Private Fears in Public Places
Posted by Loukas Tsouknidas (loukas@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 18, 2007
Loneliness. Well, that can be a problem sometimes. Cinema has dealt with it more than a few times. Theater also. Much more i think. Alain Resnais has already shown (Smoking/No Smoking) how much he likes the plays of British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. This time he chooses “Private Fears in Public Places†for a movie version and shows how much he loves theater in general… and snow.
The private stories of six people interlock, as they search for some kind of light in their gloomy,each for a different reason- lives. A real estate agent, his mate-hunting sister, his irritatingly cute office associate, a widowed bartender that has to take care of his sick ol’ father and a beautiful couple that breaks up. They all bump at each other for one reason or another, managing to bump away back to their “private fears†in the end.
Resnais seems fresh as ever in this theatrical looking film, staging short incidents and moving from one to the next with a snowfall effect that seems fake enough to remind of a fairy tale more than a snowy Paris. His greater assets though are his actors, each one of them fit for their part without overacting or stealing the show. There’s a bitter sense of humor in their dialogue as a constant reminder of its British origins and a feel of isolation in the strictly indoor scenes.
Unfortunately, entertaining or dramatic highlights are all we get for these, mostly likable, characters, so we never get the chance to feel close to their silent suffering. Sometimes their lives seem too set-up, like their looming future is totally unavoidable.
Resnais saves Ayckbourne’s feel over his movie in the end, when nothing happens to redeem these people. They fail once more to connect with each other, just like a self-fulfilled prophecy.
This is a mediocre film but a true master like the Frenchman is always interesting to follow no matter how high our expectations are.
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