At the 81st Venice Film Festival, the air is thick with the weight of prestige, but for French actor and director Louis Garrel, the atmosphere is defined by a singular, transformative professional challenge. Garrel, an international icon since his breakout role in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers, has stepped into the orbit of another Italian titan: Nanni Moretti. Their collaboration, the romantic drama It Will Happen Tonight, is currently making waves on the Lido, competing for the coveted Golden Lion and sparking intense debate regarding its stylistic departure from traditional European art-house fare.
For Garrel, this project represents a significant departure from his usual repertoire. Beyond the demands of the script, the film marks his first-ever performance entirely in the Italian language—a hurdle he cleared with the characteristic intensity that has defined his career.
The Genesis of a Collaboration
The partnership between the French star and the Italian auteur did not emerge from a cold casting call, but rather a slow-burning mutual admiration. Their relationship began in the corridors of Rome’s Sacher Cinema, a venue owned by Moretti that regularly hosts French film festivals.
"The first time I met him, I was a little shaky," Garrel recalls, his demeanor shifting from the polished screen persona to that of an earnest cinephile. "It’s like when you meet your idol; it’s a bit strange. But I could see that it was not so hard to have a connection with him."
The transition from acquaintance to collaborator was rapid and, in classic Moretti fashion, idiosyncratic. Following a series of casual discussions about cinema, Moretti reached out with a blunt query: "What are you doing in September?"
Despite a conflicting engagement, Garrel committed, only to be faced with the reality of his linguistic limitations. When he hesitated regarding his Italian proficiency, the two engaged in a high-stakes screen test in Moretti’s office, utilizing nothing more than two video cameras. The result was an immediate, visceral chemistry between Garrel and his co-star, Italian A-lister Jasmine Trinca.
Trinca, who famously debuted in Moretti’s 2001 masterpiece The Son’s Room at age 18, brings a grounded, familiar presence to the film. Together, the pair anchor a narrative that Moretti describes simply as a "love story"—a deceptive label for a film that critics are already dissecting with surgical precision.
The ‘Moretti Method’: A Study in Obsession
One of the most discussed aspects of It Will Happen Tonight is the peculiar directorial style employed by Moretti, which Garrel jokingly refers to as the "Moretti Method." This approach is defined not by psychological deep-dives or emotional improvisation, but by a rigid, rhythmic precision that borders on the architectural.
"We never talked about the psychology of the character in the film," Garrel explains. "We talked mostly about rhythm, about the speed of the monologues or the dialogues. It was, ‘Less pause, Louis. Less sad. More joyful.’"
This focus on external mechanics over internal motivation creates a unique, stylized atmosphere. For the actors, the experience was at times disorienting. Moretti’s obsession extends to the very placement of objects on set, leading Garrel to quip that, under the director’s watchful eye, he sometimes felt less like a lead actor and more like "a table or an armchair."
Yet, Garrel admits to an underlying desire to embody the Moretti spirit. "When I was 17, I wanted to become the French Moretti," he admits. "He’s a director and an actor, and he does both so well. I think, instinctively, I imitated him on set. When I couldn’t find the right tone, I would just ask him, ‘Please, can you do it, Nanni?’"
Chronology of a High-Stakes Production
The production timeline was compressed, necessitated by the rigorous demands of the Venice Film Festival’s submission calendar. After the initial screen test, the script was finalized, and the team moved into an intensive rehearsal period in Rome.
- Initial Meetings: Cultivation of a professional rapport during Rome’s French cinema festivals.
- The Call: Moretti’s sudden invitation to participate in a high-stakes, non-political love story.
- The Screen Test: A focused, two-camera session in Moretti’s office that confirmed the screen chemistry between Garrel and Trinca.
- Principal Photography: An intense, detail-oriented shoot where choreography and rhythm took precedence over traditional psychological acting.
- Venice Premiere: The film’s arrival at the Lido, where it has been hailed for its bold stylistic choices and polarizing narrative structure.
Implications of the "Elevated Soap Opera"
The most intriguing critical response to It Will Happen Tonight is its frequent, and sometimes divisive, characterization as an "elevated soap opera." Rather than taking offense, Garrel embraces the label, drawing parallels to the work of Pedro Almodóvar.
"I love soap operas in general," Garrel asserts. "The way you enter the labyrinthic lives of these different people, and the camera has the opportunity to watch all this mess—that’s a good basis. When you add the style and the sense of humor to the soap opera, that’s a good combination for cinema."
This structural choice creates a voyeuristic experience for the audience. By maintaining a degree of distance from the characters, Moretti forces the viewer to observe the "mess" of the protagonists’ lives without the safety net of sentimental emotional cues.
Intimacy and the Art of Connection
The film’s emotional core hinges on the relationship between Garrel’s Matteo and Trinca’s Greta. Their scenes are marked by intense, lingering eye contact, a performance choice that required a high level of mutual trust.
"When you look at someone in the eyes for so long and so intensely, you have to, in a way, love that character," Garrel reflects. "You have to feel confident with that person."
This confidence was fostered through the sharing of personal secrets—a tactic used to create a unified front against the director’s demanding style. Furthermore, the film’s intimate scenes were managed with a collaborative approach. While an intimacy coordinator was on hand to ensure professional standards, the choreography of the scenes was largely delegated to Trinca.
"Jasmine was the choreographer of the sexual scenes," Garrel notes. "She knew what were the positions that would expose her less. And Nanni was like, ‘Yeah, do what you want.’"
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter
With It Will Happen Tonight firmly positioned as one of the most talked-about films of the festival, Garrel is already looking toward his next ventures. He is set to appear in Custom of the Country, alongside Sydney Sweeney, and has an upcoming project with the legendary Marco Bellocchio.
In Bellocchio’s Falcon, Garrel will tackle the role of John Elkann, the heir to the Agnelli family and a central figure in the history of the Italian automotive industry. It is a role that requires a different kind of precision, further cementing Garrel’s status as a staple of modern Italian cinema, despite his French roots.
As for It Will Happen Tonight, the film serves as a testament to the power of cross-cultural collaboration. By stepping outside his comfort zone and into the rhythmic, obsessive world of Nanni Moretti, Louis Garrel has not only delivered a compelling performance but has also participated in a cinematic experiment that challenges the boundaries of the romantic drama. Whether the film ultimately claims the Golden Lion remains to be seen, but its impact on the landscape of contemporary European film is already assured.
