Actor-Inspired Element: Adèle Exarchopoulos' table manners were incorporated into the character and also became a defining trait.
Actor-Shared Background: Léa Seydoux stated that in hindsight, she believes Abdellatif Kechiche hired her because of her upper-class background (since her character hails from an upper-middle-class family) to serve as contrast to the protagonist's blue-collar background. She explained further that Kechiche gravitates to unknown actors and actresses, and that there has to be a deeper reason why he did his unprecedented move of casting a more known actress (since at the time, she was already well-known in her native country for some time, and had even appeared in a few Hollywood films) for his film.
Completely Different Title: The film is titled La Vie d'Adéle, or The Life of Adele, in its native France, reflecting the film's greater focus on Adèle's life and relationships over the original graphic novel.
Creator Backlash: Following the tensions and conflict that beset the creative team in the North American premiere after the lead actresses' revealing interview with the Daily Beast, Abdellatif Kechiche went on a rant a month before the film's release and said that it shouldn't be shown anymore since it had been too "sullied" and the audience would no longer see it with open eyes. He also said that the film was a mixed blessing in that while they were awarded the Palme d'Or, it was also a curse.
The Danza: The protagonist Clémentine is renamed Adèle after her actress Adèle Exarchopoulos because Abdellatif Kechiche included scenes where the actress wasn't acting for the camera and was being called by name by the crew, feeling it was very natural and suited the movie.
Disowned Adaptation: Jul Maroh, while not rejecting the film entirely, criticized the lesbian sex scenes, saying that they were unrealistic and shot to titillate male viewers, and that Maroh themselves were uncomfortable that the two main actresses were both straight.
Dyeing for Your Art: Léa Seydoux had her hair cropped by a barbershop in Paris and dyed her hair blue. Abdellatif Kechiche continued to dye it himself to maintain continuity. Seydoux was also instructed by Kechiche to go to the gym to tone her physique, do extensive reading on arts and philosophy, and to study James Dean and Marlon Brando as inspirations for her role.
Enforced Method Acting: If there is a single trope that will apply to the film, it will be this.
Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos were constantly demanded by Kechiche to use their own emotions for the film. Both actresses stated that the film looks so real because Kechiche pushed them to their breaking point, and that they were really struggling. It was revealed that he would do hundreds of takes for small scenes to achieve the desired realism of the story.
According to Adèle, she was crying for real at the end of the break-up scene because it took them the whole night to finish it without any breaks.
Also, Kechiche ordered Seydoux to slap Adèle for real.
Adèle Exarchopoulos said that she was already familiar with Léa Seydoux from watching Belle Épine and the Prada Candy advertisement, but she hadn't met her personally before filming. Adèle said that the first scene she shot with Seydoux was her dream sequence, to which she found the idea of meeting someone for the first time naked to be amusing. She indeed laughed upon seeing Seydoux approaching her bed without her clothes on, but she said that it helped them to break the ice and to establish a comfort level that would enhance their mutual trust in intimate scenes. Kechiche also used this scene to test Seydoux's commitment to the role and to also forge a complicity between the actresses.
Friendship on the Set: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux developed a very close friendship, which helped them get through the film's grueling production.
Hostility on the Set: By all accounts, Abdellatif Kechiche wasn't pleasant to work with, both by the lead actresses and the technicians. His untoward behavior and methods will require an exhaustive list while accounts of him being supportive to his crew and actresses are rare.
Playing Against Type: Léa Seydoux is consistently a passive object of desire in most of her film roles. In this film, her character actively pursues Adèle and was just as addicted to her as the latter is. At least for the first part.
Reality Subtext: Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux developed a very close friendship during filming which was further strengthened when they only had each other on set to endure Kechiche's autocratic leadership and psychologically distressing methods. In the café scene, one of the most heartbreaking in the film, Adèle drew on her own sadness because it was Seydoux's last day on the set. Adèle interpreted Seydoux's dialogue that she doesn't love her anymore through the lens of her leaving for other projects, to which she felt that she would meet other people whom she would have stronger friendships with and that their time together was over.
Romance on the Set: Adèle Exarchopoulos dated Jérémie Laheurte (Thomas, the boy from school Adèle sleeps with) on the set from 2012 to 2015.
Star-Making Role: While Léa Seydoux already rose to national prominence in 2010 with La Belle Personne, it was this film and its consecration at the Cannes Film Festival that got her noticed by Hollywood. She landed the role of MadeleineSwann and became a regular of Wes Anderson shortly thereafter.
A lot of the footage has Adèle Exarchopoulos' character being called Adèle, and a lot of the actors end up using her name for the scenes because of the natural acting that the director preferred. Abdellatif Kechiche eventually proposed to Exarchopoulos that the character be named after her.
The whole film itself. The actresses read the script only once, and Kechiche encouraged them to improvise such that they were not sure of how the film would turn out due to how much they diverged from the script. This level of realism is what he wanted from the beginning, as it is in accordance with his style of filmmaking.
A good portion of the B-Roll footage with Adèle Exarchopoulos that ended up being used is, in fact, of the actress when she was out of character. The camera would be on her when she ate and even when she slept on the train while they were on their way to set. This also led to an instance of The Danza; since people kept calling Exarchopoulos by her real name Adèle instead of Clémentine in this footage, they agreed to have the main character's name changed to Adèle.
Klaim, the hang drum player, was suggested by Jérémie Laheurte to Kechiche after he showed a video of his performance on his phone. He was subsequently added to the movie and also contributed music to the soundtrack.
Troubled Production: This interview with the Daily Beast even shocked those who had been following the film since it won at Cannes and were aware of how the actresses and the crew suffered. For example, when Adèle Exarchopoulos was being consoled by Léa Seydoux in a scene where she's crying, the director told her to kiss Adèle and to lick her snot instead. This also created a rift between Abdellatif Kechiche and his actresses, and a month before its release, he revealed to Télérama that he believed the film shouldn't be shown anymore because the controversy had sullied it. He remained silent about this matter, however, upon its theatrical release, and continued promoting the film across many countries.
interview with the Daily Beast even shocked those who had been following the film since it won at Cannes and were aware of how the actresses and the crew suffered. For example, when Adèle Exarchopoulos was being consoled by Léa Seydoux in a scene where she's crying, the director told her to kiss Adèle and to lick her snot instead. This also created a rift between Abdellatif Kechiche and his actresses, and a month before its release, he revealed to Télérama that he believed the film shouldn't be shown anymore because the controversy had sullied it. He remained silent about this matter, however, upon its theatrical release, and continued promoting the film across many countries.