Au bout du conte
2.5 stars out of 5
Starring: Agathe Bonitzer, Arthur Dupont, Agn?s Jaoui, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Benjamin Biolay
Directed by: Agn?s Jaoui
Running time: 112 minutes
Parental guidance: for all
Playing in French at: Beaubien and Excentris cinemas
From The Princess Bride to recent revamps of Snow White, fairy tales remain prime fodder for cinematic reimagination. French actress-writer-director Agn?s Jaoui mashes up several classic narratives in the frustratingly flat Au bout du conte, leaving us wishing she had left well enough alone.
The title is play on words, meaning both ?in the end,? and ?at the end of the fable.?
Laura (Agathe Bonitzer, saving the convoluted plot with a compelling performance) has a dream in which she is wandering through the woods and swept away by a handsome prince with an angel hovering over his shoulder. That dream becomes reality when she meets budding composer Sandro (Arthur Dupont, overdoing it on the pathos) at a party.
They dance, but he has to duck out early, leaving his shoe behind. It?s a half-hearted attempt by Jaoui at showing us she?s changing the formula. If only she followed through on her promise. Laura and Sandro eventually do hook up, but there are more obstacles in their path.
The not-so-subtly named Maxime Wolf (played by Benjamin Biolay) has big eyes for Laura and makes Sandro an offer he can?t refuse regarding his orchestra.
Meanwhile, Sandro?s tight-fisted father, Pierre (Jean-Pierre Bacri, who wrote the script with Jaoui) becomes increasingly depressed after recalling that the day a clairvoyant had told him he was going to die, March 14, is fast approaching.
Laura?s aunt Marianne (Jaoui) is a pleasant lady who teaches theatre to elementary schoolchildren and who refuses to act out her fairy tale scenarios. Meanwhile, Marianne?s daughter is traumatized by her mom and dad?s recent divorce and is taking driving classes from Pierre in hopes of overcoming her fear of driving/independence.
If that?s not muddled enough, there are other unnecessary subplots in this well-meaning but unpolished affair. The point of it all is never quite made clear, inducing a feeling that the end of Jaoui?s tale can?t come soon enough.
tdunlevy@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: tchadunlevy
Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Fairy+tale+remake+misses+mark/8738727/story.html
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