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Avenue Montaigne
Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki
Roundtable interview with Director Daniele Tompson and Christopher Tompson
Director Daniele Tompson teams up with her son Christopher to probe into the unassuming manner of the lives of several Parisian who are all preparing for an important event on the same particular day. The film opens with Jessica (Cecile De France), a free spirit from the provinces, after the passing of a grandmother who raised and blessed her with the dream of a life of luxury. She has relocated to Paris, taking a job at a cafe near the theater district around glittering Avenue Montaigne where she serves a diverse clientele of well-heeled patrons; then she is drawn into the lives of the artists, floating through the array of the characters they portray.
Soon they register to her as being inward messes: as each of them face a life-altering decision, their money and positions don't necessarily bring them ecstasy. Particularly for Catherine (Valerie Lemercier), a TV soap star, who is currently trying to update some of Feydau's farces to the amusement of her audience at the same moment she frivolously attempts to capture cinematic glory--obviously the impulse of a conflicted artist.
Speaking of impulse, there's another performer hitting the wall, the renowned pianist Jean-Francois Lefort(Albert Dupontel). At the peak of his career, he is facing a metaphysical question about how his life has been demeaned by being forced to play for the privileged, He wants out of the limelight, preferring to simply sip tea on the patio between teaching piano lessons, maybe even for charity. But his midlife-crisis solution doesn't sit well for his manager-wife. At last, and far more endearing, there'sthe aging self-made financier Jacques Grumberg(Claude Brasseur), who decides to auction off some masterpieces collected during his marriage with his late wife.
Throughout, this is a good-natured film that has good vibes that don't need to be taken seriously with deep analysis, and all the crises are happily resolved. Lemercier'sperformance totally stands out of the pack. A cutie-pie Cecile has almost an Amelie quality about her that sparkles in each scene--hers is definitely a fresh face to look out for. Even though this film is a rather subdued form of comedy, and there's no heavy handed moment, Tompson manages to weave these stories into a thoroughly enjoyable film full of good humor and snappy, witty dialogue. Sometimes in life, all you need is a good croissant and some light comedy to go along with it.
Directed by Danièle Thompson
Written (in French, with English subtitles) by Ms. Thompson and Christopher Thompson
Director of photography:Jean-Marc Fabre
Edited by Sylvie Landra
Music by Nicola Piovani
Production designer:Michèle Abbé-Vannier
Produced by Christine Gozlan
Released by ThinkFilm.
Running time: 100 minutes.
Cast: Cécile de France (Jessica)
Valérie Lemercier (Catherine Versen)
Claude Brasseur (Jacques Grumberg)
Albert Dupontel (Jean-François Lefort)
Laura Morante (Valentine)
Sydney Pollack (Brian Sobinski)
Christopher Thompson (Frédéric Grumberg),
and Dani (Claudie).