Le Rôle de sa vie
2004 Comedy / Drama / Romance   
 
  • Director: François Favrat
  • Script: Jérôme Beaujour, Roger Bohbot, François Favrat, Julie Lopes-Curval
  • Photo: Pascal Marti
  • Music: Philippe Rombi
  • Cast: Agnès Jaoui (Elisabeth Becker), Karin Viard (Claire Rocher), Jonathan Zaccaï (Mathias Curval), Marcial Di Fonzo Bo (Luis), Claude Crétient (Laurent Bompard), Annie Mercier (Nicole Becker), Laurent Lafitte (Arnaud), Denis Sebbah (Franck), Francis Huster (Un comédien à la soirée)
  • Country: France
  • Language: French
  • Runtime: 100 min
 
 
 
Summary
Claire Rocher is a timid journalist, unsure of herself and incapable of hooking a man.  Elisabeth Becker is the polar opposite – a beautiful film star who exudes confidence and who is always surrounded by admirers.  When they meet, by chance, the two women strike up an immediate rapport and Elisabeth engages Claire as her personal assistant.  Almost at once, their relationship comes under strain when Elisabeth starts to bed Mathias, a young gardener whom Claire had taken a fancy to…

Review
In his first full-length film, director François Favrat explores the complexities of human relationships, in typical Gallic rom-com fashion, within a bittersweet satire that takes a wry look at out our society’s obsession with celebrity.  The film stars two of France’s leading performers, Agnès Jaoui and Karin Viard, the one playing a self-obsessed yet vulnerable starlet (think Norma Desmond in her youth), the other a dowdy Miss Nobody.  Both actresses manage to seize our attention and our sympathy with a strikingly truthful performance, making this a film that is simultaneously poignant, thought-provoking and funny.   Jonathan Zaccaï is equally engaging as the hapless lover caught in the middle of a romantic tug-of-war and crisis of conscience, and is clearly an actor to watch out for.

© James Travers 2007


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