A Christmas Tale
Mathieu Amalric and Catherine Deneuve in A Christmas Tale
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Wednesday, 14, Jan 2009 11:56
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin, out January 16th in cinemas, starring Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny, Melvil Poupaud, Jean-Paul Roussillon, running time 150 mins.
In a nutshell...
A French family circus of navel-gazing.
What's it all about?
The Vuillard family have been crippled by both the loss of eldest sibling Joseph to a rare genetic disorder at seven years old and the 'banishment' of middle child Henri (Amalric) by his sister Elizabeth (Consigny).
But with matriarch Junon (Deneuve) diagnosed with leukaemia and needing a bone marrow transplant, the whole family gathers at the parental home for Christmas, allowing old wounds to be opened.
Who's in it?
Oscar-nominee Catherine Deneuve (Junon) rose to fame with her iconic 'ice maiden' roles in Repulsion (1965) and Belle de Jour (1967) and worked actively in European film through the 70s and 80s, before earning a Cesar award for 1992's Indochine and serving on the juries of the Cannes and Venice film festivals.
Mathieu Amalric (Henri) is a three-time Cesar-winner and best known to British audiences for Quantum of Solace and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in which Anne Consigny also starred.
As an example...
"Statistically I'm going to die twice." - Junon on learning of her leukaemia and the chance of a successful bone marrow transplant
"Did Dad scare you?" - Paul
"No, fights are easy. Since I'm weak, I know I'll lose." - Henri
"A family of weirdos. The Vuillards are a strange lot." - Sylvie
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
In a year in which the eye-opening Gomorrah, the exhausting The Baader Meinhof Complex and the stunning Waltz With Bashir, A Christmas Tale is far too literary, schizophrenically paced and dissatisfying to merit a win.
What the others say
"A sprawling, consistently engaging but slightly over-extended ensemble piece notable for a lively if sometimes annoyingly arbitrary use of flamboyant stylistic devices." - Geoff Andrew, Time Out
"These infuriating, involving individuals are so resolutely themselves, so sure they are right by their own lights, they exist in a world beyond anyone's judgment." - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
So is it any good?
It's as simultaneously gripping, gruelling, likeable and loathsome as the family it depicts. With death, disease and estrangement high on the agenda, it's hardly the most festive of premises and, like much translated drama, the majority of the dialogue is stilted and inauthentic, with its naturalism and rhythm lost.
Similarly, the puzzling, needless stylistic twitches - split-screen and pinhole camera shots, direct-to-camera addresses, multiple narration - prove an irritant that remove the viewer from an already remote experience.
But while its tone is haphazard, its lack of resolution exasperating and its structure hampered through an episodic approach, there are undoubtedly joyous moments.
And while the brilliant Deneuve and Roussillon flitter through scenes with quiet dignity, Amalric is superb, a shambolic drunk, laden with one-liners but well aware of his own shortcomings. So sympathetic is his undeniably feckless middle brother that we find it almost impossible to root for his filial rival Elizabeth - only a French drama could have a character who is "always so sad".
It's too wrapped up in its own unique approach to simmering family drama to ever be a complete success and a self-indulgence similar to Rachel Getting Married - but with more exposition dialogue - means its running length is as tiring as a Christmas with your own family.
But for a bold, complex look at the family circus, it's well worth seeking out.
6/10
Lewis Bazley