Cravate club (2002)
Directed by Frédéric Jardin

Film Review

Two-handed plays can often be very successful on the stage, but can they ever work as an effective piece of cinema?  This unusual, low budget French film shows that they can, provided they are well-written, directed with imagination, and performed by two talented actors.  Cravate club was originally a successful stage play, running to packed houses for several months in 2001.  In this attractive film adaptation, Charles Berling (L'Ennui) and Edouard Baer (Un monde à nous) reprise the two roles which won them rave reviews in the stage version - roles which fit both actors perfectly - and give us an extraordinarily intense portrayal of mid-life crisis and the darker side of friendship.  It was directed by Frédéric Jardin, who had worked with Baer on two previous films.

Berlin and Baer carry the film so well that you scarcely notice or care that their's are the only two characters in this film (other characters are glimpsed from a distance or in brief cutaways, but the focus is well and truly on the two male leads).  The film's minimalist approach (most of the drama takes place in a cluttered office) intensifies the increasingly stifling nature of the relationship between the two men.  What begins as a light-hearted comedy gradually evolves into a very dark psychological drama, an unsettling experience for the spectator, particularly as Baer maintains his comic air of insouciance almost throughout.

Film Synopsis

Bernard and Adrien have been the best of friends for longer than either of them can remember and now they work together, partners in their own firm of architects.  So when Adrien turns down his friend's invitation to his 40th birthday party Bernard is understandably upset.  Adrien explains that he has a prior engagement for the night in question - he must attend an important dinner date at his private club, otherwise he will be expelled.  Despite Bernard's obvious keenness to know more about this mysterious club Adrien refuses to say anything more on the matter.  Over the coming weeks, Bernard becomes increasingly obsessed with the club and will not be satisfied until he has joined it.  As his obsession grows, his friendship with Adrien and his marriage come increasingly under threat...