Melanie Laurent. “Sometimes I think I have to look fragile in order for a man to find his place in our couple.”

“Rarely when I get on a horse do I slide right away. Stronger than me. This remark of Melanie Laurent sums up her impulsiveness, impatience, freedom and somehow explains the career from the unsuccessful course. The actress was able to satisfy this desire to drive fast and far StormChristian Duguay’s film, in which he plays a vet married to a shady driver (Pio Marmai). The embattled couple must overcome the sudden accident of their eldest daughter (Carmen Kasowitz) and face financial problems that threaten the stud. The hyperactive actress is already somewhere else. She landed in uncharted territory in France, a 100% female action film for Netflix with an explosive cast (Adele Exarchopoulos, Isabelle Ajani and herself). At the same time, a committed environmentalist thinks about a specific course of action.

Trailer in the video StormWith Pio Marma and Melanie Laurent

Two new challenges that enrich an already significant life journey. At 39, Mélanie Laurent is one of the rare French actress-directors who can boast of having starred for Quentin Tarantino. inglorious bastards)won two Césars (including one for tomorrow starred with Cyril Dion), but also starred Elle Fanning in the American film (Galveston) He also tried his hand at music in 2011 with an album and then an opera. Les Larmes d’Eugénie, for Cartier. Meeting with a woman in a hurry.

Miss Figaro. – When have you taken the most risks in your life?
Melanie Laurent. – I’ve taken so much… Probably out of fear of getting bored and because I like to outdo myself. The challenge stimulates me. In retrospect, the risks I took weren’t that big, but when you try different things in France, it’s immediately perceived as an anomaly. In retrospect, releasing an album and directing and editing an environmental documentary don’t seem like the craziest or trendiest projects in the world. It wasn’t always easy or happy, but I would do the exact same thing today. I do not regret.

Have you always been like this?
It seems that I was a very calm child. It always amazes me to hear that. I didn’t have this hyperactive side yet, but I was already touching a lot of things because I was brought up with the idea that you can achieve yourself in different areas. This happy childhood and this open upbringing gave me love, confidence and useful tools to later act in films and become a director. Some tried to slow me down, saying I wasn’t going to make it, but at almost 40, I can finally accept that it’s my job. I never get bored, I decide more and more things, and those who don’t like me may have realized that nothing can stop me. (Is laughing):

What attracted you? Storm?
Confidence that I was inspired by the director Christian Duguay, whom I loved Jappeloup, but also the pleasure of acting in a family movie, which my two children can see. With the life I lead my son and daughter, I owe it to them. I loved seeing my 9-year-old excited, happy, and restless at a movie screening Storm. Film is a profession of passion, it requires a lot of energy, and even when I try to do my best, my work inevitably deprives me of time with my family. And finally, Storm allowed me to play with Pio Marma, an actor with real acting power and also the coolest person on earth.

. In our 20s we live in the needs of others and in our 30s we throw ourselves into loving each other, trying to get through it all together. At 40, we accept the fact that if we are alone, we know how to manage

Melanie Loran

Tell us about your character…
At first, this mother is withdrawn, somewhat removed from family life, as her daughter’s fascination with her father takes over. She could remain a transparent but brave mother in this situation, but her daughter’s horse accident will bring them back together. I like this link because it reminds me of my relationship with my mother. As a child, I adored my father, but at the age of 18, my mother became my confidant. I was becoming a woman and I needed to talk to a woman. I was very close to him and stopped blaming him the day I had kids.

How has motherhood changed you?
All. Having a happy childhood, I really wanted to be a mother. Although my children remain the center of my life, I have never worked so hard and I have worked better since they came into my life. This has not slowed down any of my projects, on the contrary I have never felt so creative as I have in recent years.

Like your character in a movie, you think you’re stronger alone than together.
I don’t know if I’ve ever fought both. It is also a tragedy in my life. instinctively I don’t think about cohabitation. Sometimes it happens that I believe that it is necessary to appear fragile in order for a man to find his place in our couple. In my opinion, women all act a little apologetic for not needing anyone. In our 20s we live in the needs of others and in our 30s we throw ourselves into loving each other, trying to get through it all together. At 40, we accept the fact that if we are alone, we know how to manage. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned growing up, it’s that women are much stronger than men, and together they can do wonders. I strongly believe in this power, the feminine power.

What can you tell us about your female action film that you just completed?
I was in editing Crazy ball when Gomon and Netflix suggested I adapt The Great Odalisque, the comics of Bastien Vives. The story tells about a duo of art thieves (Adele Exarchopoulos and I) led by a powerful woman (Isabelle Ajani) who want to stop everything to change their lives. I begin this adventure with stage fright. It’s so rare these days to give a woman the chance to make a genre film with such resources.

What were your weapons for establishing yourself in a male environment?
It was my parents’ love that made it all possible. I was able to move forward in life without being too afraid. Of course, when I happen to evaluate my career, I get the impression that everything has been great, but it was clearly not that simple. I have the ability to hide bad memories. For example, when I started, I worked with difficult directors. Then everything was happier, and I was often supported and led by men, in particular my producers Bruno Levy and Allen Goldman, who gave me all their confidence. This doesn’t stop me from seeing how difficult it is for some women. The battle has just begun, but I personally feel well armed.

Do you trust your instincts?
I think I’m not bad at choosing my actors, especially my actresses, but I don’t trust myself at all in certain human relationships. Eventually, I stopped blaming others and took full responsibility for my actions. It helps me to let go and move on. I went back to psychoanalysis and I know myself better. This is the first time in 39 years that I feel that I am no longer living in extremes. It’s exciting to put our feelings into words and acknowledge our feelings. I still don’t know if I can love myself and forgive myself, the question of a lifetime, but I am being kinder to myself.

Where is your environmental commitment?
I am appalled at the inertia of the powerful in this world. I get angry and sometimes despair. the success of tomorrow (released in 2015) had me a little paralysed, I think. It took me a while to figure out how to re-engage in my scale as an artist. Today I would like to show that we can create differently and that a restorative and efficient economic model is possible. It is about initiating a paradigm shift to build a harmonious and just future. In particular, I want to promote research in soil management and regenerative agriculture. How Conserving and protecting quality land for its biodiversity and richness of carbon stocks, but also acquiring agricultural land that has already been exploited and proving that it can become fertile again? I want to create habitats in each of these places where artists, scientists and farmers will come together to find solutions to meet the new challenges of our world and global warming. This project is ambitious, but I put all my energy into it to tell myself I’ll at least try. We will not live the end of the world, but the end of the world. And if it’s scary to leave what you’ve always known, it’s also exciting to turn a new page.

The Tempest, with Christian Dugua, Melanie Laurent, Pio Marma, Carmen Kassovitz, Casey Mottet Cline… Released on December 21.

On video: Cannes 2022: interview with Melanie Laurent