Following the disappointing 5x2, French auteur Francois Ozon felt the need to release this slight and poorly directed meditation on death. The biggest problem with this film is that it isn't a feature film. Had it been 30 minutes long it might have worked, but Ozon chose to stretch a thin premise beyond credibility. What should have been a film worthy to follow Under the Sand is really an embarrassing failure for Ozon.
Firstly, the film isn't that cinematic. Ozon is fixated on close-ups which belong to TV soap-operas rather than widescreen French cinema. The use of music is also obtrusive. We don't really care for the dying Romain. We may feel pity for him, but his stubbornness and arrogance make him an unsympathetic figure. Yes he is an anti-hero but it feels like a French cliché. Ozon also cuts away from emotive scenes as if they embarrass this film's high art cinema credentials. The reality is Ozon is afraid his material too sentimental.
The film's 77 minute length also glosses over many characters. Romain's mother is not really given a chance to show her depth. Moreau's grandmother role feels like the typical French diva. She brings too much baggage to the role and submerges Romain's presence in their scenes.
But perhaps the biggest problem of the film is the use of clichés. The sub-plot of the waitress and her husband is cringeworthy in its soap-operatic naffness and I was amazed Ozon even contemplated this strain. I also felt the main premise of the story was unoriginal - the life affirming nature of heterosexuality. Even the ending, which recalls Sand and 5x2, is a cliché with the setting sun suggesting death. A film that should never have been done, but perhaps a revealing insight into Ozon's eccentricity. All in all, a sombre soufflé.
Firstly, the film isn't that cinematic. Ozon is fixated on close-ups which belong to TV soap-operas rather than widescreen French cinema. The use of music is also obtrusive. We don't really care for the dying Romain. We may feel pity for him, but his stubbornness and arrogance make him an unsympathetic figure. Yes he is an anti-hero but it feels like a French cliché. Ozon also cuts away from emotive scenes as if they embarrass this film's high art cinema credentials. The reality is Ozon is afraid his material too sentimental.
The film's 77 minute length also glosses over many characters. Romain's mother is not really given a chance to show her depth. Moreau's grandmother role feels like the typical French diva. She brings too much baggage to the role and submerges Romain's presence in their scenes.
But perhaps the biggest problem of the film is the use of clichés. The sub-plot of the waitress and her husband is cringeworthy in its soap-operatic naffness and I was amazed Ozon even contemplated this strain. I also felt the main premise of the story was unoriginal - the life affirming nature of heterosexuality. Even the ending, which recalls Sand and 5x2, is a cliché with the setting sun suggesting death. A film that should never have been done, but perhaps a revealing insight into Ozon's eccentricity. All in all, a sombre soufflé.