(Paris) After a series of dramatic roles, Laure Calamy had the opportunity to reconnect with comedy thanks to a film in which, alongside Olivia Côte and Kristin Scott Thomas, she plays a very outgoing woman who, in the company of of a found teenage friend, finally realizes the trip they had promised to make together 30 years ago, at the time of the Big Blue…
Over the past few months, Laure Calamy has been able to showcase herself in the excellent Full time (Éric Gravel), where she played the role of an overwhelmed mother trying not to crack under the weight of her mental load. We were also able to see her play a modest worker trying to reintegrate her family of origin in the disturbing The origin of evil (Sébastien Marnier), then, in the relevant Annie Anger (Blandine Lenoir), a woman from the 1970s who campaigned for the right to abortion. Each of his compositions has won him praise.
The fun of comedy
This time, the actress finds the pleasure of a lighter tone thanks to the film The Cycladeswritten and directed by Marc Fitoussi (Copacabana, The refrain). In this voluntarily sunny comedy, set in the enchanting setting of the Greek archipelago, reality catches up with two friends, inseparable during their adolescence, who, finding each other after having lost sight of each other for years, think they are rediscovering the same dynamic as at the time. At least one of them thinks so.
“Comedy can also arise from a more closed character, but here I was lucky enough to be able to let go of everything by playing this exuberant woman who wants at all costs to rediscover the energy of her youth, disco music, party “, explained Laure Calamy during a press meeting organized within the framework of the Rendez-vous du cinema français of Unifrance, held in Paris at the beginning of the year. “Besides, it was a joy to reunite with Marc because I hadn’t had the opportunity to explore this kind of very expansive comedy for quite a while. »
Laure Calamy and Marc Fitoussi indeed worked together when the filmmaker was chosen to direct a few episodes of Ten percent (call my agent), series in which, thanks to her character of Noémie, the actress made an impression. The director also claims that the interpreters of Noémie and Hervé (Nicolas Maury) were his two “darlings”. So he quickly had the reflex to call on the actress after having had the idea of writing a comedy built on the model of buddy movie, but feminine this time. Laure Calamy slips into the skin of Magalie, a disorganized woman who demands a lot of attention; Olivia Côte in that of Blandine, a more reserved woman, who reluctantly agreed to go on vacation with this teenage friend.
PHOTO YOHAN BONNET, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Marc Fitoussi
I was certain that, while expressing the exuberance of the character, Laure could also slip seriousness into it and evoke faults that one guesses at a simple glance. We feel that all this extroversion conceals something more serious and that the fantasy can gradually turn into discomfort.
Marc Fitoussi, director
“Whatever she does, Laure is always touching,” he adds. I had more trouble finding the actress who would play Blandine. Fortunately, Laure suggested Olivia, with whom she is very good friends, and the dynamic between them was exactly what we were looking for. »
Know how to reinvent
In this comedy exploring the link between two women who have followed very different trajectories since their youth, the filmmaker includes a third character. This other woman, now settled in Greece, was also very important in Magalie’s life at some point. Marc Fitoussi offered this role to Kristin Scott Thomas.
“I wanted to reinvent Kristin and take her out of the somewhat stuffy image that the characters she usually plays give off,” he says. To see her appear different, with this long white hair, seemed interesting to me. She was very happy to be thought of for this type of role because we tend to limit actresses to what we already know about them. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AXIA FILMS
Olivia Côte, Kristin Scott Thomas and Laure Calamy in The Cyclades
Laure Calamy believes for her part that if it happens that characters can sometimes display a certain kinship, the filmmaker’s gaze makes all the difference.
“It’s true that actors usually prefer not to redo things they’ve already done, but we can still decline seemingly similar figures in completely different ways. It’s like redoing your scales with a major score. In a way, Magalie could be a distant cousin of Noémie! »
The Cyclades hits theaters March 31.
Travel expenses were paid by Unifrance.