Arlette | The apprehended return of Maripier Morin to the cinema

The film Arlette, directed by Mariloup Wolfe, marks the return of Maripier Morin to the public sphere. In this political satire, the actress and host becomes a minister. We caught up with the two women just days before the film’s release on August 5.

Olivia Levy
The Press

Arlette, it is the story of a director of a fashion magazine who is appointed Minister of Culture against all odds and who will be the target of violent mockery. She will succeed in making her place in this political world where low blows and settling of scores reign. In this third film by Mariloup Wolfe, scripted by Marie Vien, it is about power, the relationship to the image, manipulation and the defense of the book.

It is Maripier Morin who embodies Arlette Saint-Amour. She makes her comeback with this film after the denunciations of which she was the object. Is she dreading the release of the film? ” Yes. You should have seen me last night: I was in tears, so anxious on the eve of the meeting with the journalists, ”she confides during our interview in the lounges of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel, last Tuesday. .

“It’s a first role, I put myself in danger, but Arlette is like that too. She is rebellious, full of candor and resilience, which is what keeps us moving forward. Arlette eats slaps, she gets up and continues, ”she says.

Mariloup Wolfe had other actresses in mind for the role of Arlette, then Maripier Morin auditioned. “Maripier arrived with a vulnerability, a fragility, that moved me. She gave Arlette an extra dimension. It was very strong, and everyone who saw the auditions shared the same opinion. She had it hard: four auditions! She has proven herself. »

Maripier Morin does not have the impression of having “stolen” this role either. “I presented myself in audition, I spent four of them, underlines it. I fought hard, I went to the end, the last one lasted more than three hours. I came out sweating, burned, I gave it my all. »

Let us recall that after the start of the shooting ofArlette, five people reported to The Press racist comments, unsolicited sexual touching and physical assaults by Mariepier Morin between 2017 and 2020. Comments that had never been reported.

A “buoy” for Maripier Morin

The filming ofArlette in 2021 was a lifesaver for the actress and host. “It has become my buoy,” she says. My boyfriend, my family have been very present in the last two years, but professionally, I had a motivation there. The filming ofArlette allowed me to embody a character, to take a break from myself. Arlette was going through things that I was not able to handle. Through filming, I tried to heal my relationship with the image, the fact of valuing myself only in the eyes of others, in a sickly way. I liked pictures of me magnified, but I looked at myself in the mirror and I was less than nothing: I had to restore this unhealthy aspect. »

She feels that not everything is settled, but that she is on the right track. She says she is aware of the inappropriate gestures and behaviors she has had and takes full responsibility for them. She admitted her mistakes, spoke openly about her cocaine and alcohol use. She now leads a balanced life in the Eastern Townships and gave birth to Margot on May 29.

“Everything is going smoothly. I pay attention to my mental health, it’s a daily job, I still go to meetings with anonymous fraternities, it does me good to discuss, to reflect. I want to have a happy life, surrounded by nature and my loved ones, my daughter and, I hope, a second child! »

A political satire in five acts

Mariloup Wolfe had 24 hours to decide if she was diving into the project, since it was another director who was originally supposed to make the film. “I immediately liked Marie Vien’s screenplay, which features a strong female character at the head of Culture in a ruthless political world,” she says. I liked the idea that the political world is a great theater that is always starting over, the references to the court of Versailles, to Louis XIV. There are also, in the screenplay, references to Simone de Beauvoir, to Voltaire. »

“It’s a political satire in five acts with baroque music and opera arias,” explains the director. I was inspired by movies like Ridiculous [de Patrice Leconte] for the game of the court where one uses all his verve and his spirit to defend his point of view and The Crown for the aesthetics, the lights, the glamorous side. We shot in magnificent places like the National Assembly, the Château Frontenac, the Théâtre Capitole. »

Arlette evolves in a world without pity, that of politics. But could it have been showbiz or finance? “These are worlds of sharks, but, in politics as in showbiz, we follow public figures whose successes and failures are observed in every detail,” says Maripier Morin.

For screenwriter Marie Vien, who was inspired by her two years as press secretary to former Minister of Culture Liza Frulla, politics is a cut-throat environment where one makes low blows, at the within the same government.

“It’s very nice, what I wrote, compared to reality, she recalls. Politics is a game with monarchical codes that have not evolved: we lose, we win, we manipulate, there are wars of power. And when you’re in Culture, you quickly realize that you have no power, so I like that a woman in Culture wants to become as important as the Minister of Finance. »

Does Mariloup Wolfe fear that the controversy will overshadow the film? “My job is done, it’s up to the public to judge. My concern is that admissions to theaters are decreasing, we must encourage our Quebec cinema, ”she says.

Maripier Morin emphasizes the quality of the cast that surrounds him. “There is Benoît Brière, Gilbert Sicotte, Paul Ahmarani, David La Haye. I feel a wave of positivism in relation to the release ofArlette, I feel a leniency. People see that I am taking care of myself, it reassures me and it makes me feel good. »

In theaters August 5