“We always recover from our failures” it’s a bit like the positive mantra in Valérie Lemercier’s fifth production. The actor got the idea for this improbable love story between the two-fifties after a harmless argument. “A friend of mine told me that he had a crush on a 16-year-old girl but nothing happened between them because they didn’t know where they were going. At the time I thought it would be funny if this happened to a 50-year-old, forcibly come back to live with their family.”
But the actress admits that after the bitter failure of this comedy she almost did not see the light of day. 100% cashmere, previous staging. “I read ‘100% turnips, 100% fail’ and said to myself: I’m stopping.“Fortunately, Michel Blanc encouraged him to go behind the scenes again so that this beautiful story could come to life. Welcome to the life of Marie-Francine, 52, a biology researcher, married and family mother. By Denis Podalydès (a spineless genius), Without tweezers, she announces that she is leaving him for a younger girl. Because luck never comes alone, Marie-Francine loses her job. There she is, depressed when she returns home. The mother and father, a bourgeois couple from the 16th arrondissement of Paris, are as snobby as they are. Perched, Hélène Vincent and Philippe Laudenbach are adept at raising their little fingers and uttering terrible words.
Valérie admits that at the beginning it was pure comedy: “It’s true that the movie is more about Marie-Francine’s rebirth than her tragicomic fall. Now that it’s over, I realize it’s a romantic comedy.” With Patrick Timsit as Prince Charming? “Excellent! Before I made the choice, I asked myself who I wanted to kiss. First of all, I didn’t want a clone of Richard Gere. I met Patrick at a restaurant twenty years ago when he came to meet me. He was in love, I found him very charming, discreet, touching. . I never watched his performances: he was the man I loved. I remember it ever since.”
Good choice. The hard-toothed comedian slips seamlessly into the costume of Miguel, a former star chef now reduced to a pub after being dumped by his wife. He also lives with his family in the caretaker’s cabin. The encounter of these two, burning with love, lying to each other about their own situation, is full of compassion, awkwardness, and very touching. We believe that, on paper, it is unwinnable given the difference in social backgrounds. During the recovery period, they rediscover together their desire to crush life to the fullest. Like Valérie Lemercier, whom Marie-Francine was synonymous with rebirth.
Marie-Francine on TF1 on Monday, May 8 at 9:10 PM
Julien Barcilon
Source: Programme Television
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
