French Exit (2020)

Directed by: Azazel Jacobs | 113 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Tracy Letts, Valerie Mahaffey, Susan Coyne, Imogen Poots, Danielle Macdonald, Isaach De Bankolé, Daniel di Tomasso, Matt Holland, Christine Lan, Robert Higden, Larry Day, Christopher B. MacCabe

In ‘French Exit’ we meet Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), a wealthy, cynical and foul-mouthed New Yorker who lives with her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) in her late husband’s former home. One day, Frances is told that she is about to lose her fortune because she has been wasting their money without any sense for years. Mother and son are forced to sell all their possessions as soon as possible. Then a friend comes to the rescue, who offers Frances to live in her apartment in Paris. Despite being engaged to his girlfriend Susan (Imogen Poots), Malcolm decides to leave his old life behind and move to Paris with his mother. The Price family also brings their black cat Small Frank, whom Frances firmly believes is her husband’s reincarnation.

“French Exit,” directed by Azazel Jacobs and written by Patrick DeWitt, consists mostly of dry dialogue jokes and silly situations. These scenes often come across as episodic, as if the situations in a classic screwball comedy. In the hands of a less skilled film team this would have a dull effect in the long run, but in the case of Jacobs and DeWitt we can speak of a pleasant surprise compared to expectations.

The comedy, however idiosyncratic the story sometimes is, is always in the service of the characters. As viewers, we think we know early on who these characters are and where their journey is going. We assume that Frances and Malcolm will experience a series of crazy adventures, which will eventually lead to a camaraderie between the chilly mother and the insecure son. Sometimes the film comes close to that sort of worn-out terrain, but the story always manages to provide food for thought and interest in the characters.

First and foremost, ‘French Exit’ is a film about bygone dreams and family affection. Although Frances and Malcolm are polar opposites in their stages of life, they both feel like their best days are over. With Frances this manifests itself in fits of anger and with Malcolm it manifests itself in general lethargy. The two need each other more than they care to admit and could make each other’s ideal companions, but instead their relationship often manifests itself in destructive habits. It’s a tragic band, especially because they secretly appreciate each other. Malcolm didn’t meet his mother until he was twelve, shortly after his father’s death. Frances, absent in those twelve years of life, tells him at one point that she would have come to see him right away, had she known what kind of person he was. They’ll never get closer to showing affection in the movie.

During the struggles of mother and son, however, another interesting player appears on the scene. No, about Small Frank (is he a reincarnation or not?) you better know as little as possible; it is Paris itself that deserves a mention. The Paris of ‘French Exit’ is in fact a kind of agglomeration of time periods, a mixture of past and present, which is regularly reflected in the costumes and furnishings. It’s applied subtly, with never too much ostentation, helping to weave it into the film almost unobtrusively. A stylistic decision like this could, like other aspects of the film, be used for comedy, but that hasn’t happened. It mainly has an alienating effect, as if something is not right. What it means is an entirely different story. Comparisons can be made with the characters, who are also constantly caught up in switching back between past and present, but it is actually fitting that some ambiguity remains. After all, it keeps the viewing experience alive.

Azazel Jacobs has made a strange film. In the world of “French Exit,” absurdities are taken for granted and black cats are not seen as evil for a change. People talk to each other all the time and cell phones are completely absent. The film is not accessible to everyone, but somewhere it is nice to see something original.