Michel Piccoli is especially good at playing respectable men whose intelligence gives us no reason to trust them. We value his sardonic humour and the humanity he finds in characters who could have remained satirical targets.
Fi1m perspective
Piccoli's respectable men tend to sound as though they have thought everything through. Their intelligence is not much reassurance. He brings authority to people whose motives invite suspicion, and he does not need to make them grotesque for the humour to register. We rate him most highly when that sardonic manner still lets us recognise a person, rather than just a useful target for satire.
The early-1960s turn towards leading roles brought Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt (1963), with Piccoli as Paul Javal opposite Brigitte Bardot. The humour matters as much as the seriousness in what followed. His six films with Luis Buñuel made particular use of that combination, including the sly Henri Husson of Belle de Jour (1967). Claude Sautet and Marco Ferreri became repeated collaborators too; Ferreri's La Grande Bouffe (1973) took him into a film about excess.
In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), he is the Interior Minister, a casting choice that suits his ease with questionable authority. Buñuel keeps interrupting dinners, and the cast refuses to advertise how funny these entitled people are. We laughed at their unforced self-importance; the actors' refusal to beg for the joke makes the interruptions funnier. Piccoli's restrained subversion belongs to that shared approach, without requiring the film to pause for him. Some interruptions repeat a point already made, but the performances give us reason to stay.
The later work includes We Have a Pope (2011) and Holy Motors (2012), where he appears as the Man with the Wine Stain for Leos Carax. The latter is held together by Denis Lavant's exhausting succession of characters, and we would not pretend Piccoli is its principal attraction. Its mischief and unexpected sadness make it an apt place to encounter an actor who could give seriousness a hint of humour. Some episodes linger, and the women deserve more to do. For a leading role, go back to Contempt.
Biography
Michel Piccoli was a French actor whose career spanned seven decades. Born Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli in Paris on 27 December 1925, he made his screen debut as an extra in Sortilèges (1945) and his first credited role in Le Point du Jour (1948). He trained with Andrée Bauer-Théraud and at the Cours Simon, and worked extensively in theatre with companies including Renaud-Barrault and at the Théâtre de Babylone.
Piccoli became known for roles in films directed by Jean-Luc Godard (Contempt, 1963), Luis Buñuel (Belle de Jour, 1967; The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, 1972), and Leos Carax (Holy Motors, 2012), among many others. He appeared in more than 170 films and also directed and wrote for the screen. He died on 12 May 2020.
