“I’m not a great filmmaker but I’m a good recruiter. » At 87, Woody Allen sings the praises of the French actresses and actors he directed in Stroke of luck, mischievous vaudeville filmed in Paris. Notably those of Valérie Lermercier, to whom he entrusted the role of a sagacious and eccentric mother-in-law and who particularly impressed him.
“Valérie has crazy charm,” confides Woody Allen to 20 minutes. I had never heard of her but I was won over by the extracts from her films that my team had put together for me. I was immediately convinced by its accuracy and its humor. »
In the story of a young woman (Lou de Laage) abandoning her overly possessive husband (Melvil Poupaud) for a younger lover (Niels Schneider), she first takes up the cause of her son-in-law before wondering if this perfect man is as much as he seems…
Great subtlety
“Woody told us that he would not manage us,” explains Valérie Lemercier to 20 minutes. We thought he wouldn’t speak to us, but he was actually very present on the set. » Like her partners, the actress was able to take ownership of her role and improve dialogues translated from English. “I gave them a lot of freedom in this area so that they could make everything look natural,” insists Woody Allen. Valérie Lemercier constantly surprised me with her vivacity which perfectly matched what I was looking for. »
The actress sparkles with mischief as a lover of detective novels seeking to lead the investigation as if she were the heroine of one of the books she loves. Glasses on the tip of her nose, she does not hesitate to put herself in danger to discover the truth. “There is great finesse in his game,” comments Woody Allen. She has a remarkable intuition to recreate all the facets of this slightly crazy but very determined woman. »
A beautiful meeting
His exchanges with Lou de Laagence who plays his daughter and Melvil Poupaud who plays his son-in-law are amusing while increasing the suspense. “You are never small when you tour with the big guys, and working with Woody Allen confirms that,” explains Valérie Lemercier. His meeting with the New York director on French soil seems to have satisfied them both. And it is the spectator who benefits from this Stroke of luck.