RIVIERA REVENGE Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Ivan Calberac
Stars: Andre Dussollier, Sabine Azema, Thierry L’hermitte, Gael Giraudeaux, Josephine de Meaux, Sebastien Chassagne, Eva Rami, Solal Bouloudnine.
This amiable and enjoyable French farce was inspired by a newspaper article that writer/director Ivan Calberac (The Tasting, etc) read, although he has significantly changed some of the characters and details and taken liberties with the story.
The film centres around Francois Marsault (veteran French actor Andre Dussollier, from The Crime Is Mine, etc), a 75-year-old retired military officer. He has lived a life of honour and discipline, and he still runs his family with military discipline. He has been married to Annie (Sabine Azema, from The Well Digger’s Daughter, etc) for nearly fifty years. The couple have three children, but his relationship with them is strained. Only his eldest son Amaury (Gael Giraudeaux) has followed him into the military. His younger son Adrien (Sebastien Chassagne) has followed a more artistic path and works as an actor and puppeteer for a local theatre. However, Francois has never attended one of his shows. Amaury and his wife have four daughters, much to the disappointment of Francois who aches for a grandson. During a family gathering, Amaury announces that he and his wife are expecting a fifth child.
While cleaning out his attic to turn it into a play space for his grandchildren Francois stumbles upon a cache of letters written to Annie by an old flame. The explicit letters reveal that Annie had a brief affair with their neighbour and family friend Boris while he was away on military duties. Despite Annie’s protestations that the affair was over forty years ago, Francois feels humiliated, betrayed and incensed. He initially considers divorcing Annie.
With the help of a colleague in the army Francois tracks down Bori’s location and heads off to picturesque Nice to confront Boris (Thierry Lhermitte, from The Dinner Game, etc). Annie reluctantly accompanies him to try and prevent him from doing something stupid. Under the pretext of enjoying a second honeymoon, they stay with their daughter Capucine (Josephine de Meaux), who has thus far managed to conceal her sexual orientation from her parents.
As Francois confronts Boris, other family secrets are revealed that turn his organised world upside down. Annie and Boris rekindle their former passion while Francois is forced to rethink what is important to him.
Calberac’s script includes some slapstick humour and several laugh out loud moments as Francois blusters his way through a number of situations. Calberac maintains a light touch and a fairly swift pace throughout, and the film clocks in at a breezy 94 minutes. However, it is a little silly at times. The film explores darker themes of family, infidelity, marriage, and masculinity. The film looks stunning as it was shot on location in France’s Cote d’Azur, and cinematographer Philippe Guilbert (The Tasting, etc) captures some gorgeous scenery of this exotic location.
Dussollier is perfectly cast as the grumpy and flummoxed Francois, and at time he reminded me of the American actor Eddie Albert. Azema is solid and radiant and brings warmth to her performance as Annie, who tries to retain her composure through her husband’s quest for satisfaction and vengeance. In a nicely ironic touch Annie is reading Madame Bovary, the classic novel of infidelity. Azema and Dussollier have appeared together in several films, and they develop a wonderful chemistry that propels the film even through some of its sillier moments. L’hermitte has a laid-back quality as Boris, and his character offers a contrast to Francois.
Riviera Revenge (although the original French title N’avoue jamais aka Never Confess seems much more apt) is an absurd romp and typically Gallic in style.
★★★
