Vanessa Filho’s debut feature already sounds like an intense drama that fits perfectly into Cotillard’s oeuvre.
Marion Cotillard, particularly in her recent filmography, usually goes straight for experienced auteurs when planning her next career move. She has done a thorough mix of blockbuster and arthouse films with established names such as the Dardennes and Christopher Nolan, effortlessly switching between French cinema and Hollywood. But her latest picture will foster the talents of a new feature director. Variety reports that Cotillard has joined forces with Vanessa Filho on Gueule d’ange.
Gueule d’ange tells the story of a single mother who abandons her young daughter after meeting a stranger in a club. Filho and writer-director Alain Dias – known as Diasteme – served as scriptwriters for the project. Cotillard is undoubtedly the most famous face attached to star; she will feature alongside Ayline Etaix, Alban Lenoir, and Amélie Daure in the film.
If Gueule d’ange ends up being anything like the Dardennes’ menacingly quiet Two Days, One Night in intensity, audiences are in for an emotional rollercoaster. They will most likely be thankful for those overwhelming feelings, though. Two Days, One Night competed for a number of prizes at multiple film festivals and award ceremonies and was Belgium’s Oscar selection for a Foreign Language Film nomination. The combination of the film’s stripped back production and Cotillard’s powerhouse performance was an electrified match. Cotillard’s work in the film received a near 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes and earned her a second Academy Award nomination. Although Two Days, One Night was the only film she would appear in that year, Cotillard stood out brilliantly.
Cotillard is just the kind of actress who could apparently go from a cameo in Anchorman 2 to commanding the screen in Two Days, One Night. And who could forget her Oscar win 10 years ago for her stunning portrait of Edith Piaf in La Vie en rose? The non-linear story had all the typical fixings of a biopic telling the tale of a troubled star, but it was once again hinged upon Cotillard’s commitment to her character. Where director Olivier Dahan’s technical stylings fail to captivate certain critics’ attention, Cotillard’s performance was pretty much universally applauded. Then, of course, she won one of the biggest acting honors to cap off that success.
Those are only two of Cotillard’s roles and we could sit here all day dissecting them all. She had a delectable turn as a Nolan villain in The Dark Knight Rises before playing a killer whale trainer caught in a tragic accident in Rust and Bone — movies released the same year. Cotillard’s varied range in project choices and her ability to navigate them all speak for themselves. Gueule d’ange will also benefit greatly from the exposure Cotillard’s star power carries. But Filho’s feature will likely be good enough to stand on its own given Cotillard’s choice to join the project. It’s likely that we’ll get a fantastic marriage of talent.
Gueule d’ange will begin shooting in France in October this year.