Le Rôle de sa vie (2004) Directed by François Favrat
Comedy / Drama / Romance
aka: The Role of Her Life
Film Review
For his debut feature, director François Favrat takes a timely
sideswipe at society's obsession with celebrity whilst serving up
a highly enteraining variation in the rom-com line.
Le Rôle de sa vie features two of the darlings of French cinema today,
Agnès Jaoui (well-known for her caustic comedies such as
Le Goût des autres (2000))
and Karin Viard (the star of such films as
La Nouvelle Ève (1999)).
These two talented performers make an effective contrast, the one
comfortably set up as a self-obsessed yet vulnerable
starlet (think Norma Desmond in her youth), the other a dowdy Miss Nobody whom
no one ever notices.
An original and nunaced script that gives cliché a wide berth
allows both of the lead actresses to play
to their strengths, giving performances that are sympathetic, believable and gently amusing, not
the broad caracatures you would expect to find in a lesser comedy.
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.
The film is simultaneously poignant, thought-provoking and funny -
a very auspicious debut from a director with a shrewd understanding
of human relationships.
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Film Synopsis
Claire Rocher is a freelance journalist for a fashion magazine who lacks
the confidence to make a success of her career and her love life.
The crushing tedium of her existence is relieved on the day she finds herself
in a car with her favourite actress, Elizabeth Becker. The actress
is not in the best of moods and, anxious that she may have offended her admirer,
she apologies to her a few days later and asks if she would like to interview
her. Naturally Claire jumps at the chance and in next to no time the
two women find they have a natural rapport, even though their personalities
and lifestyles could hardly be more different. Elizabeth engages Claire
as her personal assistant, and something of her self-confidence begins to
rub off on her new friend. But when Claire takes a liking to Mathias,
an attractive young gardener, she is none too pleased when Elizabeth offers
him some work and starts to become intimate with him. A beautiful friendship
looks as if it is about to turn very sour...
Script: Jérôme Beaujour, Roger Bohbot, François Favrat, Julie Lopes-Curval
Cinematographer: 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),
Antonia Cornin-Navarro (Maria),
Pascal Decolland (Le directeur du magazine),
Idit Cebula (Aline),
Pierre Deny (L'éditeur),
Roberto Gonzales Hurtado (L'acteur cubain),
Eliane Auroy (Françoise),
Valérie Benguigui (Hélène),
Frédéric Descitivaux (Frédéric),
Alexandre Aubry (Jean),
Ingrid Mareski (La jeune femme du magazine),
Jean-Paul Dumas-Grillet (Le photographe de mode)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 100 min
Aka:The Role of Her Life
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