Caoilinn Springall and George Clooney -

Philippe Antonello / NETFLIX

  • In "Midnight in the Universe", George Clooney is unrecognizable as an old man struck by a strange disaster.

  • The comedian leads himself in the shoes of a cranky man trying to convince space travelers not to return to Earth.

  • He also evokes his recent paternity of two twins, his confinement, and the lessons to be learned from the health crisis.

George Clooney is in front and behind on camera for

Midnight in the Universe

available since Christmas on Netflix.

He plays an isolated guardian in the Arctic who must take care of a lost girl and try to convince the inhabitants of a space station not to return to Earth threatened by a terrible disaster.

Felicity Jones and David Oyelowo give it the answer in this spellbinding film inspired by a novel by Lily Brooks-Dalton.

This powerful and brilliantly staged work confirms that George Clooney is an excellent filmmaker who reviews his experience for

20 Minutes

.

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Can “Midnight in the Universe” be like a Christmas tale?

I recognize that there are difficult times in history and that it is not all happy!

But the redemption of the character that I embody, like the hope that I let dawn at the end, make me stay in the festive tradition.

A bit like Charles Dickens with his

Christmas Carol

, in which his hero behaves like perfect junk before redeeming himself in the last pages.

Does the character you play also conform to this tradition?

He's obnoxious, a drunkard and a womanizer, but the fact that he takes care of the little heroine makes him endearing.

We forgive you everything if you love children.

So I had fun making it really hateful.

To then melt it in front of the girl played by Caoilinn Springall.

The latter, who was making her screen debut, blew me away.

If the comedian WC Fields said that filming with children was a pain, it was because he had never met one as gifted as her.

Was it a difficult role to compose?

Playing on your own isn't easy and this lonely character was complex, morally and physically exhausting.

Fortunately, Grant Heslov, my co-producer and friend for forty years, was watching.

Aren't you used to staging yourself since time?

It is against nature to direct the other actors at the same time as yourself!

There is nothing more annoying than having a partner tell you what to do.

In addition, you do not dare to redo takes for fear of appearing narcissistic.

So it was Grant saying, "Man, you go back and do this scene again."

He didn't let anything go.

Are you afraid of the hero's loneliness?

I am the dad of three year old twins and would give my left leg for some solitude!

But 

Midnight in the Universe

shows that not being alone is essential for human beings.

What we are experiencing at the moment confirms this.

We suffer from no longer seeing our loved ones, from not being able to touch them.

The current period is very instructive in terms of our priorities.

What will you have learned during the lockdown?

That I'm still able to mop and rewire a lamp.

I also changed diapers a lot, not mine, I can assure you ... It is important to enjoy what we are going through.

A recent motorcycle accident in which I could have killed myself taught me that as well.

Luck can give up on you overnight, without knowing why.

It is important to appreciate her as long as she favors you.

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Are you optimistic about the future?

Midnight in the universe

corresponds well to my state of mind.

The film is a testament to all the evil that humans can do against themselves and the planet.

Surviving is a constant struggle worth fighting.

This is what I deeply believe.

Do you think, like others, that Netflix will end up killing the cinema?

It has been said that television, then VHS tapes, then DVDs would kill cinema.

And it is still there!

It will be the same with the platforms.

Netflix allows me to produce films that studios, which are only looking for blockbusters, no longer want.

I wish Netflix existed when I was just starting out as an actor.

I would have had less trouble finding a job!

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