Abstract: This article compares two films by Jacques Rivette, both starring Bulle Ogier, that revolve around the theatrical actress’s search for emotional truth on stage, L’amour fou (1968) and La Bande des quatre (1988). The duration and thematic consistency of the Rivette-Ogier collaboration probes the theatre-film relationship, while highlighting the challenge for modern actresses to create emotion on behalf of a character constrained to express herself in the language of a classical text.