Their complicity crosses the screens. With mischief and good humor, Eye Haïdara and Pio Marmaï take part in the interview game, on the occasion of the Lucas Bernard film release, At full speed. In this romance, to be discovered on November 6, they play Marianne and Marco, a naval officer and a steward, struck by Cupid. It is under the gaze of Poseidon, in a submarine, that their love will blossom.
Franceinfo Culture: At full speed is a great proposition. We discover it on the screen. What made you want to say “yes” to Lucas Bernard?
Eye Haïdara : The writing of the screenplay is very unique because it is very wordy. It was a pretty crazy challenge to take on and I told myself that if we succeeded, it could result in something cool. The partners also make us want to make a film. I had wanted to shoot with Pio for a while, so I was happy.
Pio Marmaï : It’s a bit the same : the desire to work with my partners, with Lucas too. As you say, there’s something about the energy of the script. The crazy race of this guy who enters a nuclear submarine, who pursues this young woman for love… I found it to be funny, excessive while still being sensitive to their meeting. This is a rare and unique proposition. As a spectator, I would have liked to see a film like that. This romantic chase really made me want it.
The dialogues are a treat, they are superbly written. But above all, they set a frenzied pace…
Pio Marmaï : It was one of the great difficulties of filming. Very often, when you make a comedy or a romantic comedy, people imagine that you’re having a lot of fun, that it’s fantasy… On the contrary, you have to be very rigorous. I took a lot of time to prepare the text because for this type of language to work, it has to be straight forward. In this case, when you fully respect what is written, it works. For this, you need a good director of actors. In any case, Lucas kept us well. He knew how to push the cursor when necessary. It’s also a listening exercise. : it is work that is carried out by two, three or several people. It’s a rhythm to find but it requires a lot of concentration. This was the biggest challenge for me, beyond believing in these situations which are not natural. From the moment we rushed into this story, we had to respect the score. That’s what we tried to do.
Eye Haïdara : That’s exactly what a musical score is. Like musicians, we had to hold it really rigorously
Lucas Bernard said he wanted an original couple, we absolutely had to believe in it. In any case, let people fall in love with you as soon as you appear on the screen. It is. How do you think you are an original couple?
Pio Marmaï : I’ll let you answer (smile of the actor who turns mischievously towards his playing partner).
Eye Haïdara : It’s not nice to let me answer (bursts of laughter).
Pio Marmaï : So what makes us so original?
Eye Haïdara : I think we both have a madness, in a different place for each, which means that together it gives something a little electric.
Pio Marmaï : Electric. That’s the word. In any case, we don’t say to ourselves “hey, together, they’re going to play scrabble” (laughs). You know what I mean (turning to Eye Haïdara)… We tell ourselves that it’s going to blow up. And indeed, often, it’s a bit like that. In any case, it is not a linear relationship. With José, it’s the same…
There is real chemistry between you all…
Pio Marmaï : When it works in the writing, when we feel in the sequences, in the working days, that the mayonnaise is setting and that we are having fun with this language, the bet is already a little won.
About you, Eye Haïdara, Lucas Bernard says that you are credible in uniform because you exude a kind of natural authority. For him, it was a real issue. What’s it like to play an officer in a tactical submarine that carries atomic weapons?
Eye Haïdara : We have to repeat it to ourselves every time we arrive on set: I am an officer and there are nuclear weapons for which I am somewhat responsible. It’s real pressure. So when some kind of madman shows up, we wonder if we’re right to trust us. But it’s nice to have flaws. When Lucas says that I have a natural authority that people immediately believe, why not. Yes, surely, but at the same time, we remain humans with our weaknesses.
Have you done any research to find out how things are going on the ground…
Eye Haïdara : We met submariners. Do we have the right to say that or not? (the actress turns to her colleague)
Pio Marmaï : You can say it…
Eye Haïdara : Anyway, I don’t remember their names or their faces. We have met some submariner students with whom we spoke.
Your mother is a costume designer, Pio Marmaï, and you are in uniform for this film. What is your relationship with this costume, did this steward uniform help you?
Pio Marmaï : My mother was a costume designer at the opera and she mostly made period costumes, at least for opera. I’m not really used to acting in costume, at least having the same one for almost an entire film. I find it rather funny. It suits me well, it suited me well… (smile).
How do we play in this closed universe that is the setting of a submarine?
Eye Haïdara : We filmed in Maillé-Brézé [qui fut un bâtiment naval de lutte anti-sous-marine] and in the studio. But you can go out, get some fresh air and then you get used to it after a few days. I like the idea of finding freedom in something ultimately very structured. Lucas Bernard is very good at directing. It’s quite exhilarating to think that you can do whatever you want in such a small place.
Pio Marmaï : You had to be careful with your head. The ceiling is quite low. I knew when I read the script that we would be in a situation like that. But we had more room than in a nuclear submarine because I saw one and it’s very small. I find that it fits well and it allows us to get closer to the team, whether we like it or not, quite quickly since we are a little on top of each other. This creates a much more focused work atmosphere because there are no outside distractions.
You explained that at a certain period, you were only made to play “handsome” roles and, as a result, you no longer wanted them. Does this one suit you? Because there is a real typology of the handsome guy in this type of romantic comedy: it is Richard Gere, among others…
Eye Haïdara : What does she mean by that (turning to Pio Marmaï and bursting out laughing)
Pio Marmaï: Richard Gere, when? What information do you want to pass off (maliciously)?
None (laughs). Just ask yourself if this handsome guy imagined by Lucas Bernard suited you…
Pio Marmaï : Yes of course. Obviously, we are not in Pretty Woman. This suits me because the form is almost burlesque. The situation is so absurd, excessive… and that’s where I have fun. The basis of all romantic comedies is the same: we have to believe in this feeling of love. What makes these two people attracted to each other despite their differences and the distance that separates them? In any case, that’s the bottom line and that’s what we have to play. This form appealed to me from the start. Maybe it was time to do one, at least written like this and with these partners.
There are very few light romantic comedies in French cinema, at least like those found in Anglo-Saxon cinema. Is this a genre that you wanted to see included in your repertoire, your filmography?
Eye Haïdara : The romantic comedy is a special genre. But when we have one, quite unique like the one that was offered to us, there is something that tells you, so as not to repeat someone else, “she has a little something extra” and that makes you want to go there. However, I hadn’t thought about it before.
Pio Marmaï : Me neither.
Your father had a well-stocked video library full of VHS tapes. You love Julia Roberts… Were there any romantic comedies you loved in her collection? Which ones?
Eye Haïdara : Pretty Woman. I had to bleed the VHS. There was this one, among others, that I remember. I know it by heart.
Pio Marmaï : A VF or a VO ?
Eye Haïdara : I had it in VF and then I got it in VO. Pretty Woman is also one of the rare films that I like in French. It’s not bad in VF but I quickly turned to the original version because someone had brought it back to me from the United States. They weren’t the same VCRs and my father, who was a VHS fanatic, had one for the America zone. I really liked the film in English because I knew it by heart in French. I discovered it in another way. But Titanicwhich is not really a romantic comedy but rather a dramatic romantic film, is also not bad in French.
Did you think about Julia Roberts while playing?
Eye Haïdara and Pio Marmaï : Every day !
Pio Marmaï : We talked about it every day. I’m kidding…
Eye Haïdara : I always think of Julia Roberts.
Pio Marmaï : She’s a little with us here today !
Eye Haïdara : She’s not far away (laughs).
And you, Pio Marmaï, what are your favorite romantic comedies?
Pio Marmaï : Did I think of Richard Gere ? Was Richard Gere my secret partner ? Yes, maybe. Come to think of it, you’re right (mischievous smile). If you don’t mind, I’ll use it in future interviews : yes, I thought a lot about Richard Gere. My favorite romantic comedy ? Love at first sight in Notting Hill when I was a teenager. We know how it will end but it’s delicious to follow their journey. I watched this movie a lot.
