After he became interested in university sports Sarah prefers to run and that of politics countryIn her third feature film, filmmaker Chloé Robichaud turns her camera on the world of classical music. Happy Days. She thus signs her most moving and best controlled film to date, thanks in particular to the remarkable performance of her actress Sophie Desmarais.
“Happy Days,” which hits theaters this Friday, takes us into the daily life (and mind) of Emma (Sophie Desmarais), an ambitious young conductor in her thirties.
A rising star on the Montreal scene, Emma has had a toxic relationship since childhood with her father and agent Patrick (Sylvain Marcel), who secretly tries to control every aspect of her career. She also experiences a complicated relationship with Naëlle (Nour Belkhiria), a cellist who has just separated from the father of her child.
As she aims for an important position in a prestigious orchestra, Emma must prove that she is capable of taking a new step in her career by getting out of her head and being more expressive and dynamic in her direction. “Orchestra.” What if, in order to give her career new impetus, she first had to free herself from her father’s influence?
A smart choice
To bring to life the character of Emma – who is in a sense her alter ego – Chloé Robichaud made a wise decision by turning to a long-time accomplice, the actress Sophie Desmarais, with whom she had already worked in her first feature film ” Sarah Prefers directed the Race, released about ten years ago.
The challenge of playing a conductor on screen was enormous, but the 37-year-old actress mastered it with flying colors, especially thanks to careful preparatory work in which she was able to draw on the advice of three conductors, including maestro Yannick Nézet. Seguin.
Completely absorbed in the role, she tapped into her inner being to deliver an extraordinary performance that is both powerful and nuanced. She shines both in the beautiful, long conducting sequences (with the real musicians of the Orchester Métropolitain) and in the scenes she shares with Nour Belkhiria and Sylvain Marcel. The latter is particularly convincing in the role of the controlling and manipulative father.
Photo provided by Laurence Grandbois Bernard
With the portrait she paints of this conductor, Chloé Robichaud takes up themes that have already been addressed in her previous films, showing a young woman trying to find her way in a predominantly male environment. Less cerebral than the filmmaker’s previous films, “Happy Days” aptly addresses the complexity of toxic family relationships by showing the protagonists in many close-ups.
Despite a rather conventional production, Chloé Robichaud demonstrated great consistency in portraying the world of classical music on screen. The conducting scenes are believable and even serve as a driving force for the development of Emma’s character. “Happy Days” is also characterized by great poetic impulses that immerse us in the mind of the film’s heroine as she wanders the streets of Montreal while listening to classical music on her headphones.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Happy Days, a film by Chloé Robichaud with Sophie Desmarais, Sylvain Marcel, Maude Guérin and Vincent Leclerc.