Prolific actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin’s extraordinary directorial debut made a splash at its Venice premiere last October, and was recently named Best First Feature of 2006 at the prestigious Louis Delluc awards. It’s an intriguing and subtly compelling character study of a lawyer battling against the odds in a tough Paris neighbourhood.
Darroussin (Red Lights, A Very Long Engagement, The Town is Quiet) stars as Charles Bénesteau, a wealthy lawyer who has left behind his family and prestigious social standing to lead a solitary existence in a multi-racial, impoverished neighbourhood. His ambition is to write, but soon the noisy neighbours intervene. An incident in his block of flats sees Bénesteau take in Sabrina (Amandine Janin), the teenage daughter of Eastern European immigrants and her nanny, Isabelle (Valérie Stroh). His quiet life is over.
A measured, teasing script and Darroussin’s artful sense of pacing take this thoughtful drama in unexpected directions, aided immeasurably by the excellent supporting cast, including Nathalie Richard and Hippolyte Girardot. Darroussin combines distance and warmth as the protagonist who is also the film’s central enigma. The setting - the derelict inner courtyards and public gardens of Paris’ poor neighbourhoods - is also fascinating and rarely captured in film. Ending on a note of remarkable grace, this is an auspicious debut for Darroussin the director, and a terrific showcase for the actor.
France 2006 - Drama (100 mins)
In French with English Subtitles
Director: Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Script: Jean-Pierre Darroussin
inspired by the novel by Emmanuel Bove
Cast: Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Valérie Stroh