La Règle Du Jeu (1939) is a comedy drama movie about a vast group of peculiar characters that all get together at a large house for a weekend of hunting and conversing. Among them, there are also plenty of minor characters such as servants and workers that attend to the house. However, none of them stand out as much as the Head Chef played by Léon Larive does in relation to Christian Keathley’s article, “Pass the Salt… in other bits of business” in “Small Players, Small Parts Dossier” in Screen.
In the film, the Head Chef (Le Cuisinier according to the French cast list) is first introduced when the assistant chef informs him that one of the guests prefers to have no salts added until after the meal has finished being cooked. His appearances are brief, but in them, there is a lot that deduces who he is as not only a character, but a person, mainly based on his business. In Keathley’s article, he states that these types of minor characters “must be easily identifiable to the viewer, and giving them some business can help define their character quickly, efficiently and distinctively,” (106). Immediately when the Head Chef is introduced, he is already in business, stirring food ingredients in a pan. This immediately tells the audience not only what his job is, but how he treats it. The meticulous way he gently turns the spatula clockwise whilst keeping one hand on the pan’s handle indicates that he is very precise towards what he does, and cooking is most likely a passion of his. Furthermore, acknowledge his body language when the assistant chef reminds him of the salts mentioned prior. The Head Chef doesn’t even look at the assistant chef’s face when he mentions salts. He instead only focuses on the egg the assistant chef hands him, saying he will not put up with fads. This business shows us that he is a professional and his lack of facial expression in regard to the salts means he will not let himself be bothered by what he believes are such silly things.
Also speaking on business, Keathley says “it brings movement and rhythmic counterpoint to what is an otherwise static scene,” (109). This applies to the Head Chef in his second and final main appearance. In this scene, he is talking to the guests about a story of being told off about one of his potato salads. This adds even more history and depth to this character, but what is equally important are his actions while doing this. He is walking around, tilting his body, being very expressive with his hands, and changing his facial expressions. This not only tells the viewer that he is really involved in telling a story with meaning to him, but it also occupies the scene with his presence and constant movement, avoiding a static and boring setting.
Works Cited
Keathley, Christian. “Pass the Salt… and Other Bits of Business.” Screen, vol. 52, no. 1, 2011, pp. 105-113. https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjq065
La Règle Du Jeu (1939)
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