Binoche and Ramírez to star in A Monkey on My Shoulder

by Fabien Lemercier

13/10/2011 - On October 24, Marion Lainé will start shooting on her second feature, A Monkey on My Shoulder, starring a first-rate acting duo: Juliette Binoche (Best Actress at Cannes in 2010 for Certified Copy [trailer] and soon to be seen in Sylvie Testud’s The Life of Another, Malgorzata Szumowska’s Elles [trailer, film focus] and David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis) and Edgar Ramírez (winner of the Best Male Newcomer César 2011 for Carlos [trailer] and nominated for a Golden Globe).

Having attracted attention in 2008 with her debut feature A Simple Heart [trailer], based on a short story by Gustave Flaubert, the director continues along the path of literary adaptation by this time giving the big-screen treatment to the novel Remonter l’Orénoque by Matthias Enard (who enjoyed immense success last year in bookshops with his latest work Parle-leur de Batailles, de Rois et d'Éléphants).

Co-written by Lainé (who also co-wrote the film adaptation Headwinds, a movie by Jalil Lespert to be released theatrically on December 12) and Anne Le Ny (nominated for the Best Original Screenplay César 2008 for Those Who Remain [trailer]), A Monkey on My Shoulder will be set in the heart of the operating theatres where life and death situations are played out.

Two renowned surgeons, Javier and Mila, are madly in love, with the demands and fickleness of two people who don’t want to lose each other. But Javier has developed a dangerous weakness that Mila won’t be able to hide for much longer.

Produced by Catherine Bozorgan for Manchester Films and by Christine Gozlan for Thelma Films, A Monkey on My Shoulder has received co-production support from France 3 Cinéma and MK2, pre-acquisitions from Canal+ and Ciné+, backing from the PACA region and support from Sofica La Banque Postale Image. Shooting will take place from October 24 to December 15 in the South of France and Argentina. French distribution and international sales will be handled by MK2. Manchester Films and Thelma Films previously joined forces on Bertrand Blier’s The Clink of Ice [trailer] and Emmanuelle Millet’s Twiggy [trailer] (unveiled in world premiere at Toronto and showing in theatres since September 21).

(Translated from French)