Did Emmanuelle Bercot really lose weight for this film?

Engaged social thriller, Goliath is broadcast this Sunday, December 1, 2024 on France 2. A film in which Emmanuelle Bercot gives of herself. To the point of losing weight for his role?

Acting performances are noticeable. Many of them have immersed themselves body and soul in a role. Like Robert de Niro in Raging Bullone of the best-known and most striking examples. Yoyos with weight are often signs of extreme involvement, like Lady Gaga for Joker, Folie à deux. The specialist in this field is obviously Christian Bale, whose appearance varies greatly depending on his films. Broadcast this Sunday, December 1, 2024 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2, Goliath does not seem at first glance the appropriate feature film for actors wishing to play with the scales. And yet.

Did Emmanuelle Bercot lose weight to Goliath ?

Released in theaters in March 2022, Goliath follows France (Emmanuelle Bercot), whose farmer husband is suffering from cancer, and who campaigns against the use of pesticides. Patrick (Gilles Lellouch), a lawyer, represents the parents of a farmer who committed suicide. Mathias (Pierre Niney), lobbyist, defends the interests of agrochemicals. Their destinies will collide. The film is by Frédéric Tellier, previously director of The SK1 Affair (2013), adaptation of the terrible hunt for Guy Georges, and Save or perish (2018), a drama for which Pierre Niney, already himself, lost nearly ten kilos of muscle. In Goliathit is an unrecognizable and considerably emaciated Emmanuelle Bercot who appears in the final scene. Does this mean that the actress subjected herself to terrible food deprivation? Well no, since it was digitally “transformed” in post-production, without having to lose a single gram in real life.

Goliath is it adapted from a true story?

Adapted from the glyphosate scandal, a herbicide classified as a probable carcinogen in 2015, Goliath required several years of research from Frédéric Tellier, also co-writer of the film. “Few books talk about the world of lobbies, and very few agrochemical lobbyists, so-called committed politicians or specialized journalists agree to tell the story, to testify“, said the filmmaker at the time of the film's release, before a red carpet which brought together all the stars of the feature film. By multiplying the points of view in his film, Frédéric Tellier somewhat dilutes the force of his point. But we are still carried away by the power of interpretation, supported by a feverish staging. A committed thriller not to be missed, therefore.