Life can change with a phone call. Emmanuèle sits at her desk, concentrated. Her cell phone rings, she picks up: “What? When ? » Everything accelerates: the rush to the emergency room, her sister (Géraldine Pailhas), whom she catches on the fly, the shock of discovering their father seriously weakened by a stroke, and the request he makes to her to help him to die, which French law condemns. We will have to go to Switzerland. How can you refuse your father this final request? But how to accept it?
Two years later Thanks to God, on pedophilia in the Church, Francois Ozon addressed, in 2021, another social fact, the right to die with dignity, by bringing to the screen the book testimony ofEmmanuelle Bernheimpublished in 2013. The writer, who died in 2017, recounted the incredible end of life of her father, the industrialist André Bernheimart collector, bisexual and great enjoyer of existence: “ I was shocked to discover and share his experience with his father. I loved the rhythm, the tone, the fast-paced ending, the final suspense, with an almost thriller side », confides Ozon.
SIMPLY SOPHIE MARCEAU
The director of Young & pretty had long dreamed of working with the La Boum actress. “ Sophie is an actress of my generation. I grew up with her, she always interested me. I enjoyed filming her today in her 50s. She does not compose, she feels and expresses her sensitivity », Enthuses the director. We understand his happiness. The actress had declined several of his proposals, including 8 women (2001). « I wasn’t listening to his stories. But the desire was mutual, she confides. I identified with this woman who takes this request head on, even if she doesn’t agree. I am a guide at heart. I need to protect, to hold the hands of those I love. »
On screen, the filial love between Emmanuèle and this unsavory and selfish father does not go without saying. We understand that growing up alongside him was not rosy. “ You were so naughty, little », blurts, without warning, the one who continues to love Brahms and demands to have lunch one last time at the very select Voltaire, to enjoy some wines of character. Written like a thriller (the planning of the final trip to Switzerland must be kept secret, otherwise it’s custody for the sisters), the film accompanies Emmanuelle’s intimate journey, without it becoming a debate on euthanasia. Without affection or pathos, Everything went well simply resembles life, passes from tears to laughter, and traces a portrait of Sophie Marceau, magnificently natural, facing André Dussollier in great shape, under the prostheses of the odious André Bernheim. A tailor-made role that the actor awaited with some impatience: “ I’ve rarely played such bad guys, but I admit that it feels good, after playing polite guys for fifty years… »
Everything went well, Sunday October 6 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2
ISABELLE MAGNIER
