66-5 on CANAL+: “I experienced this series as a gift” confides Alisa Isaz

After last year’s Notre Dame credits on Netflix, actress Alyssa Isazzi landed her first lead role in a series at the age of 32 thanks to the legal drama 66-5, which airs every Monday night on Canal+ since September. 18.

In this original creation by Anne Landui (Engrenages, La Promesse), she plays Roxanne Bauer, a young business lawyer at a prestigious Parisian firm who finds her life turned upside down when her husband, a partner at the firm, is framed. rape. Returning against his will to the town of his childhood, he tries to reinvent himself as a criminal lawyer in Bobin’s court. And will have to face the ghosts of his past.

Alyssa Isaaz spoke to us about this complex character, the very strong themes of the story, its feminist aspect and her work with the creator and the two directors of 66-5, which stands out more as a women’s series.

What did you like about 66-5?

Alice Isaac : Many things. Already, to be honest, the fact that I was offered the main role in the Canal+ series. I find that there is definitely a guarantee of quality in Canal+ Original Creation. I really experienced this series as an opportunity. Then I liked this character of Roxanne, which is a very beautiful portrait of a young woman. He is a strong character who goes through a lot. As an actor, portraying him was a real challenge as he is at a major turning point in his life. It goes through tremendous upheavals. So it was very interesting for me to tackle.

Then, of course, there’s the fact that this series was written by Anne Landuy, whose talent as a screenwriter is well known to us. That it is directed by two directors, Daniel Arbid and Karen Ben Raphael, who come from auteur cinema and bring their touch to 66-5.

And the last is the legal aspect, which Anna and the screenwriters really approached from the prism of youth. At first, when I read the script, I said to myself “Am I going to be a credible advocate?”. I didn’t feel very legitimate, but I immediately attended Bobin’s court to prepare for the role, and I was really surprised by the youth of the magistrates and lawyers.

I think this is also quite specific to this court, but I told myself “That’s the reallity”. I think it’s important to show it on screen, because until now, from what I’ve seen from series or movies in a legal setting, I found that we had a bit of an old image in that setting. So if young people get interested in this way thanks to the series, great.

Was legal jargon not that hard to learn and use?

It’s funny, they tell me sometimes “But isn’t it that hard to learn all these texts?”. Fortunately, for me, there is no difficulty in the profession of an actor. It’s not so much learning the text, although it’s true that there are a lot of technical terms in 66-5.

Since this was a world that was completely foreign to me before, I really had to learn everything and, above all, understand everything. And for that, fortunately, I was very well supported by Anne Landhuis, a creator who is very familiar with this subject, and Clarice Serre, a criminal lawyer who was a consultant on the project and who accompanied Anne throughout the creation process. series. I always turn to them whenever I have the slightest question.

How would you describe Roxanne?

I think she represents young women of my generation very well. She is a young woman who is strong, who also has great sensitivity, who has great faith, who allows herself to get what she wants, who is careerist, ambitious. He does not allow himself to walk. I think she can be a great role model for young women and men watching the series.

There is a real duality in it. He was born in Bobigny, in the town of L’Abrevoir. He grew up there, experienced a tragedy there in his youth. And despite everything, he freed himself from it all. He turned it into strength. It developed in a more bourgeois Parisian environment. He joined one of the largest business firms in Paris.

Back, even as his life falls apart, he bounces back and finds himself a criminal lawyer in Bobin’s court, even though he wasn’t meant to be. And that’s not what he wanted in the first place. I think that is a very good example to tell “It doesn’t matter where you’re from, it doesn’t matter if you’re not born with all the right cards in your hand, you can get there”.

Bilal’s character, which he plays Raphael Aclock, which we slowly discover over the course of the episodes, sums up pretty well what Roxanne is going through, the loss of direction, this duality. Because he also ran away from it and eventually everything comes back to him. How do you analyze this link that unites them?

I’ve always been fascinated by these romantic relationships that have a certain flavor of unfinished business, whether in youth, adolescence or even adulthood. And which sometimes appears years later. What makes this spark reborn? This has always appealed to me.

Although he would have reason to be very angry with Bilal…

True, but I consider it very fair. That’s what I like about Roxanne’s character, she’s not just a strong girl emancipating herself. It also has its drawbacks, I find it very realistic. I have already told my friends in my circle “You can’t be with this guy, you have to run.”And we realize that we don’t always understand what drives a person to return there. I think it’s good to talk about it. I don’t feel like I’ve seen a story like this in many movies or series.

Is 66-5 a feminist series for you?

We didn’t say the words, not that clearly anyway. But, yes, for me it’s a feminist series because it’s the story of a woman who takes place in a very masculine environment, whether it’s Paris or Bobigny, these two lives that she can have, these two slightly different worlds, these two different worlds. social classes.

There are these men in her Paris office who treat her badly, but she doesn’t let it happen. Yes, this is a feminist series in that sense. He knows how to impose himself, he knows how to assert himself and, most importantly, he wins in the end, I think. He is the one who does the best without spoiling much (laughs). And then, in production as well, it’s a series written by a woman, produced by two women, which is important.

Did you feel that feminine touch on the set?

I don’t know if I can tell that much difference between two directors, whoever they are, based on their genre. I recognize them primarily in relation to the artist, their personality, rather than because they are male or female. Then, at 66-5, I’d say he changed the way he got on the board from the start. I think there’s a relationship of trust that’s more immediate with a woman, we talk more freely, and with male directors it probably gets stronger over time.

I also found it interesting that there was a woman’s perspective on Roxanne, her journey and everything she goes through. Because, in addition, she still suffers from accusations from her husband, who is accused of rape. It is still a difficult subject to deal with. Even if we didn’t actually make it a series issue. The issue is not whether Samuel Bauer is guilty or not.

It’s more about knowing how a 30-year-old young woman feels when she’s built a life for herself and suddenly everything falls apart, everything changes, her life as a woman depends on it, her life advocate depends on it. he. How does a young woman today deal with such an accusation against her husband? What does this mean in a woman’s life? In these types of cases, the point of view of the rape accused’s wife is rarely shown. We are often in terms of the victim or the aggressor, but we often forget about these women who are collateral victims.