Roberto Succo (2001) has recently opened in the UK to some of the strongest reviews of any film this year. Although it provoked controversy in France for its ambivalent portrayal of a real-life criminal and killer, it is being seen internationally as an unusually fine document of the criminal mind and feted for the astonishing performance of its (non-professional) lead actor Stefano Cassetti. kamera.co.uk's Jason Wood spoke with Roberto Succo's director, Cédric Kahn.
JW: How did the figure of Roberto Succo first come to your attention and what was it about him that suggested that his story would be suitable for a film treatment?
CK: The most important thing about Succo is that he is a very unusual character. He is very multi-faceted and has many different aspects. He is hard to both define and understand. What's fascinating about all the statements from people who had actual contact with him is that he was different in each and every case; he is like a chameleon.
JW: The film goes to great lengths to present this multi-faceted character. You avoid stereotypical serial killer/sociopath clichés.
CK: When I wrote the script, I was determined to present as many different aspects to the character as possible. For me, this was the best way to get away from the fantasy of a killer and at least try to get somewhere near the truth.
JW: I understand that Pascale Froment's book Je te tue: Histoire vraie de Roberto Succo was important to you. How did you decide what elements of Froment's book to discard and did you deny yourself extrapolation?
CK: I certainly didn't want to add anything to the actual facts because I felt that would actually weaken the power of the facts and the events themselves, which were so rich. It returns to my earlier point and my fascination with Succo's multi-faceted personality. I wanted to show the facts that would most readily signify this personality. The only thing I did do was take out a lot of the repetitiveness of Succo's behaviour and I also highlighted the cruelty of his acts.
JW: Is Succo a powerful figure in the French consciousness? Did he not perversely become something of a political figure?
CK: The real story was not so well known but about a year after the events a play was written about Succo by a very fashionable playwright. The play presented Succo as what can only be described as a black angel, an anarchist hero. The image created of Succo by the play replaced that of Roberto Succo as public enemy no.1. The play has created a good deal of confusion.
JW: In popular culture in general however, there is a tradition of creating heroes out of criminals. We have done it in Britain with people like The Krays but I think your film assiduously avoids this. Were there works that you looked at and thought, well I certainly want to distance my film from this approach?
CK: Natural Born Killers (1994). I absolutely wished to avoid making this kind of film. Films that did positively influence my approach include Badlands (1973) and The Honeymoon Killers (1969). Also, I would cite Truman Capote's book In Cold Blood, which was a huge influence on Froment's book.
JW: I understand that James Ellroy was also a reference point for you.
CK: Oh very much so. I was more influenced in my making of the film by reading James Ellroy than by any other film I might have seen. What I like in Ellroy's work is his sympathy for the victims; he shows little interest in the actual criminals. This is an approach that can obviously be attributed to the fact that Ellroy's own mother was a crime victim.
JW: You show a great interest in forensics.
CK: Clearly. This I would again partly trace back to Ellroy. Also, and to finish on Ellroy, I wanted to adopt the narrative device of the investigator falling in love with the victims; it is because of this love that an obsession with the investigation develops.
JW: The film exists as a hybrid of genres; it has some of the aesthetics of a documentary, it has elements of the thriller, it is part biography and in some scenes it feels like a romance.
CK: I am certainly interested in all genres and thought I could again use these genres to tell each particular story, each attack, depict each victim differently.
JW: Did you enjoy working in Cinemascope?
CK: Oh very much. It is of course more expensive and people tried to tell me to do it differently. It is a great pleasure to film in this format, which of course dictates certain things with regard to the mise-en-scene; on a very simple level for example you can show more things in a single shot, which can make each image more complicated to construct.
JW: You've talked about Succo's multi-faceted personality; it interested me the way in which you also chose to show his capacity for love.
CK: This aspect of the film was based on the statements of the Léa character and so is factual. I also do not believe that there are people who are completely incapable of affection, even killers. Just like us, killers are human, which is true, even if difficult to accept. Conversely, it is difficult for many of us to accept any human carrying out terrible, almost incomprehensible acts.
JW: Stefano Cassetti gives an amazing performance in the film as Roberto Succo. He was a real find, especially given that he is not a professional actor.
CK: He was found purely by chance. Casting was open to both professional and non-professional actors. I don't believe that the distinction between the two is useful, for me the only question is whether the actor has talent or not. The actor on screen is always a combination of his own personality and his ability to portray somebody who is not himself. Any actor, whatever his training brings something specific to the character. Stefano of course did bring something very specific and particular. There were many professionals who wanted the role; it is after all an attractive role, especially for actors in France who do not often get the chance to play the part of a character like this. Having said that, the casting was not open to French actors, as I wanted an Italian for the role.
