“Diane de Poitiers” on France 2: an ode to Adjani that sounds empty

It’s raining gold on a woman’s silhouette. Not any one: Diane de Poitiers, mysterious mistress of King Henry II, with a legendary beauty. Considered free and cultured, emancipated, she would have whispered in the ear of the monarch, twenty years her junior, making and breaking alliances around him. “We know his face but little of his life”, says the robot who visits his funeral chapel to a group of curious about the future, at the opening of the TV film, the first part of which is aired this Monday November 7 at 21:10 on France 2 (plus next Monday).

Isabelle Adjani, that we loved in “Queen Margot”, “Camille Claudel” or “The Story of Adèle H.”, seemed perfectly suited to embody this enigmatic figure of the Renaissance. Around her, Josee Dayan has brought together a cast of three stars, unfortunately insufficient to make up for the lack of interest in the screenplay.

Nevertheless, Gerard Depardieu, which the director directs in “The Count of Monte-Cristo”, portrays a tasty Nostradamus, consulted in secret by Diane de Poitiers, in search of the miraculous remedy of eternal youth. Virginia Ledoyen embodies the detestable Anne de Pisseleu, mistress of Francis I (Samuel Labarthe). Hugo Becker lends his features to the young dolphin. Jeanne Balibar he wore the costume of Marguerite de Navarre, JoeyStarr that of the formidable Earl of Kervannes. Alas, the dialogues are bombastic, the discussions soulless.

The “more than queen” borders on the ridiculous

Shot largely in Chambord Castle (Loir-et-Cher), the narrative certainly offers a breathtaking scenario. The costume fabrics are sumptuous. The favorite wears mourning in vain, her bathrooms rival in elegance. Black mask on her face, bow on her back, Diana the Huntress rides on the head of a pack of dogs. The image is beautiful. Just beautiful. Because history does not begin with this beginning.

Very quickly, we get annoyed in front of a succession of plans without a tail or a head that parasites the plot. As much as Josée Dayan took us on a wonderful journey with “the cursed kings”, as much as she lost us with this “Diane de Poitiers”. Here, Adjani is playing with a twig. There, she nibbles the grapes. She smiles, she plays scared, cuddles the trees. What about this grotesque joke, in the second part, where the “more than queen” kneels in front of a pair of “Louboutino”, boots with red soles worn by the Italian Caterina de ‘Medici. We would like her to be powerful, she looks fragile. We dream of it as mysterious, bordering on ridicule. What a shame !

More than a story about the charming Duchess of Valentinois, Josée Dayan offers an ode to Isabelle Adjani. The actress has all the plans, or almost. She is also enlarged in the head-to-head sequences, for which the director chooses to alternate zooms between her muse, often in profile, and her interlocutor. Is it a better hiding trick that the actress you’re a fan of is far from the age of Diane who, at the start of the TV movie, was only in her thirties?