Film Review
The unlikely friendship of Paul Cézanne and Émile Zola, two
of the creative geniuses of the 19th century, is a subject worthy of a mini-series,
so director Danièle Thompson has a rich vein to mine for her film
Cézanne et moi. It is hard to imagine what could have
drawn two such different individuals together - one who became a great writer
who achieved acclaim early in his career, the other an avant-garde painter
who was barely recognised until the end of his life - so it is somewhat disappointing
that instead of attempting a serious biographical portrait all that Danièle
Thompson delivers is merely a fanciful buddy movie that tells us next to
nothing, and takes a hell of a long time to say it. More used to lowbrow
comedy than serious drama, Thompson overreaches herself and in
Cézanne
et moi she turns in a vacuous crowdpleaser that revels in its kitsch
glossiness without saying much of interest about the central protagonists.
Despite the abundance of facial hair that is plastered all over their faces,
neither Guillaume Gallienne nor Guillaume Canet is remotely convincing in
their respective roles of Cézanne and Zola. It is not the actors
who are at fault but a risible script that requires them to spout the most
irksome platitudes with the utmost earnestness. The sumptuous locations
into which these two are periodically plunged (with a palate that is a pleasing
near approximation to that of Cézanne's own paintings) give a visual
lift to make up for the dearth of narrative content, but even these become
wearisome after a while thanks to the incredibly overdone score that only
succeeds in drowning out whatever genuine artistic merit and subtlety the
film has. With most of the story told in flashback, the film is painfully
uneven and fails to achieve even the vaguest semblance of coherence.
As a portrait of a friendship that goes on the skids when the protagonists
follow their separate destinies the film has some appeal, but as an authentic
representation of the love-hate relationship of two of France's artistic
luminaries
Cézanne et moi is an unmitigated failure.
© James Travers 2017
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Danièle Thompson film:
La Bûche (1999)
Film Synopsis
In 1886, Émile Zola's novel
L'Oeuvre is ill-received by his
old friend Paul Cézanne, who is unimpressed by what he sees as an
unflattering portrait of himself as a failed artist. Determined to
give the book's author a piece of his mind, the painter rounds on Zola, but
they have known each other too long for this latest falling out to end in
a punch-up. In their youth they were once the closest of friends, having
met at school and discovered they had so many shared interests. But
socially they were world's apart. Paul came from a wealthy family whilst
Émile's background was far more modest. Leaving Aix-en-Provence
behind them, they had an exuberant time together in Paris, enjoying life
to the full before they embarked on their separate artistic careers.
Émile became a successful writer of fiction, acquiring wealth and
recognition in his lifetime, while Paul persevered as an artist and struggled
to find anyone to buy his paintings. It wasn't only their artistic
leanings that drove the two men part. They had the misfortune to fall
in love with the same woman, and of course it was the ever-successful Émile
who won that prize...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.