Though still in her 30s, Elsa Zylberstein’s career has been so rich and multi-stranded — in addition to two decades of screen performances, she has also worn the hats of a classical dancer and a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador in the past — that it’s odd to think she is only now achieving Stateside recognition for a role in one very modest film.
Or it would be, at least, were that film not “I’ve Loved You So Long,” Philippe Claudel’s searing, critically acclaimed study of lives undone by grief and separation. The film has quietly emerged as one of the most memorable entries in another banner year for French cinema. You have no doubt heard the well-deserved buzz for star Kristin Scott Thomas, but she’s not the film’s only name generating whispers in awards circles.
As Thomas’ onscreen sister, a seemingly grounded wife and mother whose carefully organized sense of self begins to collapse as she is confronted directly with her past, Zylberstein’s delicate, empathetic portrayal is a dark horse to watch in the Best Supporting Actress race. The term “supporting,” however, isn’t entirely accurate. Not unlike the season’s other highly-praised story of sisterly reunion, “Rachel Getting Married,” the film sees two sterling actresses supporting each other, each playing impeccably off the other’s gestures and silences.
For Zylberstein, it marks the clear high point of an already-fascinating career, and she doesn’t mind admitting that she’s been taken happily off-guard by the response to the film.
“It’s just exploded,” she enthuses down the phone line, in her limber, beguilingly accented English. “Nothing like this was meant to happen, was it? I mean, it’s just this tiny little film. And now… bang! I’ve just been in London, and I’m now I’m going to L.A. tomorrow, and people there know the film. And they know me in it. I’m just, like, what?”
She laughs, as do I: her giddiness is infectious. I’ve caught her at her Paris home, relaxing for a few moments just before she heads off to her father’s birthday party. (“I got him an iPhone. You do think that’s a good idea, right?” she sidetracks, as if I was one of her oldest friends.)