[Editorial] Hearts of Darkness: A Letter to Béatrice Dalle: In Honor of la Femme & Gorgeous Villainy

Chère Béatrice, 

I remember the first time I saw your visage on screen. I was horrified. As the flame of the lighter just kissed the tip of your cigarette, les yeux de la Femme briefly flickered into existence. Your intentions were unknown, but I knew you were no benevolent stranger. A shadow in the dark, watching, waiting. She didn’t know how you got in, or what you wanted, all she knew was your face as she awoke with the sharp pain of the scissors piercing her distended belly. You didn’t smile while you hurt her, because you weren’t there for pleasure, but for revenge. You were there out of necessity, to recover what you had lost, what she stole from you, so violently, so perniciously. 

Having never experienced such terror in real life, I could only watch helplessly as you reigned chaos upon her and meditate on why I, though alone in a dark room watching you on screen, felt that you were there in the blackness behind me. All my life I was told to be afraid of men, that evil was masculine, that danger came with a twirly mustache and testosterone. But Béatrice, with your portrayal of la Femme, I experienced just how feminine and gorgeous villainy can be. 

You, in the dark, À l'intérieur, a ghostly image with pale, glowing skin. You, la Femme, torn apart by grief, an existence in mourning. As the violence intensified, you gave a face to honest motivation, and even after that face became unrecognizable through blood and burned skin, your eyes shined with love after attaining that which you sought. The sacrifices made in the name of your vitriolic vengeance were merely incidental casualties. The war was between you and your target, the woman with the baby. You were there to recover your loss. Those who stood in your way chose a battle that wasn’t theirs. 

I have thought about you often since first seeing you in Inside. I write about the bad ladies of horror, and the unending need for more complex, fully developed female killers, and your name is always on the tip of my tongue. I wanted everyone to see you the way I did, more than a sadistic murderess, but a woman dripping with desperation, eyes flooded with love for the pregnant bump that should have been yours.  

There is a certain pattern in many horror films, with women being victimized by men, or a supernatural entity that represents a man, brutalized by phallic weapons, running in fear, screaming, crying, falling, dying. And when a woman is written as a killer, she is often unhinged, or sexy, or working with a man, killing out of unbridled lunacy. But la Femme, similar to Pamela Voorhees, is a different kind of killer. Both women are driven by revenge – mothers avenging their children – a grief whose sharp point can be aimed at those responsible, or presumed responsible. Your anger toward Sarah came from the kind of loss that can tear a hole in the psyche. The way in which you, Béatrice, interpreted she, la Femme, allowed the viewer a chance to understand, possibly even commiserate, empathize, with her plight.

The complexity with which you attacked the role causes la Femme to stand out as one of the most memorable villains in horror history. The brutality you inflict upon those standing in your way, as well as the affection and care given toward the baby that you would claim as your own, these elements give dimension and truth to the film. How much of that direction was given to you and how much did you create? Did you see this character as an opportunity to elevate the female killer? When you were preparing, did you see first the sadness and loss that la Femme carried with her, and how that ate away at her heart, widening the hole that was torn when she woke up in the hospital, deflated and alone? 

I believe the best villains are written with understanding. The understanding that we are all just a horrific accident away from our lives veering toward turpitude. Because what is done to those murdered in Inside is nothing short of pure evil, and yet I can’t help but understand the incentive. Does the character play with everyone’s emotions, or just mine? Does la Femme get joy from inflicting pain, or is the pain simply a byproduct of the incentive? When you looked in the mirror, donning that black frock, your hair hanging loose, curtaining your face, did you tell yourself that the actions she would take were noble? Did she believe that she was doing Sarah a service, because the child would only remind her every day of her painful loss? 

I suppose I’ll never know the answers, will I. This is simply one character of a slew of characters you have masterfully played. I may be posing these questions to la Femme herself, an iconic killer who deserves the same amount of recognition as every massive, jacked-up, silent killer before her. I suppose this is simply a love letter to your performance, your awareness, your deft hand at portraying the wicked actions of a broken woman. Women can be as deranged, as powerful, as strong, as brutal as men. And no woman more so than la Femme. So, thank you for bringing her to life, gorgeous villainy embodied. 

Le tiens, 

A Horror Fan. 

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