Grand Depart (FILM REVIEW)
Grand Depart
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Siblings Attend to Ailing Dad in Bittersweet French Drama
Luc (Jeremie
Elkaim) and Romain (Pio Marmai) might be siblings but they’re as different as
night and day. The former is a struggling screenwriter who has never amounted
to much. His relatively-boring brother, on the other hand, is a straitlaced nerd
who’s been doing his best to move up the corporate ladder by sitting behind a
desk in a tie and jacket.
The two are
also unalike when it comes to romance. Flamboyantly gay Luc has a life mate,
Adrian (Willy Cartier), that he’s thinking about marrying, while heterosexual
Romain’s lack of a personality has prevented him finding a woman willing to
share a relationship.
Unfortunately,
they’ve been emotionally estranged since childhood, when domineering Luc used
to tease and torture his younger brother. That mistreatment gave rise to a tension
that has persisted to the present, which is where we find both vying for the
approval of their long-divorced parents.
Abusive Georges (Eddy
Mitchell) had apparently abused masochistic Danielle (Chantal Lauby) until his
long-suffering wife couldn’t take it any longer. Since separating, they’ve
remained cordial only for the sake of their sons. After all, it’s hard to
forgive a husband who flagrantly frequented prostitutes.
Lately, the 65
year-old patriarch has been behaving erratically, and was subsequently
diagnosed by his doctor as slowly succumbing to dementia. This means he needs
more support from flaky, favored son Luc who still lives at home.
However, when that
isn’t forthcoming, Romain dutifully takes time from his busy schedule to attend
to his dad’s healthcare needs. And when worse comes to worst, he prevails upon
a nursing home administrator (Charlotte de Turckheim) he knows to expedite
Georges admission to the facility she manages.
The family crisis
also puts the siblings in close proximity of one another on a daily basis
again, which gives them a chance to address their unresolved rivalry. Will they
bury the hatchet for the sake of their ailing father?
That is the raison
d’etre of Grand Depart, a character-driven drama marking the impressive
directorial debut of scriptwriter Nicolas Mercier (My Worst Nightmare). The film
features a compelling end of life theme similar to the Oscar Best Foreign
Film-winner Amour, though this picture’s embattled protagonists aren’t nearly
as empathetic or embraceable.
Basically,
a bittersweet tale about a couple of polar-opposites endeavoring to bury the
hatchet for the sake of their rapidly-expiring dad.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Unrated
In French
with subtitles
Running time: 80 minutes
Distributor: Rialto Premieres
To see a trailer for Grand
Depart, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l22DTDvScE4
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