#laurent grevill

[dannyreviews]

Jack and Sarah (1995)

One of my all time favorite actors is Richard E. Grant. His versatility to meld into period and contemporary pieces, laugh out loud comedies and straight up dramas and everything in between, makes him one of a kind. For this review, I have found a film that caters to Grant’s amazing skill and acumen, but that’s the only highlight. Tim Sullivan’s “Jack and Sarah” is a two character show stuck in a tepid ensemble piece that doesn’t know whether to treat itself as a comedy, drama, romance or a mixture.

Grant plays Jack, a grumpy lawyer with a baby on the way, a sensitive wife named Sarah (Imogen Stubbs) and a house under construction. When Sarah dies in childbirth, Jack is forced to be a single father to baby Sarah, and juggle the responsibilities of being a working man and an active parent. Jack is still grief stricken, when dining in a restaurant, he meets American waitress Amy (Samantha Mathis) who isn’t very good at her job. Taking pity, Jack hires Amy as the full time nanny, another job that she’s not good at either. At first, the two constantly bicker and argue over responsibilities and rules, but gradually, Jack and Amy become closer as Jack is able to grieve his wife’s untimely death and find a new purpose in life.

“Jack and Sarah” should be a simply told story about two people getting together and raising a child, but winds up taking too many liberties with the plot. Instead of being a straightforward drama, it injects little bits of comedy when unnecessary, especially in the early scenes when Jack is despondent over his wife’s loss. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry and that kills the overall mood of the moment. Next, there are useless characters that add nothing to the continuity of events and are instead merely filler. That goes for Ian McKellen’s William, a bum that Jack hires to be a servant in the house and Laurent Grevill’s Alain, Amy’s boyfriend and former boss. They are merely distractions and none of their side scenes contribute to the main plot. Finally, the circumstances behind Sarah’s death in childbirth are not revisited as if it’s an everyday event in the age of modern medicine. It would have served the plot better if the film opened with the grieving process, an explanation that Sarah did not die in childbirth, but for another more plausible reason like a sudden health episode or accident and showed flashbacks with Sarah. Screenwriter and director Tim Sullivan, known for work on episodic television, thinks that he’s directing an episode of a generic series, where such characteristics might be more appropriate, but here, it’s plain awkward. 

While the film as a whole was disappointing, Richard E. Grant was not. His performance is the one constant factor that makes “Jack and Sarah” somewhat bearable. Even through the paint-by-numbers scenes that are riddled with cliché after cliché, Grant perfects his character’s required multi-faceted traits through the film’s contrived state. Sadly, I cannot say the same for Samantha Mathis as Amy, who comes across as whiny, one-noted and unlikeable. While I saw chemistry on Grant’s part in some of the intimate scenes with Mathis, she did not convincingly reciprocate the affection. Grant is that good where he can still give an effective performance to a brick wall. And then you have British legends Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins fill in the gaps to give the film some kind of support, but are merely reduced to acting as props, an undeserving demotion not representative of their talents. 

It’s a shame that a great actor like Richard E. Grant can give a heartfelt performance, but be caught in the middle of mediocrity. He deserved a more wholesome film, not one that has an bland leading lady, a mixed bag of uneven emotions and disposable supporting characters. 

6/10

[sacredwhores]

Noémie Lvovsky - Forget Me (1994)

[firewalkwjaime]

Juliette Binoche and the Search for a Sense of Connection in Claire Denis's Let the Sunshine In

In Claire Denis's Let the Sunshine In, a heartbreaking tale of isolation leads one on a search for a greater sense of connection. Read Jaime Rebanal's (@ItsJaimeHere) review of Let the Sunshine In here:

✯✯✯✯½

In getting a perfect grasp at what it feels like to live within the lifestyle of Juliette Binoche’s Isabelle in Let the Sunshine In, Claire Denis keeps the camera lingering at long gaps between conversations. In talking about what these moments evoke thematically, what you also are experiencing is something so clearly fragmented by the fact that life is made to feel a bit too extraordinary…

[stickymoviestar]

ずっとあなたを愛してる

2008年製作 原題 Il Y A Longtemps Que Je T'aime 監督 フィリップ・クローデル

タイトルから誤解しがちだけど恋愛映画じゃない。

目的がはっきりしてる内容ではないからエンディングがイイ意味で読めない。

誰が誰を愛し続けてるのか？答えはいくつも用意されていて、愛の形は様々だということを示している。そこには哀しみも混じり合って、好きだから愛するといった単純な図式が愛の全てではないという事を今更ながら突きつけられた。

登場人物は多く、心情が変化し揺れ動く人、まるで変わらない人、上手く設定されていてバランスがイイ。

話は暗いんだけど、愛に溢れている作品。ラストは主人公の心の叫びが日常会話とリンクしたちょっと深い台詞で締めくくられる。

★★★★: Good (satisfaction: 60%-90%)

[eyeliketwowatch]

Camille Claudel - Behind Every Great Man, There’s a Woman, and they are sick of being Behind

Fascinating biopic about the nearly forgotten sculptress/contemporary and student/lover of August Rodin. At a time when women weren't much respected as artists, she approaches her art with a passion and dedication that verges on madness and obsession. Great performances by both main actors, and makes art seem much more romantic and exciting than it actually is (which is always a challenge in movies of this sort).

3.5 stars out of 5

Released 1989, First Viewing June 1991

[biographiesofactors]

https://biographiesofactors.com/49737-laurent-grevill-biography-date-of-birth-place-of-birth-filmography.html

[arcee78]

Let the Sunshine In, Starring Juliette Binoche, Opens in LA/NY on Apr. 27

Let the Sunshine In, Starring Juliette Binoche, Opens in LA/NY on Apr. 27

IFC Films Sundance Selects presents LET THE SUNSHINE IN (Un beau soleil interieur), a film by Claire Denis, written by Denis & Christine Angot, and starring Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko, Sandrine Dumas, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, Laurent Grevill, Bruno Podalydes, Paul Blain, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, and Gerard Depardieu.

Let the Sunshine In opens in

[cinebuzz-blog1]

Découvrez la bande-annonce du film de Claire Denis : Un beau soleil intérieur. Le film portera à l’écran le personnage d’Isabelle une femme divorcée à la recherche de l’amour interprété par la rayonnante Juliette Binoche . On y retrouvera également Gérard Depardieu dans la peau d’un voyant. Le film sortira le 27 Septembre on à hâte d’en voir plus !

  Un film de Claire Denis avec Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko, Sandrine Dumas, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, Laurent Grevill, Bruno Podalydès, Paul Blain, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi et Gérard Depardieu

 SYNOPSIS:

Isabelle, divorcée, un enfant, cherche un amour. Enfin un vrai amour.

AFFICHE:

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  Un beau soleil intérieur Découvrez la bande-annonce du film de Claire Denis : Un beau soleil intérieur. Le film portera à l’écran le personnage d'Isabelle une femme divorcée à la recherche de l'amour interprété par la rayonnante 

[sacredwhores]

Noémie Lvovsky - Forget Me (1994)

[sacredwhores]

Noémie Lvovsky - Forget Me (1994)