Marie Laforêt brings a faintly mocking intelligence to romantic roles and an independent streak to supporting parts. We value her presence, though Purple Noon also shows how little space a film can give an actor worth watching.
Fi1m perspective
In Purple Noon (1960), Marie Laforêt's Marge Duval has a faintly mocking quality that makes her worth watching even while the film directs our eyes towards Alain Delon. René Clément keeps us occupied with what his Ripley might be making of everybody else. We could not relax around Ripley, because Delon's stillness made us suspicious of his interest in other people. Laforêt and Maurice Ronet, as Philippe Greenleaf, have to compete with that for our attention. We wanted more space for Marge, and the film's success as a thriller does not cancel that reservation.
That was her film debut, and it would be unfair to treat a deliberately restricted part as a complete account of her acting. Her screen appeal lies partly in suggesting that the woman being admired might have her own opinion of the admirer. Jean-Gabriel Albicocco's The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961) gave her an early starring role. She also played Eftikia in Valerio Zurlini's war drama The Camp Followers (1965), one of her international co-productions.
As singing took more of her attention, the leading screen roles became less frequent and supporting parts more usual. The sophisticated, eccentric or independent women she often played offered something more specific than a requirement to look attractive beside a leading man. Cop or Hood (1979), directed by Georges Lautner and co-starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, marked a return to prominent screen work. She made five films with Belmondo and three with Lautner, recurring partnerships that matter as much to the shape of her screen career as the early starring roles.
There are limits to what that distinctive presence can tell us, and Laforêt herself described some early performances as unprepared. It is a useful warning against crediting an actor with more than a film actually lets us see. Her later stage portrayal of Maria Callas in Master Class (1999) drew praise for its emotional breadth, giving us another reason not to stop at Marge. Watch Purple Noon, but do not give Delon all your attention.
Biography
Marie Laforêt (born Maïténa Marie Brigitte Douménach) was a French singer and actress. She was born on 5 October 1939 in Soulac-sur-Mer, Gironde, and died on 2 November 2019 in Genolier, Switzerland.
Her career began in 1959 when she won a French radio talent contest. Director René Clément cast her as Marge Duval in the 1960 film Purple Noon, opposite Alain Delon. She appeared in several films during the 1960s, including The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961), directed by her then-husband Jean-Gabriel Albicocco. She later moved to Geneva in 1978 and acquired Swiss citizenship.
