La Presse
Saturday 6th July 1996
Arielle Dombasle revives Roy Dupuis’ virility!
In Claude Fournier’s next film, Arielle Dombasle revives Roy Dupuis’ virility. After several days on the set of J’en Suis, the French actress is not all that surprised by the choice. "The character is very French, a saucy light Parisienne in the style of Marilyn in Some Like it Hot", explains Eric Rohmer’s favourite actress. "Pretty actresses who want to be funny are rare. Claude Fournier came to search me out in Paris."
Architect on the dole, the character of Roy Dupuis goes to work for an homosexual art dealer played by Albert Millaire. To improve relations with his boss, Dominique (RD) pretends a change in sexual orientation. The consequences mount up, especially with his wife, played by Charlotte Laurier, and a designer of French lifestyle (Arielle Dombasle)
"This woman is very sure of herself and restores the confidence of Roy Dupuis’ character. Obviously, in the beginning she makes a mistake, persuaded to have an affair with a homosexual. After all, it’s a comedy based on a misunderstanding."
Tall, slim and dressed like a Christian Lacroix model, it’s difficult to imagine the Marion of Pauline à la plage in a film by the author of Deux femmes en or. "At a certain point in my career I was designated ‘intellectual’. I had worked with authors in the true sense of the word - Rohmer, Polanski, Raoul Ruiz, Daniel Schimdt. I needed to go for a comedy for technical reasons, schedules and temperament. I learned a lot, I had a good time, and it worked.
The Rohmer school has been very useful for changing course in her career. "The screenplays were written to the nearest comma, and the actors had to interpret just that, without change.
<< Digest : bit about how good an actress she is ….without ever having had a child she played a pregnant woman in The Two Fathers and the Mother …. Born in Connecticut to a diplomat father in 1958 …… "I was always very popular, despite the complicated roles" ….In Montreal she tastes the pleasures of being anonymous …."I visited your botanic gardens, a pure marvel. What a pity there were so few visitors. I got the impression the flowers were there for me alone …>>
Filming schedules have not always left her a lot of spare time. Scarcely back from Mexico, where she filmed Le Jour et la Nuit with her husband Bernard-Henri Lévy, she returned to work on a ‘North American’ timetable, beginning at dawn. "The days are very long," she sighs. At least the Québécois are adorable and positive, relationships with them are easy. Recently the French have learned to complain a lot."
And the accent? "I was expecting very strong accents. I was pleasantly surprised by that of my partner, Roy Dupuis …."