After a career as a screenwriter for cinema and television, Pierre Schoeller moved on to directing with the intention of dealing with human realities still little evoked by French cinema. From the hierarchical world of the factory (Zero Defect), to the popular heroes and heroines of the French Revolution (A people and their king) passing by the clandestine inhabitants of the gardens of a castle (Versailles) Pierre Schoeller seems to have found his way by choosing new points of view on some places, events and iconic figures of French culture. The other strong point that emerges from his filmography is his interest in power, its structures and its incarnations, including the political thriller The State Exercise (2011) dealt most directly. With the series “In the Shadow”, adapted from the eponymous novel written jointly by Edouard Philippe and Philippe Boyer, Pierre Schoeller goes behind the scenes of the conquest of power.
The apparatchik's point of view
In the shadowsas its title tells us, is however not strictly speaking a series about a presidential candidate, but rather about “his shadow” – namely Cesar Casalonga (Swann Arlaud). Cesar Casalonga presents himself as an apparatchik, endorsing this often pejorative designation of an important member of a political party. He has known Francoeur for a long time and works – to the exclusion of all other activities – to bring Francoeur to power.
“That the view on political action is on the side of those who encourage the boss opens us to what can happen behind the scenes, in the antechamber of power. The point of view of the series is that of the man who whispers in the ear of power. Already, at the time of the State Exercise, I had understood that in this relationship between the advisor and the man in power, we can tell everything.“
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Why want power?
“For years I have been asking myself questions about what power is, how to tell it? Why will a man suddenly say to himself: I represent others? To try to approach this question of power, Pierre Schoeller chooses to delve into the torments and affects of those who have made politics a profession: “The project is not focused on a political reading, it is first and foremost a thriller, a study of characters and their feelings. We discuss some issues of contemporary politics, but this is not the heart of the project.”
Also, when asked about the possible resonances of the series with the current political context (which is obviously reinforced by the direct participation of Edouard Philippe in the adaptation) Schoeller answers: “Fiction empowers itself. I hope that the series will have more existence than being a mirage of a politician. When we fictionalize the political world, we expose ourselves to interference. This is why if we pull the most human threads, the feelings and the moods, it doesn't get old.”
Its news
- In the shadows is a Franco-Belgian television mini-series in six episodes, directed by Pierre Schoeller and Guillaume Senez on a screenplay by Pierre Schoeller, Lamara Leprêtre-Habib and Cédric Anger, based on a book by Édouard Philippe and Gilles Boyer, and broadcast for the first time in Belgium on October 1, 2024 on La Trois and in France on October 30, 2024 on France 2.
Sound clips
- The apparatchik's monologue, extract from the series In the shadows
- Yasmina Reza, who accompanied Nicolas Sarkozy's electoral campaign in 2007 in “La vie est un je” on France Inter, in November 2014
- Excerpt from Les Guignols, la fiction (1999)
- Ending song: “Ordinaire” by Robert Charlebois, from the album A pretty ordinary guy (1971)
