KUNR entertainment critic Robin Holabird tells the story French departure is a dramatic and comedic adventure led by one of Hollywood’s most accomplished actresses.
Listen to Robin Holabird’s review of the movie “French Exit”.
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Cat and Paris help Michelle Pfeiffer make a French departure. And she, in turn, helps the film succeed.
Pfeiffer brings ideal qualities to play his distinctive role, a high society high society famous for many decades for its remarkable beauty. Just as Pfeiffer repeatedly demonstrates selective intelligence in the roles he plays, his character Frances displays a unique insight. The gracious Françoise knows how to rise above the ordinary and the expected while pursuing a life filled with material pleasures.
Aware of the precarious state of his finances, he made a “French exit”, or a quick exit, without formal farewells. With his adult son and a black cat, he heads to a friend’s apartment in Paris with frequent goofy experiences around him. Slightly surreal with a farce humor, French departure entertains those who are capable of laughing at events which lack antics, physical comedy.
Adapter son roman, French departure Author Patrick DeWitt offers a combination of bizarre situations and witty dialogue. Director Azazel Jacobs handles the material with an appropriate light touch, greatly benefiting the actors who stay in tune with the quirky elements of the story. Lucas Hedges from Manchester by the sea adds Pfeiffer to her growing list of gorgeous onscreen moms, as she played the son of Frances McDormand and Julia Roberts in other films. Another cast member, Tracy Letts, puts her sonorous voice to good use.
But of course, a star vehicle for the luminescent Pfeiffer means the actress stands out and carries the film with the grace and style that made her a star decades ago. Not seeing herself as one of the great dirty masses, Frances, played by Pfeiffer, is a woman who remains remarkably accepting of others, a trait that ultimately makes her likable. The actress brings a conscious weariness to the role of a woman who understands where life has taken her. This place may seem strange to some, but it’s also a fun respite from a world full of terrible disasters.
The film hit theaters on April 2.
Robin Holabird is a KUNR entertainment critic, author and former film curator for the Nevada Film Bureau. You can find his full archive of movie reviews here.
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