Chantale Daigle: a story to tell

We all think we know the story of Chantale Daigle¹but basically, we only know the big titles, believe the authors of Disobey: Chantale Daigle’s choicea miniseries that promises to reveal the unsuspected underside of the journey of this woman, who fought all the way to the Supreme Court to claim her right to an abortion in 1989.

In an interview a few days before the arrival on Crave of the biographical drama in six episodes, Isabelle Pelletier and Daniel Thibault seem zen, even if they know how much their offering is awaited. Because since the outbreak of the Chantale Daigle and Jean-Guy Tremblay affair, several film projects and series have germinated, but none have succeeded.

The one we can watch from Wednesday, on this International Women’s Day, is produced by ALSO (Megantic, Portrait-robot), and stars Éléonore Loiselle (The breakaway) and Antoine Pilon (Between two sheets). The first portrays the young pregnant woman from Chibougamau; the second embodies her manipulative and aggressive spouse who, after their breakup, went to court to prevent her from terminating her pregnancy, despite the act having been decriminalized the previous year.

The screenwriters are surprised that the case, which had nevertheless caused much, much ink to flow, was never brought to the screen. “Especially since it’s a nasty good story,” says Daniel Thibault.

“Because there is a timebomb [bombe à retardement], adds Isabelle Pelletier. It makes it breathtaking. It’s a marathon, then a last-minute sprint. Because the temporary injunction that Jean-Guy obtains to prevent Chantale from having an abortion does not prevent her baby from growing. And the more the weeks progress, the more difficult it is. »

A heart project

In 1989, fresh out of the National School of Humor, Daniel Thibault collaborated in Daniel Lemire’s show. For her part, Isabelle Pelletier worked as a hostess at TQS. Two years later, their paths would cross, both professionally and personally.

Isabelle Pelletier talks passionately about Disobey, which she describes as “a project from the heart”. “We are parents of four children, underlines the author with emotion. The family is a cardinal value for us. I was the same age as her [Chantale Daigle] when I got pregnant with Gabriel, my first. We were very young. I wasn’t sure I could… I called to make an appointment, because I had a choice. In the end, I chose something other than Chantale, but the important thing is that I had a choice. To hear this story, to witness the reversal of Roe v. wade in the United States last summer, to observe the rise of masculinism… As a woman, you go: “Woa. It’s never over. It’s never over.” What can I do, on my scale? I can only tell this story, which is a very good story. A gripping story. »

Disobey: Chantale Daigle’s choice Although it was a “very nice writing experience” lasting three years, the work was not always easy.

Isabelle Pelletier remembers in particular a particularly arduous 17-hour writing blitz, during which she felt stuck. Exhausted, she had sought courage from a picture of Chantale Daigle that she kept close to her.

Isabelle Pelletier admits to having cried a few times during the adventure, especially from the outset, when producers Sophie Lorain and Alexis Durand-Brault presented their project to them, which came from author and director Gaëlle D’Ynglemare.

“With our schedule, we weren’t sure we could do the job, but we thought we had to do it. »

After five seasons of Breakupsthe prolific authors wished to move away from shows of lawyers”, but since they had developed a “certain expertise” in matters of legal sagas, refusing the offer seemed unthinkable to them.

“We felt a responsibility, adds Daniel Thibault. Because it’s a story that deserves to be told. »

The red wire

By their own admission, Isabelle Pelletier and Daniel Thibault were imbued with great naivety at the start of the project.

“We thought that since the story existed, it just had to be picked up and dramatized. But finding the angle, the way to tell the events, the guideline, the right thread, it was complicated,” explains Isabelle Pelletier.

“We looked for it, because it was important for us, so that we understand what she went through, that we show her relationship with Jean-Guy, indicates Daniel Thibault. Our first instinct was to recount the events in chronological order: tell the story of domestic violence, then get to the dispute over the baby, but by following this plan, we were taking too long to get to the heart of the matter. It was a story of domestic violence that was becoming a legal saga. We had to reverse that. »

“It really came when we thought, ‘Why did you wait so long?’ This is the key phrase. It was our common thread,” says Isabelle Pelletier.

The duo was never able to speak with Chantale Daigle during the writing of Disobey. The main concerned would however have given its approval to the project, we are informed. “We were told that she liked Breakups, reveals Daniel Thibault. She trusted us. »

A refractory heroine

During our visit to the film set of Disobey, last fall, director Alexis Durand-Brault called Chantale Daigle a “superheroine”. Isabelle Pelletier prefers the expression “refractory heroine”.

“She is a girl with a strong character. She’s super prideful and flawed, and that’s what I love about her. She pissed everyone off when we wanted to tell her what to do. But she didn’t go as a warrior. It’s not her. She’s not a warrior. She’s a very ordinary girl who found herself in an extraordinary situation. »

For Isabelle Pelletier, Disobey is not the story of a single woman against all odds; it’s a miniseries that salutes the community, the strength of the group.

“Without her family, Chantale Daigle would not have been able, like many others, to leave Jean-Guy to get out of the abuse. Her support group made sure she was able to squeal her camp. And then her family supported her. She always felt that she was supported. It helped her spread her wings. Then thanks to the activists, who raised money, she went to have an abortion in the United States. Otherwise, she couldn’t. I don’t feel like she would have been able to on her own. »

1. Even though her first name is spelled Chantal in the court documents, Ms. Daigle has always written it with an “e”.

Disobey: Chantale Daigle’s choice lands on Crave on Wednesday, at the rate of one episode per week.