Before entrusting Rosalie Bonenfant with the main role ofInesher third feature film, Renée Beaulieu (The mechanic) directed her in the short 1805 A rue des Papillons. It was during this shoot, at the University of Montreal, that she discovered the spiral staircase that will illustrate the descent into hell of her 20-year-old heroine.
In this high angle shot, which alone sums up the idea of the film, Inès (Bonenfant) is lying in a fetal position on her side. Stuck between a father who forces her to emancipate herself (Roy Dupuis) and a mother plunged into a form of coma for 10 years (Noémie Godin-Vigneau) with whom she tries in vain to communicate, the young woman sinks into torpor .
“The passage from adolescence to adulthood is a pivotal moment which brings to light the flaws, the troubles, advances the filmmaker, met at the bar Unnamed, the very one where Inès works as a waitress. I did not contextualize it at the time as such, because I had several references quite close to this kind of very difficult episode related to mental health disorders. »
To get out of her slump, Inès tries different drugs, notably thanks to a shaman (Martin Dubreuil) and a colleague (Alexandre Pronovost). Having agreed to keep the dog of her new friend (Nikki Bohm), Inès seeks comfort from a singer (Maxime Dumontier).
“Inès’ mental health problems are not specific to the time, but they are probably aggravated by certain phenomena of the time. Today, mainly because of drugs. The content of the products disturbs the perception. It’s one thing to smoke a joint and take a little acid in 1985, and another thing to take GHB in 2020.”
In fact, by wanting to go up the slope, Inès puts her life in danger more than once: “Mental health disorders affect a lot of people, but we don’t know anything about it. We have anxiety, but what is it related to? What are the consequences ? Maybe young people turn too quickly to medication, which leads a lot to addiction and makes the problems worse. Inès sinks to the bottom, but there is no one to pick her up because no one sees her identity issues. It’s not that we are indifferent to such suffering, we are not equipped. »
drive of life
When her aunt (Mélanie Pilon), whom she hardly knows, moves in with her father, Inès feels abandoned by him. On the edge of the abyss, she indulges in various sexual experiences. From then on, Inès evokes the character of Marie-Claire, a university professor doing research on desire, embodied by Brigitte Poupart in Sluts or the natural sugar of the skinRenée Beaulieu’s previous film.
“Sexuality is probably what does Inès the most good. Of course it is creepybut everything is creepy in his life. There is something awkward in her sexuality, but she is alive, grounded, at that moment. He is a lost being, but one who has a vital force. There was also this animality in Marie-Claire; this animal force is recognized in men, but not in women. It’s so important, sexuality, but it’s so hidden, especially that of women, and so often misinterpreted. We find it in my films because it’s my conviction and I try to defend it. »
As dark as it is, the film is nonetheless a call for benevolence in this anxiety-provoking period marked by an ongoing pandemic and a war whose consequences are feared.
“The film does not provide answers and does not say what to do, except perhaps to listen to oneself and others. There has been a lot of talk about mental health disorders in recent years, but talking about them does not solve the problem: the person who suffers from them is non-functional. Medically, we know nothing. It is extremely difficult to get treatment. When the person becomes dangerous for themselves or for others, we quickly find a solution, but when we are in Inès’ state, we don’t know what to do. The treatment of mental health is quite primitive. Many sink steeply and do not make it out,” concludes Renée Beaulieu.