Released on March 7 in France, The Disaster Artist arrived in our country at the end of a contrasting race; at the crossroads of rewards and controversies. Crowned with prestigious awards whose unflappable journey culminated in the awarding of the Golden Globe for Best Actor to James Franco; The latter saw the emergence (or rather resurfacing) of accusations of harassment and inappropriate sexual behavior that put a definitive end to a rally motivated until then by the solid and confident hope of seeking an Oscar for best adapted screenplay.
Hollywood being crossed by the brutal but necessary curtain raiser of its deadly sexism; It was thus unthinkable that the film would claim any award. The effervescence past, what remains of The Disaster Artist? At least a reflection on the limits of the contours of our morality implied by the nature of the film itself, by its context, its reception and the individuals involved. Perceived by some as a tribute to the height of his whimsical character, he was received by others as a collective enterprise of condescension. What's really going on?
Disastrous artist(s) itineraries
The Disaster Artist is originally a book written by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell in 2013(1) about the miraculous meeting of Sestero, a young 19-year-old actor-candidate with Tommy Wiseau (of undetermined age) and what will follow, namely, the realization of one of the most popular nanars in the world: The Room.Nevertheless, the heart of the book is not limited to this singular friendship. Indeed, the book turns out to be a fascinating testimony about the small and big dreamers of Hollywood. This is how the authors have adopted a dual narrative structure that moves it away from a simple linear chronicle of a chaotic shoot.
The reader follows the itinerary of a failed actor aka Sestero who will meet this strange character that is Tommy Wiseau during a theater class in San Francisco. A less developed aspect in James Franco's film, we follow him at the turn of this tale of apprenticeship relating a promising career violently aborted by the arbitrary laws of the film industry. Thus, after a timid beginning, the young actor will be spotted by Iris Burton's prestigious artistic agency before seeing phone calls dwindle over time and the hope of success painfully erode.It is therefore through the endearing awkwardness and naive gaze of Sestero that we observe behind the scenes of Hollywood ; a cynical universe that crushes its dreamers more than it cajoles them; A universe in the image of his films, full of twists and extras and in which success can disappear as quickly as it appeared.
And it is the absence of this angle that is sometimes sorely felt. This disillusionment of the Hollywood dream would have benefited from being further developed as the irony of the encounters gives a particular tone to certain passages (we think in particular of the meetings with the actors of yesterday who have become the big names of today including …. James Franco; but also Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Sestero's embarrassing encounter with the late Robin Williams). In addition, this itinerary is a light that explains the origins of The Room. The growing success of Sestero never ceased to maintain a jealousy that perpetually pushed Wiseau to a defective or even downright mediocre mimicry.
The Talented Mr Wiseau
The book is thus littered with references defining not only the personality of Wiseau but bringing a particular light to this perverse friendship that unites them. Thus, there is a reference that is missing on the screen: that of the Talented Mr. Ripley who perfectly summarizes one of the most poisonous aspects of their friendship, namely, Tommy's obsession with Sestero. This is how the latter develops an interesting reflection on the plurality of possible receptions of a work. Through the analysis of the intimate consequences implied by the discovery of this film (instigated by a friend worried about this particular relationship), Sestero recalls how much a work to enlighten us about ourselves and others.Like a magnifying mirror effect, Anthony Minghella's film revealed itself as a full awareness of the whiff of Tommy's personality on himself. During a second viewing, Sestero found an additional interpretation concerning Tommy's personality, namely a solitary being crossed by the fear of a rejection that he perpetually anticipated. On the other hand, the reception of the film was different for Tommy who saw it less as a reflection of himself than the ideal boss for the scenario of The Room.
Lighter, the film tends to accentuate Tommy's thirst for recognition and need for constant attention. The dance scene on The Rhythm of the Night crystallizes the differences of reception and has been interpreted by some critics as a desire to ridicule his character. But can we not rather see it as a first objective synthesis of his personality, namely, an egocentric individual, crossed by a constant need to have the gaze of others on him and which partly explains this obsession with cinema that materializes his navel-gazing desires? On the other hand, can we not rather see it as a true celebration of these individuals who free themselves from the judgment of others? Because it was ultimately this nerve that fascinated and led Sestero and many of us to dive into the planet Wiseau.
"Tommy Wiseau, it's me"
The book alternates until they confront Sestero's journey and the chaotic filming of The Room. We found that James Franco had rather reduced the first trajectory to further illuminate that of Wiseau (which will still remain locked for lack of really usable information).One of the elements that surely explains the problematic vision of The Disaster Artist comes from the personality of James Franco himself who ultimately shares the same disturbing strangeness and a hint of narcissism that explains his interest in Wiseau. This brilliant mise en abyme appears as an additional light: that of the personality of James Franco who shares a lot with Wiseau and who explains this disconcerting ease that he has to interpret the character but also to understand him more than the others. Perceived as unsympathetic, many amalgams have been established between her own personality and Wiseau's treatment in her own film. Yet the celebration is there through this permanent mirror game.
Although imperfect (especially concerning an uninventive form), the film thus offers an additional variation of the most interesting: that of the look of a double of Wiseau posed on Wiseau himself resulting to an unsuspected empathy. Thus, while the book ends before the beginning of the projection of the film on the screen, the film on the contrary continues its way to propose a new configuration, namely, the variation of points of view. Bursts of laughter from the spectators join those, more nervous, of the team and Sestero then the director chooses to put the camera on the disarray of the Wiseau who bursts into tears until he leaves. Admittedly, the reality is different (slower to settle) but the choice is relevant. By telescoping laughter and its cruel consequences on an overconfident director who collapses, James Franco highlights a reaction that is often forgotten: that of Wiseau at the beginning of the accidental reception of his film. Therefore, it is difficult to find a position that would juxtapose condescension and empathy with coherence.
Ultimately, The Room and The Disaster Artist share a lot in common. Stemming from the sick egocentrism of exacerbated and disturbing personalities perpetually in search of recognition, these two works pose a fascinating reflection on the uncontrolled reception of a work. Halfway through is the book by Sestero and Bissell, which takes an enlightening, benevolent and lucid look at these dreamers who put all possible means to realize their dreams.
(1) Now available in France thanks to the superb initiative of the Panic team! Cinema and Carlotta.
