Hot off her acclaimed turn as a Polish woman struggling to survive in America in James Gray’s period drama The Immigrant, French actress Marion Cotillard is set delve right back into another period romance, this time with auteur Nicole Garcia. The film, titled Mal De Pierres, sounds like another potential awards contender for Cotillard.
Set after the close of WWII, Mal De Pierres spans twenty years and focuses on the life of a passionate, free-spirited young woman (Cotillard) who seeks refuge from a loveless marriage in the arms of another man. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Milena Agus, which has been translated into more than 15 languages since its publication in 2007.
Alian Attal will produce the film, which Garcia co-wrote with her usual partner Jacques Fieschi, for independent film company Les Productions du Tresor. In a statement, Attal said:
“It’s a passion project for both Nicole and us. It’s a very romantic and intense story about a woman whose quest for absolute love is the essence of life, her ‘raison d’etre.’”
According to Attal, Cotillard was quickly taken with the lead character and signed on for Mal De Pierres very soon after being approached.
Though Cotillard’s involvement is what will bring Mal De Pierres lots of attention, it’s equally exciting that Garcia is directed. She is a supremely talented director, with such acclaimed films under her belt as Le Fils préféré, Place Vendôme, L’Adversaire, Selon Charlie and Going Away. Any film that pairs her with an actress as stunningly talented as Cotillard is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
It might be a while before we see Mal De Pierres, but fans of Cotillard can look forward to seeing her as Lady Macbeth alongside Michael Fassbender in Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth, and in smaller dramatic fare like Two Days, One Night. Garcia, meanwhile, recently served as the president of the Camera d’Or jury at Cannes.
