A European Sensibility

Charlotte Rampling is in fine spirits on a sunny afternoon as she relaxes in her suite at the Bel Age Hotel. The veteran actress of such films as “The Damned,” “The Night Porter” and “The Verdict” has flown to L.A. from her home in Paris for one day to chat up her latest film, “Under the Sand,” which opens Friday in Los Angeles. Then she was heading off to the Cannes Film Festival, to host the awards ceremony this weekend.

At 55, Rampling is every bit as beautiful as she was 30 years ago. Wearing little makeup and dressed casually, the British actress is friendly, funny and extremely candid.

In “Under the Sand,” written and directed by young French filmmaker Francois Ozon, Rampling plays Marie, a British woman who teaches English literature at a Paris university. She and her husband, Jean (Bruno Cremer), have been married 25 years and have no children. Though her spouse seems quiet and withdrawn as they begin their annual holiday at their country house, Marie believes relations between them are fine.

One day as she naps on the beach, Jean goes in the ocean for a swim--and he’s never seen again. Did he drown in the ocean? Did he commit suicide? Or did he just run away? Left with no body to mourn and boundless unanswered questions, Marie returns home consumed with memories of Jean. To carry on, she keeps him very much alive in her mind--pouring him coffee in the morning and talking to him at bedtime.

A former model, Rampling broke into films with Richard Lester’s 1965 romantic comedy “The Knack” and followed that with the 1966 classic “Georgy Girl.” She moved from comedies to drama when she made Luchino Visconti’s “The Damned” in 1969. One of her most controversial roles was in 1974’s “The Night Porter,” in which she played a concentration camp survivor reunited with the Nazi guard (Dirk Bogarde) who had tortured her during World War II.

Question: You’ve made films in the U.S. like “The Verdict” for Sidney Lumet and “Stardust Memories” with Woody Allen, but you never came out to Hollywood. Do you just prefer making movies with European directors?

Answer: I am more comfortable in European films. Also, I had my children. I didn’t want to bring them over. As a child I was uprooted constantly in my life. I am from a military family. I didn’t want them to do it.

I remember when I married [composer] Jean-Michel [Jarre], suddenly we had three children. I had my son, he had his daughter, and we had a baby. I was like, ‘Where are we going to put ourselves?’ because I have to stay somewhere. I have got to make a home. I never wanted to stay in America. I just wanted to be home and be with my family.

Q: The ageism problem American actresses over 40 are confronted with doesn’t seem to exist as much in Europe. You seem to be working just as much now as you did 20 and 30 years ago.

A: [Age] doesn’t seem to matter so much [in Europe]. That is to say, the audience or the people producing the films don’t seem to think of it. When this film took off in France, we had a complete cross-section, people from all walks of life and ages. They just go to see it because they hear about it from friends. It’s about the film and what the film is saying.

Q: Did Francois Ozon write the part of Marie for you?

A: We filmed the first part and then he wrote [the rest] for me. He said to me, “We will do this film and go on this kind of adventure. I’ll film the first part so I can watch you while we’re filming, and then we will imagine what happens after the husband disappears. I am going to write it with you in mind.” In a sense, it was like he created the situations this character will be in and I put in what I could about being a woman and what this particular woman was having to live [through] it.

Q: How long was it between when you filmed the first part and the second?

A: Five months. [The wait] was a bit longer because nobody wanted to make this film. He finally got the money from other countries--from Japan, where he is very successful; from Italy, where I am very successful; and from Germany, where [we’re both very successful]; and a bit from France.

Q: Did you talk with grief counselors or psychiatrists about how people react to the disappearance or possible suicide of a spouse?

A: Not too much. I lived through this. I was in complete denial when my sister took her life when I was 20. She was 23. My mother never recovered, as you can imagine. My dad looked after my mum, and I went into major denial. It was sort of like I never had a sister. So I used all of that, obviously. Because I had been through it, I didn’t need anybody to tell me what it was about and how to react. Because it is so much a part of my life it made this character much more powerful.

Q: Marie seems to be in denial about their marriage because they don’t seem to connect as a couple.

A: I think they were in denial and they don’t dare speak about [their problems]. Couples don’t dare to speak [about problems] after a while because it is going to completely change the status quo and might reveal things that are terrifying.

Q: I was surprised to learn you did a guest shot over 30 years ago on “The Avengers.”

A: It was when Diana Rigg wanted to leave “The Avengers” and they were testing [for a new female lead]. I was a tryout. [The episode] is about seven people who are skilled at fantastic things. I was the fastest shooter in the world. French television loves that one.

Q: How did you go from doing comedies like “Georgy Girl” to making such serious, demanding films as Visconti’s “The Damned.”

A: After “Georgy Girl” there were a bunch of silly dolly bird roles [I was offered]. When my sister died I said I can’t be in entertainment. I can’t entertain. I was seeking out really, really highly charged roles--very tragic people in tragic situations.

Q: What was it like working with Visconti?

A: He was fantastic. He said you will find great riches in making films in this way. He said you will be snapped up by Hollywood if you want to, but this is really where it’s at. I completely followed his advice. Also, I needed that kind of reassurance in terms of quality and content and not to be frivolous. I had been really frivolous [before my sister’s death]. I had been a real fun person.