Moli¨re

Posted by Loukas Tsouknidas (loukas@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 19, 2007

Moliere is the creator of modern French comedy. Though i believe that French and comedy are two words unknown to each other the last twenty years,or it just might be too smart for me- i find Moliere’s plays remarkable in their mockery of his contemporaries. Laurent Tirard, picks up a lot of pieces from those scripts and constructs a fictitious biopic, about the time Moliere is said to have vanished from his whereabouts.

The result is certainly Molieresque and the references to his plays are more than enough to please the classic playwright’s enthusiasts.

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin aka Moliere, an actor and leader of a theater troupe is in debt and about to be incarcerated. Monsieur Jourdain, a married merchant that wants to capture the love of the beautiful and witty Marquise Celimene buys him out in exchange of acting lessons behind his wife’s back, the attractive Elmire. Moliere appears as a cleric named Tartoufe, but soon falls in love with Elmire and begins messing with the family’s business. Meanwhile, Jourdain is led on by the aristocrat parasite Dorante, who takes money from him to bring him closer to the Marquise of his dreams…

Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante and Edouard Baer are superb in their comical characters picking a mediocre costume comedy up and making it extra enjoyable. Duris shows his range, Morante is enchanting, Luchini a pure comedian and Baer unbelievably slimy. Everybody right on point.

Tirard is good at capturing Moliere’s irony in his images. Along with the musical score, he creates a great atmosphere of the certain era and never loses the pace or stretches the romantic element too far. This isn’t by any means an insightful look at Moliere’s character. It’s a comedy inspired by his style, a cinematic game that imitates his spirit and sarcasm of the French lifestyle.

Good looks and a lot of laughs equal a good time at the movies.

| | Read more articles by Loukas Tsouknidas