San Francisco Chronicle: Q&A with Michelle Pfeiffer, starring in 'Cheri'

By Walter Addiego
San Francisco Chronicle
Excerpt
June 21, 2009

In "Dangerous Liaisons," Michelle Pfeiffer played an innocent woman seduced. In her new movie, "Chéri," another costume drama set in France, she's a woman of considerable experience who takes the initiative - she's a former courtesan grown wealthy plying her trade for upper-class clients.

"Chéri" reunites Pfeiffer with her "Liaisons" collaborators, director Stephen Frears and writer Christopher Hampton. For the "Liaisons" role, the actress received one of her three Oscar nominations. In the earlier film she had a supporting part, though a substantial one, while "Chéri" puts her front and center.

Set in belle epoque Paris, "Chéri" offers Pfeiffer as Lea, who, in her middle years, has an affair with the much younger son of another retired woman of the night (Kathy Bates). The lover is a handsome, jaded hedonist played by Rupert Friend ("Pride & Prejudice," 2005). The story is based on two novels by Colette.

Pfeiffer was a major Hollywood player in the 1990s. More recently, she took a few years off to raise her children and pursue other interests before stepping in front of the cameras again, starting in 2007. She spoke from her home in Northern California.

Q: I heard that the response to the film's screening at the Berlin film festival was quite enthusiastic.

A: Yes, but it's hard to tell in a venue like that, because everything is so over the top. It was wonderful to have that sort of enthusiasm, but, in a situation like that, I'm not sure you can actually get a really good indication on what the response is going to be.

Q: A colleague who writes about movies thinks you should get an Oscar for this. He says your work is good and naturalistic and that it must be frustrating to be passed over in favor of actors who are, as he said, "more theatrical but less convincing."

A: First of all, thank you. That's a nice thing for him to say. I've stopped trying to figure out what people will respond to because it seems that the performances of my own that I don't like - and I like very few of them - are the ones that I get the best reviews for, and performances that I assume will end my career get critical acclaim. I can't really figure that out...

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