Matthias Schoenaerts is the hero of “Sons of Philadelphia”.
The film tells the story of two cousins with conflicting relationships facing the mafia.
The French director Jérémie Guez offers a golden role to the silent and impressive Matthias Schoenaerts.
He jumps into the void from the first scene.
The character played by Matthias Schoenaerts in
Sons of Philadelphia
plays with his life because his own death is indifferent to him.
The spectator's heart stops beating for a few seconds before seeing him return safe and sound to find himself caught in a deadly game between mafia.
"He's a film noir hero," explains director Jérémie Guez to
20 Minutes
.
Of those who are marked in advance by fate and who we suspect that they will not live to old.
The French filmmaker is based on
Un Amour fraternel
, a novel by Peter Dexter, to tell the story of two cousins torn between fratricidal hatred and family loyalty in the face of the Mafia.
A quiet force
Joel Kinanman, a gangster soup with milk, even a bit psychopathic, gives the answer to Matthias Schoenaerts massive and silent in this intense film presented at the festivals of Deauville and Reims Polar.
"Matthias exudes a quiet strength which means that he does not need to speak to impose it", specifies the director.
This monolithic aspect makes each reaction of a man hurt by a sordid existence in an environment where it is not good to show the slightest weakness particularly moving.
In this man's world, only a childhood friend recently returned to town (Maika Monroe) brings a feminine touch.
Avoid clichés
“Matthias did not want to risk falling into the cliché, underlines Jérémie Guez.
He worked a lot on the phrasing and body language of the character to communicate its complexity.
This man traumatized since childhood tries to find his place between petty crime and mafia obligations in an overwhelming city.
"It is not an ordinary small strike but a tortured man which makes him even more formidable.
The hero's suicidal side only underscores the threat he poses.
Taciturn and timeless
The permanent pain exuded by the hero is communicated to the entire film.
Matthias Schoenaerts magnified by the realization of Jérémie Guez.
“It was fascinating to see him work out every detail of his role,” recalls the latter.
Matthias Schoenaerts seems to have been born to play this type of taciturn and totally timeless characters.
He could be in his place at any time.
His impressive performance permeates
Sons of Philadelphia
, making it an asset that is as seductive as it is poisonous.
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