The Struggle to Live Two Lives

     Irène Némirovsky was an extraordinary individual.  To take her life work as an author would simply be enough to classify her as a remarkable woman, but when you factor in her lonely childhood and life under German oppression, Irène Némirovsky is unbelievable.  Under the stress and fear of being taken by Germans and worrying about her daughters’ fates, Némirovsky managed to create a literary classic in Suite Française.  This knowledge made writing the script and filming our interview incredibly difficult.  There is so much to live up to and try and portray in just ten minutes.  I cannot speak for Tori, but it was hard for me to find the words that could encompass Irène’s situation.  How could we portray an incredibly poised, articulate, elegant, and intelligent woman while simultaneously trying to offer insight into her stressful, fearful, and chaotic life?  We couldn’t really have fun with the interview as the timing of it was delicate, but we still wanted to give Irène justice in how she was portrayed.  We didn’t want her to seem cold and aloof or unconcerned with her situation, but she was also an incredibly strong woman and needed to be portrayed with confidence that could make her appear unconcerned. 

     Most of this struggle fell to Tori’s shoulders.  She had to find a way to share the fun and “wild” side of Irène’s growing up but all with the background knowledge of her current situation.  I think Tori did an awesome job in this respect and managed to portray Irène as a woman who continued on with her life but one who continued on in a way that showed she was aware of the gravity of her situation.  I hope our video does her justice.