar but it was for Jean, whose scene we watch. He intrudes a little but not on film. In that meeting he might be playing himself but it's less clear when jean might be playing herself, if at all.

Away with the manners of withered virgins

[–] major_lazer 12 years ago

I think he's always playing a part, even when he appears to be exhibiting genuine emotion (Kylie) and when he carries that emotion on into scenes where he's getting back into the limo. He discards his wig in a strop after picking up his daughter from the party, indicating that he's still feeling the anger of his character in that scene, and he continues to bleed after being stabbed in the neck - but neither have any long-term repercussions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI3shBXlqsw

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] dkleanthis 11 years ago

I think the scene with Minogue is the one where he's his real self.

Kylie asks him "is this you" and he says yes. Also, there is one appointment left before he meets her and the driver confirms later that it is with the monkeys so Kylie is not an appointment for the Actor

I took that scene as the only moment he is himself and he is sad because she was the love of his life when he was young, the one true thing in those roles, but they lost each other within the movie industry.

One could argue that while he is in his true form, Kylie is within role BUT they supposedly met in an accident AND she also mentions that she is waiting her appointment - whom we later see - so one can assume that Kylie wasn't pretending either, she was there for a job and the actor just crossed her path

ps. About multiple appearences, the only "Actors" we see is the main lead and Kylie. One can assume that the Actor represents all Male Actors and Kylie all Female, so in some occasions we see him play multiple roles within the same scene

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 11 years ago

I think this is right (though I'm tempted to call the scene with the daughter in the car real, it's probably not). Just one nitpick: when she asks if it's him, he says "I think so", which is kind of an interesting response.

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[–] scarletminded 11 years ago

I thought that was real because they had been working for Holy Motors and had had a relationship prior, but maybe HM has messed with their brains.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 11 years ago

Yeah, I think there are lots of good reasons to think it's real--but there is just that one little issue of him responding "I think so".

I mentioned the daughter in the car as well. How would he have enough time to make her think he was her dad? I guess it's all surreal anyway.

I kept thinking as I was watching that the talk at the beginning about needing more security and guns was something "real", but became less and less sure later, for obvious reasons.

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