This week has been rough. We lost an icon of American theatre and also one of the greatest cinema actresses of all time. I haven’t had a chance to breathe since I’m working on a number of deadlines at the moment but it didn’t seem right to not acknowledge her passing. My friend Dan and I have discussed Moreau numerous times. She is one of his favorite actresses. He has played Sherlock Holmes in seeking out many of her harder-to-see titles (there is much of Moreau that I still have not seen). When I heard the news, I felt that momentary swoon of loss, of “Oh no …” and my next thought was of Dan.
It’s meant to be. Dan wrote THE most incredible essay on Moreau for Ebert: Jeanne Moreau: 1928-2017. He’s included an excerpt, too, from an interview he conducted with her in 2001. This is the kind of essay where you need to clear your schedule a little bit, sink into it. Dan’s writing is so worth it. Consider this. Nobody else writes like this, with this attention to detail.
Moreau reaches the crest of her power on screen in “Moderato Cantabile” at 39 minutes and 46 seconds in, as the camera holds on her staring, unblinking face until at 40:08 she shuts her eyes hard and falls away from the frame. I’m not sure what this 22 seconds on Moreau’s face is supposed to mean. I only know that it is so cutting that you will never forget her face here once you have seen it.