Movie with Abe: Le Week-End

Le Week-End
Directed by Roger Michell
Released March 14, 2014

Sometimes it’s good to have a film with a simple premise. “Le Week-End” finds its two protagonists, Nick and Meg, vacationing in Paris on the occasion of their thirtieth anniversary. Each has a different idea of what their trip will be like, and Nick’s choice of a run-down hotel prompts Meg to splurge for a more luxurious option, one which they might not be able to pay for in the end. So begins an adventurous and memorable weekend that provides an interesting and in-depth look at these two people late into their marriage.

Nick and Meg are portrayed by sixtysomething British actors Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan. Broadbent won an Oscar in 2001 for his part in “Iris,” and Duncan has made a mark for herself in numerous films and television appearances, including the original “Traffik” miniseries and HBO’s “Rome.” Here, they get to play their age and be at the center of a film, wandering around an unfamiliar city together and exposing hidden thoughts and desires. They are not Americans, so Europe is no big mystery, but there is still a clear sense that they are away from him and living temporarily in an impermanent world.

Paris is always a great setting for a film, and that’s certainly true here. It alternately serves as a lavish backdrop and an all too normal one for Nick and Meg’s romantic drama, which fluctuates from true anger and resentment to Nick passionately kissing his bride on the street. It’s possible to glean a lot about these two by watching them interact and seeing how they treat each other, and the French city is the perfect place to help them come alive and air their problems out in the open.

Broadbent and Duncan are both seasoned actors more than equipped for these roles. As Nick, Broadbent is grumpy and often boorish, but the actor’s wide eyes tell a much grander story. Duncan revels in simple pleasures as Meg, and demonstrates a resilience that indicates a desire not to go on existing but to truly live. While the two of them don’t have all that much to say to each other, the introduction of Jeff Goldblum as Nick’s fast-talking and entertaining friend Morgan provides a burst of energy, something that helps to enliven the film and flesh out its characters’ feelings and desires. It isn’t always fully pleasant, but “Le Week-End” is an entertaining exodus into other people’s lives at a point of definitive and often blissful uncertainty.

B+

Tuesday’s Top Trailer: Le Week-End

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies with Abe, Tuesday's Top Trailer. One of my favorite parts about going to see movies is the series of trailers that airs beforehand and, more often than not, the trailer is far better than the actual film. Each week, I'll be sharing a trailer I've recently seen. Please chime in with comments on what you think of the trailer and how you think the movie is going to be.

Le Week-End – Opening March 7, 2014

Seeing three movies in theatres in one day really should produce the opportunity for some strong trailers, and I’m delighted to have found one that I hadn’t seen before at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas before “The Great Beauty.” This quiet little film starts a fabulous British actor, Jim Broadbent, recently wonderful in such films as “Another Year” and “The Iron Lady,” and well-known for a great start to the decade in 2001 and 2002 with an Oscar win for “Iris” and memorable performances in both “Moulin Rouge” and “Gangs of New York” around the same time. He’s not the kind of romantic lead you might expect, but this also isn’t the typical Paris love story usually seen in cinema. His costar Lindsay Duncan took home the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress last week, and it looks like they make a lovely sentimental couple reigniting their feelings for each other on a trip to Paris late into their marriage. Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi earned an Oscar nomination back in 1986 for the very unique “My Beautiful Laundrette,” and director Roger Michell is responsible for “Venus” and “Notting Hill,” among other things. This is unlikely to be a fast-paced film, but sometimes slowing down and getting to take in the subtler parts of life is just what’s needed, and I suspect this should be the perfect recipe for a March dose of fresh air.