Laurent Lafitte is the imaginary Molière for Olivier Py: trailer

The actor from the Comédie-Française delivers Molière’s last tirade, on the occasion of his final performance of Le Malade Imaginaire.

After having embodied Bernard Tapie, Laurent Lafitte engages in a completely different exercise by stepping into the shoes of the great Jean-Baptiste Copelin, known as Molière, during the last performance of Imaginary illness. The film ofOlivier Py shows the backstage of the artist’s last performance, lit by the glow of countless candles – the film’s only light source. Legend says that Molière died on stage after the performance of the play – in reality he would have died a few hours after leaving the stage. In the press release, the director of the film details his twist:

“It (the film) was born in an extremely special time since it is in full confinement. I was just at that moment questioning my inability to write drama. I had several projects but I realized that the one concerning Molière concentrated them all.“

At the casting, Stacy Martin, Dominique Frot or Bertrand de Roffignac surround Laurent Lafitte, who was selected for the lead role despite his physique being considered too advantageous to play Molière. Olivier Py:

“First of all, I find that he physically resembles Molière. On paintings by Nicolas Mignard it’s disturbing. Laurent’s only fault – and I told him this – is that he is a little too sexy for the role! On the other hand, in these same portraits, we detect what we could call a humanity in Molière. And Laurent has that. Even when the character is odious. It makes him a human being who loves, who suffers, who thinks he has failed…”.

The limited colorimetry of the feature film is assumed. Red, white, black and gold decorate the actors’ performance, orchestrated in a single sequence shot. For his first film at the cinema, the famous playwright and theater director Olivier Py returns to his first loves, since he himself had the opportunity to play Imaginary sick when he was 25 years old.

The Imaginary Molière will be released in theaters on February 14, 2024.