I so relate to the title of this movie, as it is something
I would probably scream out at the top of my voice in a temper tantrum before
everybody, me included, would burst out laughing. It was what first made me notice this movie
in the Netflix catalogue, but the reason I then sat and watched it was because
the wonderful actor Patrick Chesnais who, with his well lived in face, plays
the most likely of leading men who always gets the girl despite the fact he
certain is not in the first blush of youth. He is very similar in looks to another veteran French actor Fabrice Luchini who was so wonderful in the recent 'The Women On The Sixth Look' when he proved that even stuffy old Stockbrokers deserve romance, and so I was eager to discover how M. Chesnais would make out finding true love playing a Bailiff this time!
Jean-Claude is an a divorced unhappy loner who’s health is suffering as a result of his stressful job evicting
tenants and chasing debtors so his doctor prescribes some exercises. He joins a
tango class that he had noticed from his window operates in a building across
the street from his office. There he
meets Francoise a beautiful woman in her 40’s who he takes a shine too and she
too him even though she is at the Class simply to take dancing lessons for her impending marriage
to her fiancé.
Meanwhile Jean-Claude cajoles his grown up son to join him
in the family Bailiff business even though he is totally unquailed and completely
miserable at the prospect but seems to go along with it just to try in some way to
connect with his distant and cold father. At the
same time Jean-Claude spends every Sunday visiting his own aged father who is
now residing in an Old Folks Home. The
old man always goes out of his way to make these visits hellish and is cantankerous,
ungrateful and extremely mean-spirited to his son.
The liaison between Jean-Claude & Francoise is doomed
in the conventional sense but however it changes ALL of their lives forever.
Directed and co-written by Stephane Brize who’s previous
work includes the charming 'Mademoiselle Chambon' and he seems to excel at these very
French somewhat sad romances that are enlivened by cute touches of humour. That and brilliant acting, not just by M
Chesnais who picked up a Cesar, the French ‘Oscar’ for this (although if he is
meant to look 50 then I am not a day over 40 myself!) but also by Anne Cosigny
('The Butterfly & The Diving Bell’) as Francoise.
★★★★★★★★
★★★★★★★★
