3 stars (out of 5)
Drawn from a screenplay based upon his own acclaimed play, this is the feature film directorial début from playwright, writer and actor Israel Horovitz (75 this year), whose reputation was surely the reason why the prestigious cast agreed to be involved (well, that and the chance to holiday in Paris).
Mathias (or ‘Jim’) Gold (Kevin Kline) is a former New Yorker whose life is a total mess. He’s 57, has no job, lost many friends due to a drinking problem and was painfully alienated from his father, and this opens with him arriving in Paris to check out the large apartment his recently-late Dad left him. Impressed at its size (he barely remembers it from his youth), location and potential sale price, Mathias is horrified to discover, however, that a longtime and very French agreement means that while the place is his, he must also pay monthly rent to immoveable resident Mathilde Girard (Maggie Smith) – or at least until she dies. This is confirmed by real estate agent Lefebvre (cult star Dominique Pinon), who sympathises with the shocked Mathias, and the situation is then complicated when Mathias finds that he also must share the upstairs area with Mathilde’s daughter Chloé (French Cinema mainstay Kristin Scott Thomas, an eleventh-hour replacement for Jane Birkin). And while Mathias and Chloé immediately and bitchily clash, only audience members who have never seen a movie before might be surprised at what eventually happens, but what distinguishes Horovitz’s film is the sadness and pain that lies under the surface, both of which ensure that this isn’t quite the light-hearted romp you might be expecting.
Thomas does her uptight routine and the indomitable Maggie Smith does her Maggie Smith routine here, and that’s just fine, but the strongest performance is from Kline, who hasn’t allowed himself to play so close to the edge in years, and bravely makes Mathias a hollowed-out shell of a man who we very nearly can’t stand – but not quite. Grandly falling off the wagon, stalking Chloé through gorgeous parks and almost having a heart episode as he secretly sells Madame Girard’s furniture, he’s the key reason to catch this darkly-hued comedic drama that’s just about on the verge of tears.
I Wake Up Screening 