|
Orchestra Seats review
:. Director: Daniele Thompson
:. Starring: Cecile de France, Albert Dupontel
:. Running Time: 1:46
:. Year: 2006
:. Country: France
|
The daughter of famous French director Gérard Oury (The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob) and a prolific screenwriter (Queen Margot), Danièle Thompson delivers her third film as a director, following the acclaimed La Bûche and the half-baked Jet Lag.
Avenue Montaigne falls into the Parisian comedy sub-genre, focusing on that weird self-centered microcosm that the City of Lights is and, more particularly, on what we call "le monde du show-biz", which largely encloses most protagonists here — a soap actor, a pianist, a businessman turned art collector, a theater concierge, a writer and a girl trying to make it in the capital.
While this universe is usually pedantic, rather than embracing it or offering a banal caricature, Thompson prefers to give a detached look to create a portrait tinged with irony and affection, melancholy and hope. Most of her characters are disillusioned or live in the shadow of their past, but despite all their flaws, they can reach a certain level of redemption by finding their true selves.
While the reflection isn't deep in a Michael Haneke way, there are enough interesting dialogues and lines to elevate Avenue Montaigne higher than the level of basic comedy, most of these thoughts coming from the characters played by Albert Dupontel, Claude Brasseur and Christopher Thompson.
Of course, if the film weren't funny, Avenue Montaigne wouldn't work, but it succeeds at bringing laughs, without going for big gags, mostly thanks to the presence of Valérie Lemercier, who assures a big chunk of the comedic relief here while Cécile de France takes care of the cuteness factor, the opposite of her freaky incarnation in the bloated High Tension.
With a certain propensity for drama and cheesiness that sometime borders on Claude Lelouch territory (arrghhh), some might probably have preferred an acerbic satire of this little Parisian world which seems to evolves around one single block. But by opting for a light touch, Thompson manages to bring a bit of poetry rather than bitterness while giving us a comedy which isn't just satisfied by taking us for imbeciles.
Fred Thom
 French Films: New 2012+ Reviews
French Films: 1998 - 2011 Reviews
French Movies Group
French Music Reviews
|
|
