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Change can often cause chaos—whether it’s a new job, a new home, or a move to a new place. And in the unpredictable dramedy French Exit, a move overseas causes all kinds of chaos for an aimless woman and her devoted son.
French Exit stars Michelle Pfeiffer as Frances Price, a Manhattan socialite whose world comes crumbling down around her when she finds out that the thing she’s been avoiding for years is finally happening: she’s about to run out of money. With nowhere else to turn, she decides to sell off her belongings and move herself and her son, Malcolm (Lucas Hedges), to a friend’s apartment in Paris. But as soon as they arrive in the City of Light, their quiet new life is shaken up by new friends, romantic entanglements, and a missing cat.
From the start of this international adventure, it’s clear that it won’t be a serious drama. Frances and Malcolm make an entertaining pair: the socialite who seems entirely oblivious to the way the real world works and her son, who’s her closest, most devoted companion.
Unfortunately, though, the plot is about as flighty and directionless as its two main characters. Though it seems to promise a quirky story of a mother and son finding their own way after moving to a new place, it ends up wandering off in all kinds of strange directions—none of which seem to lead anywhere. There are random encounters with homeless men. There are séances led by a bored cruise ship medium. And with each new encounter, the apartment seems to fill up with more people who just decide to stay for some unknown reason. These strange occurrences are often amusing in their own bizarre ways, but they fail to come together in a way that makes any sense at all.
What keeps the film from completely falling apart is a captivating performance by Michelle Pfeiffer. Her character may be a mess, but, in spite of her very obvious insecurities, you just can’t help but admire her moxie. It’s just too bad that her performance wasn’t featured in a more coherent film.
French Exit definitely boasts a strong performance by a talented star—but even Michelle Pfeiffer isn’t able to carry this random, disjointed story. It has its share of amusing moments, but that’s not necessarily enough to make it worth masking up and heading to your local theater.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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