Radiant Anouk Grinberg in The Innocent by Louis Garrel, half tender comedy, half heist film discovered out of competition at Cannes. The actress, whom we had hardly seen lately except for a role as a judge in The Night of 12 by Dominik Moll, delivers a luminous performance as a solar mother who falls in love with a former prisoner played by Roschdy Zem. “Louis Garrel gave me a great gift with the role of Sylvie, a woman full of life who looks a bit like me”, says Anouk Grinberg at 20 minutes.
The spectator immediately becomes attached to this eccentric mother whom her son (played by Louis Garrel himself) tries, often clumsily, to protect with her generosity and her incurable optimism. “He poisons her existence, explains the actress. She’s so in love that she doesn’t touch the ground and she just wants to be left alone. But their relationship is very beautiful. »
Between comedy and heist film
Is her suitor (Roschdy Zem) as irreproachable as he claims? This man with devastating charm will turn out to be full of surprises of all kinds. Between tender comedy and heist film, the film evolves freely in the imagination of the actress. “It’s not easy to play love with an actor you didn’t know before filming, remembers Anouk Grinberg. There is so much benevolence in the direction of Louis Garrel that we did not feel the slightest embarrassment. » The Innocent is the director’s best film which also offers a wonderful role as best friend to Noémie Merlant.
“Louis pushed us to improvise on the plot of a scenario rich in twists; explains Anouk Grinberg. He wanted to capture little bits of life. I think that comes across in the film. This is all the more the case as the relationships between the characters are tinged with tenderness. “Their reciprocal benevolence becomes a comic spring, specifies the actress. They care so much about each other that they end up doing big, nasty things with the best of intentions. »
A role of happy woman
His character brings additional light into a gently frappadingue universe. “It’s unexpected for an actress to be entrusted with the role of a happy woman”, recognizes Anouk Grinberg. Much less scatterbrained than one might think, her Sylvie is as touching as The Innocent in general. We fall in love for the film and for her.