Back in the 1920s for Laura Smet in « La Garçonne »

France 2 has a beautiful surprise for 2020 with a historical police fiction set in the 1920s with Laura Smet in the lead role.

But where is the pretty blonde hiding among the characters in period costume and among the old cars? For the occasion, the daughter of Nathalie Baye and Johnny Hallyday wear a man’s suit with tie and vest, but above all a short brown wig. You have to have an experienced eye to find her since she embodies the twin brother of the heroine of « La Garçonne ».

We are in the early 1920s, when Paris was the stage for artistic and literary encounters, women began to emancipate themselves following the loss of many men during the first war. They cut their hair, smoke and display their sexuality freely, some of them not hiding their homosexuality, the clothes are more androgynous. It was then that the « boy » was born. In 1922, she inspired the literature with the release of Victor Margueritte’s book « La Garçonne », which tells the story of the life of an independent woman living a very free sexual life, with male and female partners. It was from this book that the creator and the director drew inspiration to build the series.

The shooting of this mini series of 6 episodes of 52 minutes each, created by Dominique Lancelot (Research Section) and directed by Paolo Barzman (Sydney Fox, the adventurer, Largo Winch, Léa Parker), began on July 15 and ended on October 25. Laura Smet is playing in the casting Grégory Fitoussi (Engrenages) in the role of journalist Tom Hygreek (Dolmen, Under the Sun) who is the face of his brother, Lilly Fleur Pointeaux (Falco) who plays a certain Lydia but also Jérôme Deschamps: Dr. Paul, Aurélien Recoing: Pardieu, Clément Aubert: Max, Noémie Kocher: Mrs. Vandel or Aladin Reibel: Mr. Vandel, Zoé Besmond de Senneville: Rose. Many Parisian and French venues have been chosen for filming, including the « Bistrot Victoires », a brasserie in the 1st arrondissement where the main figures meet regularly; the Quai de Corse and the entrance to the Hôtel Dieu hospital transformed into access to the 36 Quai des Orfèvres; clubs and nightclubs for the scenes of libertine festivals where champagne runs on bare bodies; more scenes will be shot in Montmartre.

In « La Garçonne », Laura Smet portrays Louise Kerlac, a young woman forced to hide after witnessing the murder of a loved one by state agents. In search of a way of discovering herself, she decided to transvestite herself as a man to take the place of her twin brother, Antoine Kerlac, broken by war and entered criminal police in her place. Following a series of murders targeting young models who posed for painters in Montparnasse, she finds herself in the investigation that leads him into the world of partying and the night of Paris of the « Roaring Years ». She also confronts this charming journalist Roman Ketoff while keeping her dual identity secret.

Laura Smet was born on November 15, 1983 in Neuilly sur Seine, and is the daughter of Nathalie Baye and Johnny Hallyday. As a teenager, she attended Raymond Acquaviva’s comedy classes. In 2002, she was spotted by Olivier Assayas, who recommended her to Xavier Giannoli, who was looking for the hero of her first feature, « The Impaired Bodies. » where she represented a young cancer girl. This role earned him the Romy Schneider Prize and a nomination to the Caesar of Best Hope in 2004. It then chain roles: Frédéric Fonteyne’s Woman, La Demoiselle d’honneur de Chabrol, meets Benoît Magimel, then the summer Passenger teacher Caroline in L’Heure Zero, adaptation of a novel by Agatha Christie by Pascal Thomas (2007), she joins the director Philippe Garrel and her son Louis , in The Boundary of Dawn. Between 2008 and 2009, she made 2 telefilms. In 2010, she and Marc-André Grondin formed a couple of ridden crooks in Gabriel Le Bomin’s Unsuspected thriller, before falling under the spell of Yannick Renier in Pauline and François de Renaud Fely. 2014 is her year of return after a 4-year break, Laura Smet is featured in 4 films (Yves Saint-Laurent, 96 hours, Eden and Stand Right). The following year, she found Jalil Lespert (who had directed her in the biopic on the famous designer) and Gérard Lanvin (her 96-hour partner) for Premiers Crus, which takes place in the wine-growing environment. The actress met Benoît Magimel in Carbone by Olivier Marchal in 2017 and then made the poster with her mother Nathalie Baye for « Les Gardiennes », by Xavier Beauvois.

Laura Smet has been shown in television series for some time, including « Captain Marlea on France 3, the series « Ten percent » or the psychological drama « Imposture » for France 2. « La Garçonne » is the occasion for a new collaboration between the actress and France 2 .

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VERONIQUE YANG

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