Cannes (AFP)

Caleb Landry Jones, sensitive actor and accomplished musician, who reaches 31 years of consecration with a prize for male interpretation, has already forged a special place in American cinema.

In Justin Kurzem's "Nitram" he plays a borderline young man who is about to commit one of the worst killings in Australian history.

Decried from its preparation by the families of the victims, who saw in the film a form of apology to the port-Arthur turie in Tasmania - an island off the coast of Australia - in 1996, which left 35 dead, Caleb Landry Jones, however, did not hesitate before agreeing to play Martin Bryant, the killer sentenced to life.

Texas-born Caleb Landry Jones made his film debut at the age of 13 with a small role in a Coen Brothers film "No, this country is not for the old man" (2007), which scooped up 4 Oscar.

Since then, he has established himself as a safe bet in American independent cinema, playing supporting roles marked by their ambivalence: ultra-sensitive junkie in "Heaven Know What" (2014) by the Safdie brothers, toxic male in the third season of Twin Peaks (2017) or gas station worker in "The Dead Don't Die", by Jim Jarmusch (2019).

His career took a major turn in 2017, when he appeared in three independent Oscar nominated films: "The Florida Project" by Sean Baker, "Get out" by Jordan Peele, and "Three Billboards: The Billboards. anger ", by Martin McDonagh.

- Face apart -

"I did not say to myself + be careful, I will have problems if I make this film", the actor, recognizable among all with his youthful face, very pale, studded with freckles and sometimes browsing, told AFP. tics.

"On the contrary, I was very interested in the film because it is about a subject that nobody wants to talk about".

"Nitram" offers a dive into the killer's head.

"I read a lot of things about the period, listened to and watched Australian TV to try to understand this culture," he adds, affable but uncomfortable in the interview.

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"I was a fan before I knew him and I am even more so today", declares justin Kurzel, praising "his very subtle and sensitive way" of playing the characters, that "he really lives".

With a very well-crafted script and actors of great accuracy, the film manages to describe in a clear and precise way the mechanics which generated a collective trauma.

This is the third time that the Texan comes to Cannes.

The first was for Antiviral, by Brandon Cronenberg (2012), the second for "Queen and Country", by John Boorman, two years later.

Caleb Landry Jones also has a career in music, and released a solo album, "The mother Stone" during the pandemic in 2020, a complexly arranged, Beatles-influenced pop record that received critical acclaim.

burs-adm / rh / bow

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