Frédéric Pierrot: “A therapist is not there to speak but to make others speak”

In Les Parfums , Grégory Magne gave a glimpse, almost a sense, of the profession of "nose" then embodied by Emmanuelle Devos. Today, the director plunges the viewer into another world of excellence: classical music. In Les Musiciens , a wealthy heiress wants to realize her late father's dream: to bring together four Stradivarius instruments for a unique concert. But art is also a matter of men, women, and ego, and the quartet of virtuosos she has formed struggles to find harmony. Then the composer of the score, a taciturn poet played by Frédéric Pierrot, comes to the rescue. Seen in the films of François Ozon, Agnès Jaoui , Roschdy Zem, or Valérie Donzelli, who plays him here, the actor is the metronome made man of this little music that touches the heart.

Madame Figaro . – What place does music have in your life? Frédéric Pierrot. – Predominant, even in my profession: I regularly perform Pessoa: L'Intranquillité on stage. Musical readings where I am accompanied by a drummer and a double bass player. Music has been there, everywhere, since always. My grandmother played the piano and gave me records that told the stories of the lives – often tragic – of great musicians. My mother listened to a lot of classical music, but I also remember 45s by Michel Polnareff or Françoise Hardy … Music has always been a source of energy for me, and, at times, a way to escape melancholy or anxiety. I must have put it aside at times, but I believe it is important to listen to it every day, for balance and well-being. The names of certain works are in themselves invitations to serenity: Liszt's Consolations , Chopin's Nocturnes ...

You don't practice? I played the recorder at school, like all children , and then one day I discovered the clarinet at a jazz festival near my home in Upper Normandy: it was love at first sight. I then taught myself, by ear. I'm less diligent than before, but I've gotten back into it a bit to play what Grégoire Hetzel, the soundtrack composer, wrote for my character. It also helped me understand this role and find resonances with musicians I admire: the American pianist Thelonious Monk and the French composer Jean Françaix, whom I met when I was a stagehand on film sets.

The film tells of the reconciling power of art. Do you believe it? Absolutely. There are works that provoke and divide, but others unite very different populations, energies, and backgrounds who, through an artistic proposition, manage to dialogue. Music, cinema, literature , and painting have invented languages ​​more powerful and impactful than many words.

The musicians in the film achieve harmony by finally agreeing to listen to each other. Isn't that also part of being an actor? We play better with others than against them. It's an illustration of a certain narcissism not to understand that your partners lift you up, and vice versa in the best of cases. And then, we may have imagined things about the scenes, but we have to leave room for questioning, for the vision your director brings, for collaboration. In this case, three of the members of the film's quartet aren't professional actors. We had to deal with this reality, support them, and all of them were astounding. Especially since we had to shoot quickly, with limited resources. Under the kind guidance of Grégory Magne, we were finally in tune with our characters who only have a few days to record this historic concert.

Music, cinema, literature and painting have invented languages ​​that are more powerful and impactful than many words.

Frédéric Pierrot

The composer you play doesn't like explaining his music. And you, do you like to comment on your work? Not really. That's the whole difficulty of promotion: how to arouse curiosity without commenting? How to leave space for the viewer's interpretation? I believe more in associations of ideas than in definitive opinions. And I couldn't sum up this film better than with this line spoken by my character: "Music allows me to free myself from everything that weighs me down in language."

Is it impossible for an actor to free himself from words? Yes and no. An actor says the words, but if the interpretation is too emphatic, if it isn't accompanied by silences, what room is left for the spectator? Our job as actors also consists of stimulating your imagination. I also see many links between psychoanalysis and artistic practice. A therapist isn't there to speak, but to make others speak. We prime the pump, but then it's up to the spectator to find their own way.

Your character asks the concertgoers: "Why do you make music?" And you, why are you an actor? To express what I find beautiful in life and people, and to try to understand what is heavy, what doesn't work. But I have to be careful, because the imprint that certain characters leave on me is sometimes strong. I have sometimes turned down offers because I didn't feel brave enough to tackle a theme. In this case, I opt for more lightness. The Musicians, for example, is a film that did me good because it is subtle, delicate, and intelligent in its use and transmission of music.

A word about your projects? I played a lawyer in The Furcy Slave Affair , a film by Abd al Malik about a Réunion slave who, at the beginning of the ^19th century, fought to have justice recognize that he had been freed. I also have a small role in Dalloway , a thriller by Yann Gozlan, with Cécile de France, about the intrusion of artificial intelligence into our lives as artists.

The Musicians, by Grégory Magne, with Frédéric Pierrot, Valérie Donzelli, Mathieu Spinosi…