The story of Love phew began almost seventeen years ago. Inspired by an Irish novel, the film is a project dear to Gilles Lellouche. With an impressive budget of 32 million euros, the director wanted to hit hardby surrounding himself with a dream cast including actors such as Adèle Exarchopoulos, François Civil and Alain Chabat. Starting this Sunday, 418 cinemas will offer a unique preview, allowing spectators to interact with the film team.
Love phew : the ambitious project of Gilles Lellouche
This long-term project, which will be released this Wednesday, October 16 in all cinemas, has not been a smooth ride for Gilles Lellouche. The genesis of the film dates back to 2006, when he discovered Neville Thompson’s novel thanks to Benoît Poelvoorde, as reported The Parisian.
Conquered by the cinematographic potential of the story, the director began writing a screenplay with Poelvoorde. However, artistic differences and the financial difficulties linked to a casting of young actors quickly slowed down the progress of the project.
The ordeal of the Cannes Film Festival and the critics’ cold shower
In April 2024, Love phew is selected at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, a consecration for Gilles Lellouche and his team. The official screening ended with seventeen minutes of standing ovation, a record. However, the next day, it was a cold shower, some of the press was harsh, describing the film as “exhausting tote” or from “failure“. The shock is severe for the director. “I no longer knew where I lived“confides the French director in the columns of Parisian this Sunday, October 13.
Producer Hugo Sélignac confirms the extent of the blow: “The cold shower was strong. But we understood that we had to review certain things.”he declared to our colleagues. Following this negative feedback, Gilles Lellouche returned to the editing room to adjust the film. The latter notably cuts a dance scene and deletes two sequences of violence deemed too complacent, explaining that they made the main character appear “stupid and unsympathetic”.
This revision work resulted in a final version of 2h30, much smoother according to its producers. “We knew that the work was not finished after Cannes”specifies Alain Attal, the producer of the film. Philippe Lellouche’s brother, for his part, remains confident despite this tumultuous period. “I’m a fan of Tarantino, I like violent scenesbut we had to find the right balance.”he admits in the daily newspaper.
A bet on the future: towards success?
With Love phewthe 52-year-old director does not hide his ambitions. Gilles Lellouche hopes to attract several million spectators in theatersbanking on the breadth of its cast and the strength of its story. “At 2 million entries, we will start to be happy”confides Alain Attal, while Sélignac thinks even bigger: “Me, I’m laughing at 3 million.”assures the latter.
As for Gilles Lellouche, he is having fun dreaming of global success : “How many spectators do I want? A billion!”he declares to our colleagues. On Wednesday, it will be up to the public to decide. Will he be seduced by this film, now refined and retouched after Cannes?
