Brie Larson adores the movie that made a “fool” out of her: “I thought my DVD was defective”
Brie Larson is better known as Captain Marvel these days, with her major role in the MCU helping the actor to become one of the most popular stars of her generation.
Yet, before she took on the part in the biggest franchise in the world, it seemed as though she was more interested in indie cinema and roles that were more psychologically complex, as demonstrated by movies like Greenberg, Short Term 12, and Room.
While some actors firmly stick to the realm of independent cinema and the kinds of roles that truly challenge them, it seems as though Larson was keen to branch out, and she has since appeared in other blockbusters, such as Fast X.
That doesn’t mean she doesn’t still enjoy an art film from time to time. During a conversation with Criterion, she once revealed one of her favourite movies, which is a far cry from the action-packed world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Inspired by Hollywood B-movies but also carving out a cinematic landscape that was distinctly different from anything popular in mainstream American film, Jean-Luc Godard emerged as the leader of the French New Wave, desperate to change the face of cinema. It’s his 1961 project Une femme est une femme that Larson considers her favourite of his, although she admits that Godard’s innovative editing tricks initially fooled her.
Alongside the likes of François Truffaut, Agnes Varda, Eric Rohmer, and Claude Chabrol, Godard pioneered a new kind of cinema, where experimentalism and realism collided. Sharp social and political commentary was explored through handheld filming, on-location shooting, choppy editing, breaking of the fourth wall, and perhaps even a musical number.
With each film that Godard made, typically soaked in primary colours and buoyed by the kinds of symmetrical frames that Wes Anderson has been copying for his whole career, the director cemented himself as an icon of a new era of cinema.
Discussing her love for Une femme est une femme, also known as A Woman is a Woman, Larson said, “This has always been my favourite Godard film. The first time I watched it, I was heartbroken because I thought my DVD was defective: the sound kept cutting out. In researching further, I learned I was the fool—Godard was playing with sound design.”
Adding, “It was in a way I had never heard before. His use of long camera pans with text explaining what our heroes think but would never say is absolutely brilliant. Between Anna Karina, her red tights, and the celebration of American musicals, it manages to sum up all my favourite things.”
The movie is playful despite its exploration of a complicated relationship between Karina’s Angéla, Jean-Claude Brialy’s Émile and Jean-Paul Belmondo’s Alfred. In one unforgettable scene, an argument between Angéla and Èmile results in them picking out books from their shelves to communicate through the titles instead.
Godard frequently broke the fourth wall with his work, and in Une femme est une femme, there is an unavoidable theatricality found in the depiction of the characters that serves to highlight the artificiality of performance and gender roles. Drawing our attention to the fact that we’re watching a film, Godard even cut the sound, something that initially confused Larson before she came to realise the genius of his meticulously thought-out decisions.
