This maybe describes this movie best. It's not outstanding by any means, but it still makes for a decent watch. If you've seen Polanski's recent "Venus in Fur", you can take that movie and have two males in the center instead a male and female. It's all about an upcoming play and who should be cast as which character. Intense dialogues, mind games and a bit betrayal form the core. The two protagonists are played by Fabrice Luchini and Lambert Wilson. The biggest female role is portrayed by Maya Sansa and stands between the two men obviously. The film was written and directed by Philippe Le Guay with Luchini being involved with the writing as well. At the French Oscars, the César Awards, the film scored nominations for writing, the score and also Luchini's lead performance.
All in all, you could describe it as a very French film. If you like these, give it a go. For me personally the scene with the estate agent and the shabby house was pretty funny, the scenes with the broken bicycle not so much. One of the central questions is if Wilson's egocentric character was ready to share the main part in the play. Apart from that, I had my problems with Francesca. In her first scene, she is that stressed-out actor-hating lady in black and right afterward she transforms into that super-nice woman who regrets her past behavior. it just doesn't seem credible to me. Then again, as we see in her final scene, she seems to be extremely fickle. Talking about the end, I would have preferred it to be that very moment when Luchini's character leaves the party and quotes the central character of the play. Could have been more effective that way and I really did not need the final scene with the play taking place. But it's mostly a comedy, not a drama, so it kind of fits I guess, even if it sacrifices some realism (of course he would struggle right there with the text) for cheap laughs and schadenfreude. One thing I liked about though, was that the makers did not go for a happy ending with the two being close friends. Always refreshing to see alternating endings from the traditional "feel-good" stuff, which often seems quite cringeworthy and just for the purpose of fixing everything for good.
All in all, it's 100 fairly entertaining minutes that I would recommend, especially if cinéma francais is exactly your thing.
All in all, you could describe it as a very French film. If you like these, give it a go. For me personally the scene with the estate agent and the shabby house was pretty funny, the scenes with the broken bicycle not so much. One of the central questions is if Wilson's egocentric character was ready to share the main part in the play. Apart from that, I had my problems with Francesca. In her first scene, she is that stressed-out actor-hating lady in black and right afterward she transforms into that super-nice woman who regrets her past behavior. it just doesn't seem credible to me. Then again, as we see in her final scene, she seems to be extremely fickle. Talking about the end, I would have preferred it to be that very moment when Luchini's character leaves the party and quotes the central character of the play. Could have been more effective that way and I really did not need the final scene with the play taking place. But it's mostly a comedy, not a drama, so it kind of fits I guess, even if it sacrifices some realism (of course he would struggle right there with the text) for cheap laughs and schadenfreude. One thing I liked about though, was that the makers did not go for a happy ending with the two being close friends. Always refreshing to see alternating endings from the traditional "feel-good" stuff, which often seems quite cringeworthy and just for the purpose of fixing everything for good.
All in all, it's 100 fairly entertaining minutes that I would recommend, especially if cinéma francais is exactly your thing.