Un couple épatant
2002 Comedy / Drama
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Credits
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Summary
After a medical examination, Alain Costes manages to convince himself that he has an incurable
illness. His attempt to conceal his mounting anxiety and depression causes his wife,
Cécile, to think that he may be having an affair with another woman. Unable
to tolerate her husband’s strange behaviour any longer, Cécile hires Pascal, the
husband of her best friend, to spy on him. When he sees that Cécile has started
to behave strangely, Alain becomes equally convinced that she is cheating on him.
Before long, a small misunderstanding has escalated into a domestic crisis.
Review
Un couple épatant, a mix of social satire
and farce, is one instalment in a trilogy of three films from Belgian born director Lucas
Belvaux. Unlike most trilogies, the three films run in parallel, not consecutively,
with different characters taking centre stage in the different films. Hence, events
which are central to one film assume a far lesser importance in the others, so that each
film gives a different perspective on the characters and their personal dramas.
The other two films in the trilogy are Cavale
(2002), a thriller, and Après
la vie (2002), a drama. The three films may be viewed in any order.
Un couple épatant is by far the least satisfactory film in the Belvaux trilogy. The central premise (a situation getting totally out of hand) is a promising one, but it is handled with the utmost ineptitude. What should have been a magnificent blend of back comedy and farce is pretty well ruined by a combination of a weak script, uninspired direction and, worst of all, some excruciatingly bad acting. Fortunately, the film does have some notable plus points. Belvaux’s individual style of cinema – strikingly austere with its dark sense of irony and cruel portrayal of human failings - keeps the spectator interested and amused, in spite of the film’s obvious deficiencies. As a film in its own right, Un couple épatant certainly leaves a lot to be desired, but as a light hors d’oeuvre for what it to come – the better two films in the trilogy – it is just about worth seeing. © James Travers 2006 See also:Cavale Après la vie Write a review for this film... |
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