(Paris) The second part of the diptych The Three Musketeers takes place against the backdrop of civil war. France is fractured, like the relationships between certain characters, including Milady and Athos. La Presse met the actors who play them, Eva Green and Vincent Cassel, in Paris.
In The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan, released last April, Athos tells the young aspiring musketeer the story of a man intoxicated by a woman “so beautiful, so pure”, broken by a husband, whom she killed. A fugitive, she was handed over to the authorities by the man, branded with a hot iron then hanged. This is how Anne de Breuil’s life ended and Milady de Winter’s began.
“I find it interesting that we take the time to explore [in the sequel] the troubled personality of this character. I really like that the writers added a backstory to him that reveals a little of his secret wounds. The public will perhaps have more empathy towards him,” says Eva Green in an interview.
Milady is the enemy of the musketeers in the legendary work of Alexandre Dumas and in the majority of adaptations. In the screenplay by Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte, everything is not so clear-cut.
“In the novel, she’s very interesting and absolutely iconic, but she’s more unpredictable in her behavior. She has an almost bipolar side, estimates Eva Green. She experienced some pretty humiliating things and this betrayal that she experienced really built her up, and Dumas hadn’t really explained that. » The actress also seen in Casino Royal recognizes that Milady remains a “manipulator”.
The first part implicitly revealed a past between Milady and Athos. What follows allows us to understand the torment that afflicts the eldest of the three musketeers. “He experienced wars, romantic disappointments, tragedies. I think he’s a man who lives in the past because he’s looking for redemption that he thinks he can never have. So, he is someone who is waiting for death, in a certain way. Perhaps he has that phlegm of the person who thinks that things are already behind him. It turns out that this is not the case, but we discover that as we go along,” says Vincent Cassel.
Among the discoveries, there is that of his young son, Joseph, who lives at Château de La Fère. One of Milady’s most touching scenes is when he returns home to say goodbye before heading off to war once again.
“It’s the tragic and romantic side that I find magnificent in him,” adds the Julius Caesar of the most recent Asterix
As the conflict between Catholic royalists and Protestant republicans escalates, the king’s musketeers gather to fight at La Rochelle. Still searching for Constance Bonacieux (Lyna Khoudri) who has been kidnapped, D’Artagnan (François Civil) finds himself on the trail of those who attempted to assassinate the sovereign of France (Louis Garrel). Athos, Porthos (Pio Marmaï) and Aramis (Romain Duris) assist him in his mission and do not hesitate to draw out sword and pistol, which gives rise to impressive action scenes, most of which are played by the actors.
“Our first dates were during fencing lessons. We started by fighting. […] We had a lot of fun making this film together, then we were proud to bring this story back into the heritage and to be able to put a “French touch” on it. We had the impression of doing something important,” says Vincent Cassel. Indeed, the last French film adaptation of The Three Musketeers dates back more than 60 years.
Eva Green also loved handling weapons, learning choreography and riding horses – she would like to thank her mount Félicio.
A spy, Milady wears different costumes and wigs to change her identity. Eva Green points out that “the real Milady wears dark colors, with a bit of a rock, a bit of a virile side”. When we mention a scene to her in which her character is particularly vulnerable, she replies: “It’s not even Milady anymore, it’s Anne de Breuil, her former identity. In this moment, she has nothing more to lose, she is not afraid of death. »
To find out more, you will have to watch the film.
