This is the film they would have liked to see at 16 years old. A true film about the real things in life. Interview with the creators of slush heartin theaters this Friday the 16th (no, that’s not fortuitous).
“Completely”, confirms Mariloup Wolfe (Arlette), who signs here her fourth feature film, recently met at the chic Roseline wine bar, boulevard Saint-Laurent, of which she is the new co-owner. “I would have liked to see a film like that because the character of Billie is inspiring, she is candid, endearing. We want to be like her: she’s fun, she has a great circle of friends, a great sorority, and she makes people dream with her love story. »
Rappelons que le film, qui met en scène Liliane Skelly dans le rôle de Billie, raconte l’été de ses 16 ans, de son premier amour à sa première peine, en passant par sa première fois.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE
Liliane Skelly incarne Billie.
Propos « intemporel et universel »
La réalisatrice, grande amatrice de films du genre coming of age, n’avait volontairement pas lu le roman à succès de Sarah-Maude Beauchesne (publié en 2014 et vendu à plus de 30 000 exemplaires), avant de se plonger dans le scénario, à l’invitation de l’autrice. C’est en partie sa « poésie » qui l’a charmée : « sa voix poétique qui fait qu’on se laisse porter par la narration », explique-t-elle, une « voix » par ailleurs habilement transposée à l’écran, en textes, mais aussi en images – émotions, vertiges et flottaisons incluses (on ne vous en dit pas plus !).
Il faut dire que même si le texte a près de 10 ans, le propos demeure « intemporel et universel », précise la réalisatrice, qui a glissé ici et là, en esthétique et en musique, une touche d’intemporalité au récit, question d’« élargir le public ». Dur d’être largué par le propos, qu’on ait 16, 36 ou 66 ans, et c’est voulu ainsi. Après tout, on a tous eu 16 ans. Et on s’en souvient généralement longtemps.
En fin de compte, « je pense qu’on envoie un message positif de l’adolescence, poursuit Mariloup Wolfe, du respect, du consentement, et de la première relation [sexuelle], without rose-coloured glasses”. With unprecedented realism, and that too is obviously intended, from the duration of the thing to its disillusionment: “what, is it just that? Yes, that’s what real life is! “, says the director, laughing, accomplice.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
Mariloup Wolfe
I would have liked to see that at 16 because I would have identified with it, I would have dreamed through Billie, I would have had my questions answered! […] The first time ? It’s okay if it’s not so extraordinary, if, no, I don’t feel more like a woman afterwards, that would have demystified a lot of things!
Mariloup Wolfe, director
A demystification that is no stranger to the very origin of the text, as readers of Sarah-Maude Beauchesne, who has made authenticity her trademark, know. “That’s exactly why I wrote slush heart at the base! “recalls the author, who signs the screenplay here. “My goal was to tell the story of desire, sexuality from my point of view, completely authentic! »
Which is not the case with many films for teenagers, let’s be frank. “Me, I grew up with films for teenagers where it’s always the slightly nerd girl who ends up with the popular guy! “, points out in turn Camille Felton (Noémie – The secret), who here embodies Annette, the perfect big sister, also Billie’s love rival. “But damn cheeky guys! “, she launches, welcoming the finally joyful morality of slush heart : “Friendship and fraternity reign above all! she summarizes. The important thing is to be well surrounded. »
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
“Fuck cheeky guys! », launches the actress Camille Felton
Even though she is only 23 years old, Camille Felton would not have hated to hear this kind of message younger: “So much, she says. It might have changed my way of seeing certain things: the famous approval of guys who value us women so much. High School Musical, That was it ! “, she laments.
Resemblance
As for Liliane Skelly, who embodies the famous Billie, with a resemblance as fair as it is striking (a little makeup and dyeing extra), she confirms to be very close to the character in life as well. “Compared to the fact of living late in relation to his friends, to the fact of wanting to live magical moments”, slips the 18-year-old actress, seen in District 31.
She does not hide it, she has grown up with this film. In good. “I learned to love myself through Billie,” she says. She has my body, she’s clumsy, but even if she’s not perfect, she takes charge. And then she learned a lot about life, too. And not least. “It’s okay not to be perfect, there are imperfect love affairs; there is beauty, there is ugliness, but even if it is not perfect, she concludes, that does not mean that it is not worth living…”
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