LE WEEK-END (2013)

Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Roger Michell  
Cast: Lindsay Duncan, Jim Broadbent, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Brice Beaugier
RunTime: 1 hr 33 mins
Rating: PG13 (Some Coarse Language and Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: https://www.facebook.com/LeWeekendFilm

Opening Day: 6 March 2014

Synopsis: A married couple, Nick and Meg (Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan), revisit Paris to revitalise their marriage, and run into an old friend (Jeff Goldblum) who gives them a new vision on life and love.

Movie Review:

Roger Michell made a little movie back in 1999 called ‘Notting Hill’ starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant which became one of the highest grossing romantic comedies of the year and turned that area near Kensington Gardens into one of the must-see tourist destinations in London. Fast-forward more than a decade, and Michell has not only grown older but also more introspective, which probably explains why the Paris-set ‘Le Week-end’ trades Roberts and Grant for the decidedly older Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan.

There is no meet-cute in this Hanif Kureishi-scripted drama; instead, the film explores the dynamics between a couple who has been married for 30 years and are celebrating their anniversary by spending a weekend in the City of Light where they had their honeymoon. You would assume after so many years that Birmingham college philosophy professor Nick (Broadbent) and schoolteacher Meg (Duncan) would be happily wedded to each other, but it isn’t quite so straightforward.

The place Nick initially books their stay turns out to be a cheap dump, and Meg plainly refuses to stay in what she terms ‘depressing beige’. She takes charge to move them into a much swankier hotel with a view of the Eiffel Tower, but Nick grumbles about the unnecessary expense. Turns out that Nick’s flippant comment to a student has gotten him into trouble with the university, who is forcing him into early retirement following the latter’s formal complaint. Whereas Nick is disillusioned, Meg wants to grab life by its horns with a renewed sense of vigour, refusing to accept her existing circumstances as all that can be.

And so in between visits to the museums, bookstores, churches and cafes in and around Paris, Nick and Meg find themselves confronting their personal and professional ennui.  The admirable thing about Kureishi’s script is that it refuses to be defined along narrative convention, so don’t be expecting Hollywood-type sentimentality - nor for that matter misery - and any easy answers to the broiling tensions that the middle-aged married couple are forced to confront. Indeed, one can’t help but draw similarities to Richard Linklater’s ‘Before Sunrise’ trilogy, in particular the most recent ‘Before Midnight’ in which Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters also reflect on their relationship over the course of time.

Nonetheless, it is unlikely that ‘Le Week-end’ will win over many fans, if at all. It is easy to understand Kureishi’s intentions with a rational mind, but his material fails to connect on a deeper, more emotional level. There is a lot of talking that goes on which hints at the deep bonds and equally significant fissures in the couple’s relationship, but Michell directs the proceedings with such restraint that one can’t help but feel distanced from their introspective talk.

The introduction of Jeff Goldblum’s American expat Morgan midway into the film brings a frisson of excitement, but that energy barely manages to get one through till the somewhat more engaging climax at a dinner party which Morgan invites both Nick and Meg. There is a particularly well-scripted exchange between the trio where Nick delivers a prompt rejoinder following Morgan’s toast which earns a similarly tart response from Meg; it is singlehandedly the most compelling sequence of the entire film, not least for the fact that most of the rest of it is just so blasé that you actually do need to force yourself to pay attention in order to stay awake.

That the film turns out emotionally uninvolving is also an unintended consequence of Broadbent and Duncan’s understated performances. Sure there is nuance in their acting that makes for a refreshingly honest exercise, but somehow one wishes that there could be more emotional cadences throughout, with a little bit more of the over-acting that we are used to. Goldblum, on the other hand, is perfect as the generous yet self-absorbed American, whose loud and amusing act is in sharp contrast to that of his two lead actors and brings a welcome joie de verve.

It’s not likely then that ‘Le Week-end’ will do for Paris what ‘Notting Hill’ did for its titular neighbourhood. The fact that the performers aren’t as attractive isn’t quite the reason why; rather, it is so muted that it hardly registers, worse still if you’re in the same age bracket as the characters. There is no romanticism here in case anyone is looking for that here, and while it is easy to say this is for a mature intelligent adult audience, we suspect that it wouldn’t hurt if everything unfolded with a little extra dose of passion and fervour. 

Movie Rating:

(Honest and insightful though it may be, this intimate look at the personal troubles of a middle-aged married couple is also too emotionally uninvolving for its own good)

Review by Gabriel Chong