It was by discovering the documentary miniseries Bobby Kennedy for President (2018), by Dawn Porter, which Albert Dupontel had the idea to write Second round. Fascinated by the sincerity of the speech improvised by the politician upon the announcement of the assassination of Martin Luther King and by the fact that he had told Romain Gary that he knew he would be, like his brother John, murdered, the filmmaker thus created Pierre-Henry Mercier, a political newcomer from a wealthy industrial family.
Notable character
“I was in awe of this character,” confides Albert Dupontel, met at the Unifrance Rendez-vous in Paris. I finally recognized a strong value in a relatively contemporary political figure. I just said to myself “imagine if he hadn’t said what he wanted to do”, then asked “why didn’t he say it?”. There was a tragic story there, so I wanted to invent a story with a very Hugolian past, as in The man who Laughs. Mercier, which was Jean Moulin’s resistance name, understood the codes in which he lives, so he shuts his mouth and lets himself be shown as an ultraliberal character, which he is not at all. »
Having played the President of the Republic in President (2005), by Lionel Delplanque, Albert Dupontel this time embodies the favorite candidate in a presidential campaign that is too smooth for the media’s taste. “At the time, I was much too young for the role,” explains the 60-year-old actor. Nothing at all interests me about the office of president, I have never even voted. What interested me was to create an incredible story and find highly improbable subterfuges to bring to power a naive, sincere and, I think, totally necessary character for the time, like that of Peter Sellers in Welcome, Mister Chance, by Hal Ashby. »
In the absence of a formidable opponent, Pierre-Henry Mercier will have to face Mademoiselle Pove (for “ point of view”) performed by Cécile de France. Rejected from covering football, where she works with the cameraman Gus, played by Nicolas Marié, Albert Dupontel’s favorite actor, this journalist allergic to wooden language will be happy to cook for the candidate when, due to lack of staff, she will be assigned to cover the presidential campaign.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AZ FILMS
Nicolas Marié and Cécile de France in a scene from Second round
“We all had fun creating the look together. Working Girl of the character, says the actress. I really liked the 1980s universe found in Albert’s film. We are not into naturalism, so we could allow ourselves to draw a comic book character. »
To put herself in the shoes of Mademoiselle Pove, Cécile de France reveals that she was inspired by Allison Janney, who played C. J. in the series The West Wing (1999-2006), by Emma Thompson, “in general”, and by Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, “incredible” in A woman at war (2018), by Benedikt Erlingsson.
I had to settle down, find some sort of tranquility. I also had to find in my voice something less popular, more formatted, more educated. I also had to erase my candor. There were really real things to find to get to this character.
Cécile de France, actress
“With Albert, we had a lot of fun contrasting the energy of Nicolas’ character. With Gus, I couldn’t let myself be carried away by the energy of the red clown, I had to remain the white clown, sober, mineral, cold. And that was a real exercise because generally speaking, I was tempted to be carried away by Nicolas’ energy. »
Irresistible humor
In Cécile de France’s defense, the dialogues, written with a scalpel by Albert Dupontel, which she exchanges with her hilarious partner are simply irresistibly humorous. ” Seeing Second roundI found things that I had in Russian dolls, by Cédric Klapisch, remembers the actress. It made me happy to rediscover the fun we have when we have a comic part to play. All these big words that Albert makes me say, it’s so enjoyable, jubilant and tasty. When she’s with Gus, it’s wonderful, they’re a real duo of clowns. In cinema, this kind of duo is rare. »
“They both got along very well,” confirms the director. The only criticism I had of them was that they laughed too much. I asked them to let me concentrate. As we rehearsed a lot, we reworked the texts, but on set, we moved quite quickly. I remember that during filming, Cécile had more fun than during rehearsals. She was amazed to see the evolution of her character when we rehearsed; for her, shooting was like a reward. She really lent herself to the game with a lot of kindness and rigor. »
Throughout their investigation, Mademoiselle Pove and Gus will discover a big secret about Pierre-Henry Mercier that he himself was unaware of: “I was looking for a twist to surprise, once again. The idea started from The man with iron mask, by Alexandre Dumas, where the hero discovers his origins. It was interesting because we could show the difference between what is acquired and what is innate. »
Behind all his surprising twists and turns, his hectic adventures and his inspired oratorical jousts, Second round poses a fundamental question: can we be authentic in politics? “Clemenceau and de Gaulle, who certainly did stupid things, were. Today, what we lack in our culture is a story. There is a story to be invented, but it is not the bankers in power in France or in your country, where Alberta is being fractured like oil freaks, who are going to write it. You have to offer a story to people. We can’t just resonate with the GDP growth index, it’s too abstract. We have never had so much inequality and gaps between the rich and the poor. More than 50 years ago. It scares me. This little film was a little commentary, quite naive, quite clumsy, in relation to that,” says Albert Dupontel.
In theaters this Friday
Travel expenses were paid by Unifrance.