Marianne on France 2: How Marilou Berry transformed for the series

AlloCiné: Thanks to Mariana, you play the lead role in a TV series for the first time. How do you feel about it?

Marilou Berry: I’ve never seen anything like that because I feel like I’m always playing lead roles. I understand that this may sound strange, but I always approach my character as if he were the main character. All characters are leading roles, they are as important as each other.

The difference is that it’s more work than Marian in the sense that it’s a 60-day shoot, which I’ve never done before. Otherwise, it does not change much in the creative process.

How was this project presented and why did you accept it?

As with all projects, it was my agent who called me and said he had a new proposal to send me. At that time I was filming the second season, I promise I was the director. I was hesitant at first because I knew that the series would be filmed in Toulon and I didn’t want to go far from home.

Then, when I read the project, I told myself that I will not miss this opportunity. I was already familiar with the documentary Ni Judge that was presented, which inspired Mariana and I fell in love with this character. And I find the adaptation by directors and screenwriters Frank Magnier and Alexandre Charlot brilliant in the letters, the investigations, the characters that are surreal and yet very real. Because this is life too, surreal situations are everywhere, every day. And to rewrite that into a TV series, without pastiche or parody, I think that’s an incredible approach.

What bothered you about Mariana’s story?

Already the fact that this is a woman who practices a profession in which there are many men. Also, is she a strong woman, extremely autonomous, independent, childless, single, and who still doesn’t experience everyday life because it’s her life choice. I find it very powerful to play a character like Mariana. And his way of dealing with reality is the actor’s dream space.

Your character’s personality is really reflected in their clothing style. How did you participate in the development of Mariana’s appearance?

God is in the details! In the sense that the best is always the enemy of the good. And I think what you love about the picture is the details. I find that the real tragedy of the modern age is that we are losing them. In design or in life, we tend towards something extremely simplistic. Whereas, in my opinion, details are a delight to the human eye.

For example, I’m watching Manifest on Netflix right now and I think the show is very addictive. Still, the biggest criticism I can make is that we’re in for a pretty slick American series that lacks detail. However, it remains addictive because the subject manages to hold us back. But otherwise, the sets and clothes are new, the actors are all well-dressed and their hair done, they’re all sleek, and we still manage to have fun.

But what I like more is what you can find in series like Stranger Things, which is a huge piece of artistic direction. I love this aspect of film or television because I think the truth comes from the details.

And finally, if I have glasses, a table, papers in front of me, I hardly have to play. All I have to do is take myself out of the situation, and that’s when we enjoy ourselves as an actor, because paradoxically we try to act as little as possible. Which means I’d rather run to the front of the stage and be out of breath than pretend. Of course, I can interpret it, but that means thinking about it in addition to the situation and my colleagues.

Afterwards, there are as many methods as there are actors, but for me, I try to find ways to play as little as possible to really escape.

So the chain of Marianne’s glasses, her jewelry, the matching makeup and clothes, there are many small things that speak to the character because it’s her character traits that bring her to life. In the overall picture we do not fix the details, but they are part of it.

In Marian, we don’t know much about this judge character that you play. Accessories let us know it somewhat…

Indeed, excuses are avoided. The enemy of creativity is justification. Unfortunately, in television, because there are so many shortcuts, so many facts, and so many characters per episode, we don’t have time to explain or remember certain things.

And the job of artists, directors or actors is to simplify everything so that the justification is presented by itself, without words, because they are always weaker than facts or feelings.

What was your inspiration in creating Marianne?

I was very inspired by my family notary, Maitre Le Boudec, whom I have known since childhood. If his profession has nothing to do with the theme of the series, it also develops in the office, but does not go into this field. For me, he was the gateway to this very characteristic character.

For example, this notary has always worn a small brooch, the same hairstyle, the same glasses for more than 20 years. And this unchanging side, in my opinion, is extremely characterized by unspoken pleasure, which was the way to create Mariana for me.

After that, with the image of the character, I immediately had a vision of this woman with messy curly hair and this look that certainly doesn’t follow fashion or what we call “beautiful” today and what’s more. Different from beauty. I really didn’t want to go in with the beauty that comes with an era or what is considered today’s fashion. In my opinion, this was exactly the way to achieve a certain beauty.

Anyway, I came up with the idea from the beginning, and then most of the work was selling it to the directors. In the end, they understood what I wanted to tell them, but also let me try some things, and they refused the offer. Then together we created something even better and different than what I had in mind. I think it was interesting to create Marian as a team. And finally, that’s how you develop character, with everyone’s ideas.

Do you think series like Munch or HPI paved the way for strong female characters in the police and legal fields?

of course. I think there’s a desire today to feature female characters in fiction, but also to have more mixed teams on set. In my opinion, women have more and more space and power. So that means we have more strong, independent, single, childless female characters on TV.

I also appreciated being shown that it’s not all about having zero life as some people think and that’s where the real progress is. Not long ago, some people would have said: “He is poor, he is not married, he has no children, he is alone and sad.”. But Mariana is not at all the one who experiences this loneliness, on the contrary, she chose it and is happy.

Would you be on the second season of Mariani?

I will sign immediately! Even for 12 seasons, because it’s so fun to play! Marianna is such a sunny character. I really like it.

Find Marianne on Wednesday 7 September at 21:10 on France 2. The series is now fully available on Salto.