A dramatic day in Doillon’s Le Mariage à trois

by Fabien Lemercier

07/07/2009 - A Chekhov-style enclosed encounter is on the horizon for Jacques Doillon, who will start shooting his 25th cinematic feature, Le Mariage à trois, on July 20 in Charente.

The cast includes Pascal Greggory (nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Cesar in 2008 for La Vie en Rose [trailer]; set to appear as of September 16 in Nothing Personal [trailer]), Julie Depardieu (Best Supporting Actress Cesar 2008 for A Secret [trailer]), Louis Garrel (from September 2 in Non, Ma Fille, Tu N’iras Pas Danser [trailer]) and Agathe Bonitzer (Pardon My French [trailer]).

Penned by the director, the film centres on a dramatist (Greggory) who invites some actors to his secluded house to prepare a play. But the combined presence of his ex-wife (Depardieu) and her lover (Garrel), as well as the dramatist’s assistant and mistress (Bonitzer), makes this a particularly turbulent day, in which romantic and creative rivalries become entangled.

Doillon (65) has been selected four times in competition at Berlin (where he won a Special Prize in 1991), twice at Cannes and twice at Venice (where he made his latest appearance in 2003). Last year, Just Anybody [trailer] was unveiled in the Forum section at the Berlinale.

Produced by Paulo Branco for Alfama Films (who will handle domestic distribution and international sales), Le Mariage à trois has co-production support from France 3 Cinéma, pre-sales from Canal+ and Ciné Cinéma and backing from the Charente county and Poitou-Charentes region.

Shooting will last until August 29, with Caroline Champetier as DoP.

Alfama Films will release its latest production, Fanny Ardant’s Ashes and Blood [trailer], on September 9 and the company also has Patricia Plattner’s Bazar (starring Bernadette Laffont, Lou Doillon and Pio Marmaï) in post-production. Other projects include Raoul Ruiz’s Les Mystères de Lisbonne (“Lisbon’s Mysteries”); Chantal Akerman’s La Folie Almayer (“Almayer’s Folly”), based on Joseph Conrad’s novel; Laurence Ferreira Barbosa’s La Petite Sibérie (“Little Siberia”, starring Jeanne Balibar); and Gaël Morel’s S’enfuir Avec Toi (“Running Away with You”).

(Translated from French)