"Max et Jeremie"
Christophe Lambert LIVING LIFE TO THE FULL

He has not made a film in France for 5 years. He returns to us at the side of a grand master of French cinema, Phillip Noiret, in an impeccable masterpiece directed by Claire Devers.

By Francois Forestier

He was the idol of a generation. Then he wanted to take on America. He did not succeed. We saw him recently in "Knight Moves", a thriller which takes place during a chess tournament, in which his wife Diane Lane, out performed him. We will see him soon in "Fortress", in which he escapes from the most sophisticated prison in the world. But Christopher's real return is here, in a formidable film directed by Claire Devers. He plays opposite a Noiret more masterful than ever. The latter is a hired killer, well respected in the business, so professional he has never been caught by the police. Jeremy-Christopher plays the young mad dog who gets caught up with this solitary man, and who finds in him a master. Together they form a cinematic duo we come to love, in a film of rare classicism.

Q. Firstly, how was Max et Jeremie born?

CL. I was offered a book 4 years ago, which was called 'Les lamentations de Jeremiah', and I said "The book is super, but it needs a screenplay". I was told, yes, yes, and I didn't hear anything more about it for 2 years. And then when I was making "Knight Moves" I received a screenplay by Claire Devers and Bernard Stora. I read it and it was just what I'd wanted to do, in France, for 5 years.

Q. The character of Jeremy is quite strange: we suspect him of being slightly simple, which he is not. He is warm, tender, exasperating....

CL. He is oblivious to what he does, to his actions. He does not reflect on things, he follows his heart. When he takes a stand, he says "Excuse me, I did something stupid", and we can't bear a grudge against him. He lives from day to day, offering his services to the crooks who employ him to do small jobs. Break a few bones, beat a few people up, and here a murder. Jeremy is naive, he dreams of things which don't exist. A guy like him, a bit sorry-looking, isn't going to see the Mafia's lawyer to say "I tell you, if you don't take me, you'll miss out on a great chance". In the same way, when he gets eaten up by a policeman: anyone else after the first blow, would let himself be taken. Him, he keeps on shouting, and takes a second blow, and then a third...

Q. Is he courageous or artless?

CL. He fills out the story.

Q. You played a mad dog role in "Le Bar du Telephone"?

CL The character of Jeremy is closer to that of Fred in "Subway".

Q. Who wears his hair like an albino artichoke?

CL. Ha, ha... Yes, Fred, like Jeremy, had that determination, honest side, that way of never letting go of a thing which would make him hang on till death.

Q. Fred dominated the situation more.

CL. He was ruled just as much by emotion..

Q. "Max et Jeremie" brushes against homosexuality.

CL. Perhaps. Myself, I believe that Jeremy has found a father, a pal. Max is a solitary killer. He has been alone for 40 years, and says "I have never killed friends". To him, Jeremy is an extraterrestrial. He is touched by this youth, who says to him, "My mother, she died when I was 12, my father, if I passed him in the street, I wouldn't even know who he was. What I've learned, at least, I've learned all alone".

Q. Did you alter the script according to your inspiration?

CL. Nothing at all. This one we did to the letter. I love characters who are a little naive, a little childish, no doubt because there's a facet of my personality which has stayed that way. Claire Devers didn't know me, except through the film, and she has written something that is me.

Q. Max et Jeremie reminds us of the 'black' films of the fifties.

CL. Indeed.

Q. 40 years ago, the rold of Max could well have been played by Jean Gabin or Rene Dary, and the role of Jeremy... by Francois Perier.

CL. A strange/funny combination.

Q. Have you sen the films of that era?

CL. No.

Q. You must receive tons of screenplays?

CL. Yes, but I have learned something: I must choose the stories which are closest to my personality. It is then that I am happy, when there is that joy of communicating. I'm not a method actor, I need to use that which I am.

Q. Jeremy is not a method role?

CL. No. I fit the role like in a glove, that's all. Greystoke, similarly, was not a method role.

Q. Yes, but playing Tarzan was easier: Hugh Hudson is a very visual director.

CL. No, it was not easier. To play a role without dialogue is never so simple.

Q. "The Sicilian" was a method role?

CL. Yes, and there I was not very happy. I was getting further away from myself.

Q. And the character of the unlucky thief in "Un plan d'enfer"...

CL. It was amusing. It was the kind of role which allowed me to loosen up, to look for something else. If I really think about what would suit me, I think of "Rain Man". The character of Dustin Hoffman, I would do it tomorrow morning if someone asked me to.

Q. What do you use for inspiration when you act?

CL. That which is in front of me. Here, for "Max et Jeremie", I had 2 elements: Philippe Noiret and really solid dialogue. The scene where Noiret chucks me out, telling me he is not my father, was painful for me. I felt it like a real shock. Because I was in Jeremy's skin, and I saw great violence in a person who had seemed good natured. With an actor like Noiret, there's no choice: you take it, you toss the ball back. That's all. He's a master.

Q. You have changed in the last 10 years. The fighter from "Highlander", the young braggart seducer is gone?

CL. You can't live for 40 years with an image. The image is not the essence of the actor.

Q. You have passed through a period where your popularity has fallen. Was there a moment when depression made you think of giving up the acting profession?

CL. No. But, I did ask myself some questions. The main one was: "Do I still have the passion?". I searched for a moment. Naturally, I thought of Jack Nicholson, who wanted to give up films because his career was not going well, and then he was asked to be line producer on "Easy Rider". They were missing an actor in a role, so he took it. It was that of the drunken lawyer that Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper [take away]... The result: it was a small role that no-one has forgotten and which relaunched his career. The trigger... I thought of all that and I started to [climb up again].

Q. And that was when?

CL. During "The Sicilian".

Q. During?

CL Yes. You start to ask yourself questions by saying: "Do I still have the fire in me?". because a film production by Cimino is heavy... there was a shift sideways in relation to my past career. Then I made "Le Complot", which was a method role.

Q. When did all this resolve itself?

CL. Just after. There is a moment when you put all the questions aside. You say: "Go for it!". here it's been 5 years I haven't made a film in France, and here comes "Max et Jeremie", a gift. I went for it.

Q. Freedom, at last?

CL. Exactly. I said to myself:: "Forget it, go on!". And I likewise made "Fortress" (with Stuart Gordon), a pure action film. When I received the screen play for "Fortress" I tried to understand the character: a type like Bronson, gloomy, taciturn. The director said to me: "You're wrong" and I let myself go with what he told me. I let go. You let yourself go, you let yourself fall, you stop thinking about the looks, and after a moment, it's not look No. 39 you put on, you're in the stratosphere.

Q. You have already proved that with "Greystoke"?

CL. Yes. Something there opened up in me. I was a timid boy. Now, what has fascinated me all my life are children who are mentally deficient. My mother was a psychiatric teacher... I saw mongoloids, epileptics, kids with brain problems. The needed love. It's what I remember. I am shy, but I love people. I am revolted by stupidity, injustice... I therefore give the impression of being up there, of looking down.

Q. That fits well, since "Fortress" is something between "1984" and Soleil Vert", of science fiction.

CL. Yes. You see, it's a great subject.

Q. You live in L.A. now. It's a town where most of the actors spend their time attending classes for acting, diction, dancing, and I don't know what else?

CL. I don't do that. I work with life. I want to see true things, true people. I want to believe in what I see on the TV, in the politicians who talk to me. And I don't believe them: it's a way of learning.

Q. You have a reputation of being an easy-going actor on the set.

CL. Why annoy people? I know there are some very temperamental actors, who explode all the time. What's the point? You never make a film by yourself. Without the lighting man, the camera man, the sound man, the film would not be made. If I want to explode, I go into my caravan and bang my head against the wall.

Q. And Hollywood?

CL. Hollywood is a town where people talk only of the cinema. You go out, and in a restaurant, people talk about the cinema. You have friends over, what do you talk about? Movies. It's a bit tiring. What's more, there's a professional side in relationships, it's difficult. In France, things are more gentle. You go to see people, you can talk for 2 hours, there's a human warmth.

Q. Where will Christopher Lambert be in 2010?

CL. I don't know. I don't think about it. I live from day to day. There are some careers I admire, Sean Connery, Jean Gabin... Clint Eastwood. He, in his films, good or not so good, always hets his own honesty across.

Q. A question of choice.

CL. Yes. And they are the choices I'm determined to make. I am more careful about the screen plays I film. For example, if I had paid more attention to the script of "highlander II", without doubt the film would have been better.

Q. Are you attracted by evil characters?

CL. No.

Q. By Professor Lecter in "Silence of the Lambs"?

CL. No, I like shaded characters.

Q. And projects?

CL. Firstly, I have a film called "Alaska", an adventure film, in the Great North.

Q. And "Highlander 3"?

CL. Why not. But the script would have to be very sharply written and have to take into account my evolution. The idea being, that if the script is not perfect, you don't touch it.

Q. You seem to be less shy, less anguished than at other times?

CL. Illusion. I just hide it better, that's all.

Translation-Marianne Le Bris - Sydney, Australia- 8/12/95