Yves Jacques makes clever men funny without labouring the joke. We like his precise, understated delivery, especially in Denys Arcand’s ensembles, though that restraint cannot keep their talk from becoming pleased with itself.
Fi1m perspective
In The Decline of the American Empire (1986), Rémy Girard’s Rémy recounts his affairs with the ease of a man discussing dinner. Yves Jacques’s Claude, the only gay man among the academics, gets the best lines because he is not boasting. We laughed at Claude’s lack of self-advertisement, which is a relief among men so keen to report their own successes. Jacques’s understated delivery helps the comedy without insisting that we notice the actor, and that is much of what we like about him.
That role was his screen breakthrough, followed by another Arcand part, the sharp lawyer Richard Cardinal in Jesus of Montreal (1989). Cultured professionals and intellectuals recur in his work, often in supporting parts where precise delivery matters more than forceful emphasis. His seven films with Claude Miller include Little Lili (2003), in which he plays Serge. The repeated collaborations suggest what directors find useful in him: he can move between comedy and drama without making the change look strenuous.
The Barbarian Invasions (2003) brings him back as Claude, but we would not mistake it for a Jacques vehicle. The difficult relationship between father and son supplies much of the feeling, with Jacques one member of the ensemble around them. His restraint suits that company; it cannot cure Arcand’s tendency to let the talk grow smug. The social criticism is blunt, too, and a welcome return for a character is no reason to overlook it. There is enough warmth and sharp comedy to recommend the film, provided the conversation is what brought us there.
The theatre work makes it harder to mistake restraint for limited ability. Jacques began touring Robert Lepage’s solo Far Side of the Moon in 2001, performing all the roles. On screen, the supporting work continued with Michel Lafortune in Xavier Dolan’s Laurence Anyways (2012). Begin with The Decline of the American Empire, and allow its academics time to become less pleased with themselves.
Biography
Yves Jacques is a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He was born on 10 May 1956 in Quebec City. He studied theatre at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe and began acting on stage in Quebec City and Montreal. He gained wider recognition from 1981 as a sketch performer in the annual Bye Bye New Year's Eve variety special on Télévision de Radio-Canada.
To international audiences he is best known for playing Claude, the gay academic, in Denys Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire (1986) and The Barbarian Invasions (2003). On stage he originated the role of Lydie-Anne in the premiere of Michel Marc Bouchard's play Lilies. He has appeared in several films by French director Claude Miller, including Of Woman and Magic (2000) and Little Lili (2003).
Since 2001 he has toured in two productions by Robert Lepage, Far Side of the Moon and Le Projet Andersen, playing all the roles. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009 for his work in theatre, television and film in Canada and abroad, and was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France in 2001.
