Coup de chance : Melvil Poupaud parle de son expérience avec Woody Allen

Melvil Poupaud appears in Woody Allen’s new film “Coup de chance” this Wednesday. According to the actor, Allen is a “genius” filmmaker, and he stands out in this vaudeville with a thriller twist.

He moved us in “Un beau matin” by Mia Hansen Løve, as he tried to make Léa Seydoux smile again. He terrified us as a violent and toxic husband in “L’amour et les forêts” by Valérie Donzelli, opposite Virginie Efira.

In “Coup de chance”, Woody Allen’s 50th and newest film released on September 27th, Melvil Poupaud plays the charismatic Jean, a manipulative husband madly in love with his wife Fanny (Lou de Laâge), who goes crazy when she cheats on him with Alain (Niels Schneider), a former high school classmate who has become a writer and whom she randomly encounters. His mother-in-law (Valérie Lemercier) quickly becomes suspicious. And the bourgeois couple’s everyday life begins to waver.

In this first film by the New York filmmaker entirely shot in French with a 100% French cast, Melvil Poupaud excels in a role that is both funny and dark. This devoted fan of Woody Allen couldn’t refuse such a role.

What did Woody Allen represent to you before meeting him?

I come from a rather cinephile family, my mother being a director and producer (Chantal Poupaud, who passed away last year). So as a child, I watched Woody Allen’s films, including “Woody et les robots” which made my brother and me laugh a lot. As an adult, I used to go to the cinema to see his feature films as soon as they were released. For me, Woody Allen is both a clown and a great director. He is a genius, just like Federico Fellini or François Truffaut. I never imagined that one day I would be able to work under his direction, especially with such an important role. I still feel like an enchanted child when I meet him. Just like I am still impressed when I find myself in front of Catherine Deneuve.

However, in the United States, the image of this cinema genius has been tarnished after allegations of sexual assault made by Dylan Farrow, the daughter he adopted with his ex-wife, Mia Farrow. He denies these allegations. Did you hesitate to work with him?

I am neither a judge nor a lawyer. I don’t involve myself in matters of justice. I just want to work with good directors.

Woody Allen doesn’t speak French. Yet “Coup de chance” is entirely shot in the language of Molière. How did the directing of the actors go?

From the beginning, he asked us to take ownership of the text and rewrite the dialogues if we felt the need to. The essential thing for him was the intention and the fact of playing with heart. Woody Allen hates irony and pays attention to the gestures and appearance of his characters. On set, he only needed to look at us to know if we were acting truthfully or not. As a musician, he has a good ear.

At 50 years old, I already have forty years of experience in this career…( ) I am given more and more interesting roles.

I had been told that he wasn’t very talkative with actors. On the contrary, I found him very enthusiastic when it came to directing us. And I loved my character Jean, who allowed me to transition between different registers. He is a confident, arrogant man, but deeply in love with his wife, who completely loses control. I enjoy playing villains. As I get older, I am given more and more interesting roles.

How do you explain that?

I am no longer afraid of ridicule and I dare more. I am more comfortable in front of the camera because I have gained experience. At 50 years old, I already have forty years of experience in this career (he played his first film, “La ville des pirates” by Raoul Ruiz, at 10 years old). I could almost retire, considering how long I have been contributing. It makes me laugh…

And what would you have dreamed of doing if you hadn’t become an actor?

Music. It’s a family and friends affair. I collaborate with my brother, Yarol. And when a friend like Benjamin Biolay calls me to play one evening or go on tour, I go without thinking. I wake up and fall asleep with music. It is almost more of a passion for me than cinema. Cinema, I “fell into” it as a child. I worked at a very young age with art house directors. Being on set has become second nature to me. Something acquired. With music, it is a constant discovery. I am always learning. For example, right now, I am interested in classical music with its harmonies and orchestration. It is pure pleasure for me.

Do you believe in luck, chance, or destiny?

I believe in words. And there are different words to say the same thing. I believe in karma, in God, in the words of Jesus Christ. I am also influenced by Ruíz with the idea that stories have their own will and that we are caught in a mechanism that completely surpasses us, with a beginning and an end. I love Jung and archetypes. Fragments of original stories that perpetuate themselves. Nietzsche and the eternal return also resonate with me. At 87 years old, Woody Allen gives us his vision of life through this very French film that, behind a dated and vaudevillian aspect, is deeply profound. It talks about luck… I think it is more about destiny here.