Alfred Molina had not read any novel by Louise Penny until he was offered to play Inspector Armand Gamache in the series The Village of Three Pines. Upon hearing the news, a producer friend, a great admirer of the Toronto writer established in the Eastern Townships, took him by the shoulders and told him that he absolutely had to accept the role.
“Reading the novels, I was struck by the warm atmosphere that emanated from them, with these descriptions of the bistro, of a fireplace, the aromas of cooking, characters frozen with cold warming their hands drinking hot chocolate. We would like to be in the novel! confides the British actor, met at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal in the company of the novelist, with whom he shares a great bond.
In the eight episodes, we find intact the picturesque charm of Three Pines, whose darkest secrets are jealously guarded by its inhabitants. From his first visit to the village with his colleagues Jean-Guy Beauvoir (Rossif Sutherland) and Isabelle Lacoste (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers), Gamache sees Ruth Zardo (Clare Coulter), the badly bawled poet, who walks with Rose, his cane, the bookstore of Myrna Landers (Tamara Brown), the painting studio of Clara (Anna Tierney) and Peter Morrow (Julian Bailey) and, of course, the bistro of Olivier Brulé (Frédéric-Antoine Guimond), where his lover, Gabri Dubeau (Pierre Simpson), concocts good meals.
“When I was told that Alfred Molina was going to play Armand, I was excited, remembers Louise Penny. Not only is he a great actor, but he embodies Armand as if I had created the character for him. It’s both weird and wonderful! What I like about his work is that it’s not a simple transition from my Armand to the screen. He tapped into his DNA, but then he built his own character. »
As for the DNA of the novels, it has been well preserved by the British screenwriter Emilia di Girolamo, who has however shaken up the chronology of certain events. The most ardent readers will therefore have surprises by following the four investigations told in two episodes, and a fifth which extends over the eight episodes.
Indigenous presence
The biggest surprise of the series is the Aboriginal dimension. While Gamache’s parallel investigation echoes the hundreds of Indigenous women who have disappeared and been murdered in recent decades, The most cruel month (Episodes 3 and 4) deals with Indian residential schools.
“I thought the idea was so brilliant that I wish I had thought of it myself,” says Louise Penny. That said, I don’t think I would have done as good a job as Emilia. The producers of Left Bank did a really good job of bringing in Indigenous consultants and the fabulous Tracey Deer, who directed the two pivotal episodes, so that we’re all aware and respectful of their story. »
“It was a big responsibility… and it was hard, really hard, confides with a sigh the director of Mohawk Girls and of Beans, who ensured that the stories corresponded to Indigenous realities. Every time I tell a story about my community, I have to and want to do it justice, I want to make sure it’s authentic, complex. During the reading of the script, we really dug in order to reach all its nuances and sensitivity. How to tell this story in order to touch people without traumatizing them? We aboriginal people already carry so much pain within us that I wouldn’t want to add to it by bringing this story to the screen. »
“For one of the toughest scenes in cruelest month — I get goosebumps just talking about it! — Tracey was extraordinary, recalls Alfred Molina. She gathered us all together in the morning and explained to us that the day was going to be trying. She spoke to the actors individually to remind them of what these scenes meant to Indigenous people, the respect and sensitivity everyone should have, while saying not to let that affect our work. She was very adamant about that. It was very liberating. Responsibility should not be a burden, on the contrary it should carry us. »
In addition to Tracey Deer, we find behind the camera Daniel Grou (Podz) and Samuel Donovan, also executive producer of the series. In addition to directing the first two and last two episodes, Donovan set the tone, style and rhythm for the Village of Three Pines.
“Daniel, Samuel and I were given permission to bring our personal touch, our own interpretation,” explains the director. Obviously, we had to follow the same rules, because the segments had to look the same. The three of us talked a lot about the tone the show should take, because there are quirky characters, a mysterious little town, stories rooted in native history. Everything had to be balanced. The characters were well defined on paper; between the actors and the directors, there was a great collaboration in order to really do them justice. »
Haunted by the past
If he had not read the novels, Alfred Molina knew that before him another British actor, Nathaniel Parker, had lent his features to Inspector Gamache, in In the heart (VF of Still Life: A Three Pines Mystery, 2013), TV movie by Peter Moss. “I know Nate, we were pretty close several years ago. It was a bit like when you are offered to play Hamlet and you start talking to all the actors who have played it. At some point, the character is no longer yours. It was a movie and not an eight episode series, so it was a different approach, style and pace. As always, I worked from the source, the novels. »
The actor confides that he highlighted in different colors all the aspects of Gamache’s personality, often going to re-read passages during filming. “One of the big things that came out of my reading the novels and then the screenplay was the use of silence. Gamache spends a lot of time thinking. In the book, a silence can stretch for two or three pages, but you can’t take up that much screen time. It is therefore necessary to bet on immobility and close-ups in order to show all the activity that there is behind the gaze; when we think, the light is no longer the same in the eye. »
Although he has Gamache’s penetrating gaze and imposing stature, he perfectly conveys his empathy and compassion for the victims and their loved ones, Alfred Molina composes a more vulnerable Gamache than in the novels. More than ever, he needs the support of his beloved Reine-Marie (Marie-France Lambert).
“The Armand we know in the novels is the one who was forged by the dramas of his childhood, which influenced his way of thinking and acting, his way of being with those close to him, explains Louise Penny. In the series, and I think it was done very well, it’s an Armand who is still struggling with his old wounds. Certain elements of the past come back to his memory, which makes for very powerful scenes. I think it’s important to show him like this, taking the time to reflect on the traumatic events of his childhood. Obviously, if we do five seasons, we will have to drop that! »
“I believe that Gamache and his team embody what police officers should be. I would like our police to be like that, especially in this conflicting time, ”concludes Tracey Deer.