This evening, M6 broadcasts “Life, love right away”, an unpublished fiction adapted from a true story in which Anne Marivin plays the role of Cathy, the mother of a teenager with cystic fibrosis. Meet the actress.
Tonight M6 is broadcasting La vie, l’amour, tout de suite, an unpublished fiction adapted from the true story of Julie Briant.
Suffering from cystic fibrosis, Julie should have given up all her dreams. However, when she meets Ludo at the age of 16 and becomes pregnant, the teenager decides to keep the baby despite everything, hiding her pregnancy from her parents. Crunching life to the fullest, Julie will then challenge the adult world to lead the life she wishes to lead.
In this film, Anne Marivin (Rebecca) plays Cathy, Julie’s mother. A very protective woman and invested in her daughter’s illness to the point of even forgetting her marriage and her second daughter.
Met on the occasion of the La Rochelle Fiction Festival, the actress confided in our microphone about this complex character.
Allociné: How did you come to La vie, l’amour, immediatly?
Anne Marivin: A few years ago, I made a film with producer Véronique Marchat called Tonight I’m going to kill my son’s murderer. I loved working with this producer because she is so bold and courageous. She gets things done every time.
I had never worked with Nicolas Cuche but I had loved a very beautiful TV movie he had made with Audrey Dana. There was a super strong thing about motherhood. So I said to myself “It’s really good what he does Nicolas Cuche!“.
Shortly after, I remember reading the script on the train. I really liked what was happening there and I really liked the character of Cathy. I thought there was a very strong aspect to her that would be beautiful to embody while being careful not to make her a crazy species that lives alone.
And then I met Nicolas very quickly. We reworked some dialogue sequences. The plot was there but the dialogues were not sufficiently experienced. That is to say that there were points that were wrong, especially in the relationship to her husband. They said things they had heard hundreds of times that did not really represent a couple who have lived this daily life for 16 years. There are times when we no longer give each other gifts. We tell each other things.
What attracted you to the character of Cathy?
Cathy is as touching as she is hateful. This is not the image one can have of a mother with a sick child. We are too used to showing courageous mothers and women. So, I liked to see it get hard and have cracks. She is extremely lonely even compared to Julie. She is a woman who lives in constant terror of losing her daughter.
Have you met Julie Briant, the author of the book that inspired the film?
She came to the set with her husband. We met but I didn’t read his book. Julie is 26 today. There, we play a moment of her life when she was 16 years old so there was really no need. And then I think that in real life, Julie’s mother is different from Cathy.
How was filming with Sandy Afiuni and Louis Durantthe interpreters of Julie and Ludo?
I loved them. I believe it was one of Louis’ first shoots. It is wonderful and very natural. Sandy, on the other hand, is very disturbing. She is a mysterious actress with a face that belongs to a time that is not this one. She has a diaphanous beauty. And then she has a very strong inner life so she is special. I got very attached to her, especially since she also has very strong backgrounds.
How do you view Kathy’s very protective and invested side in her daughter’s illness?
Cathy is the character who constantly reminds her that her daughter is on borrowed time. Suddenly, Julie’s pregnancy paralyzes her. Finally, she tried to protect something and she sees her daughter breaking everything with this pregnancy. And above all, what she sees is the end.
How did you prepare for this role? I imagine that you went to tap into a lot of emotions…
When reading it, I said to myself that this character lived in constant terror. From the moment I arrived on set, whatever Cathy did, I had a constant lump in my stomach. From the moment we feel this, there is something that translates physically.
Do we feel a particular responsibility when we embody a real person?
Given its theme, the TV movie will speak to a lot of parents, which generates a certain responsibility. However, there is no more responsibility because it is the story of Julie Briant. It’s her story, but Julie’s story is unfortunately the story of thousands of other women.
Do you miss comedy?
I miss it yes. I was lucky to have a lot of proposals in fiction with very beautiful characters that I had less in the cinema. But now, I really want to do comedy, whether in cinema or on television.
What are your other projects apart from La vie, l’amour, tout de suite?
I have just finished the sequel to Les Blagues de Toto with Guillaume de Tonquédec. We really had a lot of fun. It’s a movie for toddlers. When my daughter saw the first one, she was four years old. She saw it thirty times and was an absolute fan. It’s nice to make films that make children laugh.
And on television?
For the moment, I do not read things that I like. I’m lucky not to be in too much of a rush. I’m rather privileged. I worked well so I can afford to take breaks. It is also the primeur of age. Twenty years ago, I was doing everything. Today, I want to have real scenarios and to be able to tell real stories.
Interview at the La Rochelle Fiction Festival in September 2022.