Francois Ozon continues his exploration of death in LE TEMPS QUI RESTE (TIME TO LEAVE) with somewhat disappointing results. It all began with SOUS LE SABLE (UNDER THE SAND) where his leading lady, played by Charlotte Rampling, was a sympathetic character ripping apart at the seams by not accepting the disappearance (and death) of her husband, with whom she had a clearly loving relationship, I was given the chance to mourn with her and feel her impossible pain. Moments of imagined sexuality were also especially heightened, because I could believe she could mentally displace herself to an extent that both a potential lover and her ghost of a husband could be with her at the same time in an unlikely menage a trois. And that final scene on the beach as she ran towards an inaccessible image was emotionally heart-shattering: I thought I had seen the most devastating scene ever filmed.
In his most recent film, Romain (Melvil Poupaud), a fashion photographer in the vein of the David Hemmings character of BLOW UP, faints after a particularly unpleasant photo shoot. He thinks he has AIDS; the doctor informs him he has a malignant cancer and has a short time to live -- survival is less than 5 %. From then on, Romain -- already a difficult character -- proceeds to viciously alienate his sister by insulting her in a family dinner, his lover whom he first attempts to strangle in a heightened moment of sex and later throws out of their house with no explanation, and goes into a self destructive rampage in a nightclub. The only person whom he opens up to is his grandmother (Jeanne Moreau) who takes him in and briefly becomes a shoulder for him to cry on. Plus, there is a pretty waitress (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) who approaches him with an unusual proposal.
It's this proposal -- one involving a threesome not too different than the one seen in SOUS LE SABLE except for the fact that this one is real and does culminate in an uncomfortable climax -- that allows Romain to commit an act of kindness. Even so, this act is rather brittle -- he leaves his entire estate to his future son and in the process apologizes (sort of) to both his ex-lover and sister -- but never does he confront his issue head on. Ozon has one too many shots of Poupaud wallowing in self-pity, banging his head against a wall, and staring out in silence. Again, because his character is such a louse, it's too difficult to care of his fate even at the very end when the sun goes down and he goes to sleep... so to speak.
LE TEMPS QUI RESTE may sound like a bad movie, but it's not. It's almost always gorgeous to look at and has a daring sex scene that would make anyone blush. Flash-cuts in which Romain sees his younger self are one of the film's best moments, because they recall a time when Romain himself was just an innocent kid beginning to live. Other than that, this is one of the many gay movies that veer too close to restrained maudlin as its lead character goes down, unnoticed and uncared for. On the plus side, it's a quick flick -- under 80 minutes not including credits -- and doesn't linger too much in the schmaltz that would have made it a DARK VICTORY type of weepie.
In his most recent film, Romain (Melvil Poupaud), a fashion photographer in the vein of the David Hemmings character of BLOW UP, faints after a particularly unpleasant photo shoot. He thinks he has AIDS; the doctor informs him he has a malignant cancer and has a short time to live -- survival is less than 5 %. From then on, Romain -- already a difficult character -- proceeds to viciously alienate his sister by insulting her in a family dinner, his lover whom he first attempts to strangle in a heightened moment of sex and later throws out of their house with no explanation, and goes into a self destructive rampage in a nightclub. The only person whom he opens up to is his grandmother (Jeanne Moreau) who takes him in and briefly becomes a shoulder for him to cry on. Plus, there is a pretty waitress (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) who approaches him with an unusual proposal.
It's this proposal -- one involving a threesome not too different than the one seen in SOUS LE SABLE except for the fact that this one is real and does culminate in an uncomfortable climax -- that allows Romain to commit an act of kindness. Even so, this act is rather brittle -- he leaves his entire estate to his future son and in the process apologizes (sort of) to both his ex-lover and sister -- but never does he confront his issue head on. Ozon has one too many shots of Poupaud wallowing in self-pity, banging his head against a wall, and staring out in silence. Again, because his character is such a louse, it's too difficult to care of his fate even at the very end when the sun goes down and he goes to sleep... so to speak.
LE TEMPS QUI RESTE may sound like a bad movie, but it's not. It's almost always gorgeous to look at and has a daring sex scene that would make anyone blush. Flash-cuts in which Romain sees his younger self are one of the film's best moments, because they recall a time when Romain himself was just an innocent kid beginning to live. Other than that, this is one of the many gay movies that veer too close to restrained maudlin as its lead character goes down, unnoticed and uncared for. On the plus side, it's a quick flick -- under 80 minutes not including credits -- and doesn't linger too much in the schmaltz that would have made it a DARK VICTORY type of weepie.