Friday Night (2003)

I cannot help thinking of the cliché of a book being better than the movie after viewing this film. This film is so bereft of dialog that it could only make more sense as an interior monologue of a character in a novel. This lack of dialog is only beaten out by the utter lack of anything happening. Do not for one minute believe anything or anyone who suggests that there is any passion between these characters. I can only surmise that watching senior citizens watch MATLOCK re-runs is far more erotic than this film. The premise is boring, the execution is boring, the actors appear only half-interested. I'm sure they wanted to bring more fire to their characters but were held back by the director's need to ensure that this film would memorable for the time it wastes of everyone involved.

This is arguably by far the most accessible film yet made by Claire Denis, indeed it's tempting to think that she was persuaded by the money-men to go at least semi-mainstream at least once in order to fund further indulgences like her very next movie L'Intrus, an academics wet dream. Here she opts for two well-known actors in Vincent Lindon and Valerie Lamercier - whose own third film as writer-director Palais-Royal opens in Paris this month - and wisely leaves them to do what they do best and let her camera linger on them as they do so. Lamercier is rare among French actresses in that she is not a head-turner in the tradition of Manu Beart, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, etc but she does have a very definite subtle beauty and Denis brings this out in lingering shots of her face. Laure (Lemercier) has just given up her flat, filled the back of her car with portable possessions prior to moving in with her boyfriend yet inexplicably breaking her journey by attending a dinner party. Perhaps I should have said that On Paper those are her plans because having left her flat she finds herself caught up in one of those French transport strikes that punctuate the City of Light the way pauses punctuate a Pinter play. Traffic is virtually at a standstill and the radio is urging drivers to offer lifts to pedestrians so when Vincent Lindon raps on the window and solicits a ride she agrees. This is the point where the pseudo-intellectuals come into their own and 'read' all kinds of stuff into it; her life is at an impasse, she feels mentally or spiritually paralysed unable to move forward, you know the kind of thing, easy to do and about as meaningful as a stryofoam cup. Whatever, she and Lindon experience an unspoken attraction and nothing is surer than that they will wind up in the sack but then it is, technically, her Hen night and who's to say she isn't thinking twice about what, to some people, is a major step. So they have their mayfly moment and we share it with them and then it's over. Just like a movie. It's all about the experience, the heightened glow, the memories. This is memorable and one that can stand re-viewing.

if you liked her previous films, chances are, you'll like this. it's a fine film if you're not looking for big chase sequences involving mini coopers or big star romance, it's interesting and pleasant and nice and not at all a waste of time, in fact, I loved it. don't pay any attention to the one that posted before me. yeah, thats right, i just took a shot at frenchy who likes his plots thick. well, there's lots of films to choose from out there so having the option to choose tween different styles is often a beautiful thing. if you liked beau travail, you'll love this. please see it, because I guarantee you'll think about it long after. and i really like beau travail, all the dancing and the magic and that guy, denis lavant, who's in all the leos carax movies, o.k., i'm drunk but i really like this movie, you should check it out. nice, interesting.

The traffic jam sequence alone stands as an amazing and lyrical study of the rhythms of stop and start driving. The two lovers are so anchored in the magnetism of the present. This movie is a homage to human nature, and sexual attraction consummated. Also, I absolutely love that the film accepts and cherishes the moment as the lovers do. It's very French.