Interesteg What makes it different from others?

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

nqure Meg & Nick are a middle-class couple travelling for a nostalgic trip to Paris. The first brief scene on the Eurostar sets the tone, a couple who bicker & get on each other's nerves.Paris, the city of lovers becomes an ironic background for a couple whose sense of familiarity brings contempt. A young couple walk hand-in-hand as Meg & Nick sit bickering. Paris, though, also represents the Bohemian, radical ideas & sexual liberation.Each manages to push & press the buttons that winds the other up. Meg hurts Nick physically, once in a scene that had me genuinely roaring as she pushes him away when he wants to spank her & he falls over on the cobbles, hurting his knee. As the film reaches the final act, there is a danger that she might hurt him emotionally. I didn't pick up all the Beckettian nuances on a first viewing but there are there: the (obvious) visit to the dramatist's grave at Montparnasse; the quotation; & Nick's montage containing his photo in the hotel.The first Act revolves around them walking around Paris, a visit to a restaurant before an escapade leads to the turning point where Nick bumps into an old college acquaintance, Morgan (excellently played by Goldblum). Morgan has an exciting Parisian lifestyle as a published author; a younger wife smitten with him; & a glittering circle of interesting friends. The two men even look different: one suave, smartly casual, a bundle of energy, the other bearded, bespectacled & weather-beaten. Morgan is a gourmand tucking into life with zest. At the party, Meg meets Jean Pierre, who offers the glimpse of another more radical possibility.In the final act, Meg & Nick are apart, underlining the gap between them following an argument provoked by Nick's jealousy. Meg's rancour is an antidote to Eve's, (Morgan's current wife), gushing idealism. Meanwhile, Nick encounters a teenager in his bedroom away from the party, who turns out to be Morgan's son from his first marriage. The two bond. This scene is pivotal. Nick lets slip his love & need for Meg just at the point when it looks like she could hurt him. The final set-piece is Nick's self-deprecating confessional at the dinner-table where he swats aside Morgan's effusive praise of him to reveal the true state of things in his life. What shines through is Nick's authenticity, "The self I hide in myself" & in that moment, we see that the core of the man Meg fell in love with, remains. As in 'Waiting for Godot', it's like optimism & pessimism being shackled together (The characters in Words & Music are perhaps more appropriate, the source of the quotation. I'm not familiar with the play but Nick is associated with music, Bob Dylan & Nick Drake) . Misery is funny. Yet the great tragic absurdist is also quoted by Nick on love: "Do we mean love when we say love?' The film is about a lot of darkness before the light. There is more to love. Meg is cool & detached yet she feeds Nick her soup in the first restaurant where he sits contentedly: "This is where I want to be forever." Meg soon undercuts this feeling of well-being. Before the party, she picks out a suave blazer with care. And at the party following Nick's confessional, she makes a confession of her own that salvages things between them. This becomes a positive end of sorts, though Kureishi in the foreword to his script states the end is provisional "& the questions they ask have to be confronted repeatedly".The film is, in many ways, a two-hander, a study of a marriage where each partner may want something different from the other depending on their temperament. The performances by Broadbent & Duncan capture the nuances of each of their characters. It is a suitable companion piece to Julie Delphy's witty 'Two Days in Paris". Delpy even looks like a younger Lindsay Duncan, with high cheek bones & luminous porcelain skin & cool demeanour . In that film, Delpy plays a Parisian with a neurotic American boyfriend so that the film is also about cross continent relations. Like 'Le Weekend', the couple too face an emotional turning point, and both end with each couple dancing, a temporary resolution immersed in the moment.

gavin6942 A British couple return to Paris many years after their honeymoon there in an attempt to rejuvenate their marriage.So ,I watched this because it has Jeff Goldblum. Not one of his finer roles, not one he is going to be known for. But, still glad i watched it. This was pretty decent, and not at all the "romance" or "romantic comedy" it sort of makes itself out to be. Much more introspective about growing older, both in and out of relationships.We need more movies with Jeff Goldblum. Maybe not as an older man who ignores his kid and goes through multiple marriages. Though, at this point in his life, that might not be too far removed from the real thing.

TxMike We saw this on DVD, the extra is interesting as the writer and director (who also directed Notting Hill) had the idea for the story then went and spent a weekend in Paris to see what couples might do, to make the story seem more real. And that is a strong point of the movie, it seems very real.The couple are Lindsay Duncan as Meg and Jim Broadbent as Nick. They have been married for 30 years and it seems their relationship has gotten a bit stale. So maybe a romantic weekend in Paris will rejuvenate things. But not so fast, there are some things boiling under the surface with both of them, making it a quite challenging weekend.A pleasant surprise is Jeff Goldblum. I always enjoy his characters, he has a way about acting that takes a plain role and makes it more interesting than it has a right to be. Here he is Morgan, an old friend of Nick's from college. Morgan seems very well off, and very cheerful with his pretty, young, and pregnant second wife. He assumes Nick is equally well off. In fact when Nick and Meg went to Morgan's place in the evening by invitation, with a number of guests, mostly intellectuals, Morgan proceeds to explain how Nick was his influence as a young man, how knowing Nick and the things he stood for propelled Morgan to success in his career. But Nick gave a quite different talk, and put everything into perspective. Things weren't going well at all.At first it seems Nick and Meg are not age-matched very well but in fact the actors are almost the same age, he about 63 during filming and she about 62. They were celebrating 30 years. My wife and I enjoyed it, in fact it allowed us to reminisce about our own trips to Paris and other parts of Europe, dealing with the foreign languages, the strange hotels and strange menus. All the main actors are superb.SPOILERS: What Meg didn't know was Nick had been sacked from his job as a small college professor. Apparently he told a girl "If you would spend less time on your hair and more time on your studies..." and a complaint got him booted. What Nick didn't know is Meg was fed up with her teaching job and wanted to do something different, and it seemed that may mean leaving Nick completely. Which would have devastated him. But in the process they clearly realize how much they love each other, even though they found they could not pay their very high hotel bill when it was time to leave. Morgan to the rescue!!

peter-ramshaw-1 Well acted and poignant at times, this movie just missed out on being great because it is too slow. Sure, I realise it's a slow burn, a noir, all that but, at the risk of repeating myself, it was just too damn slow! And, worse, no resolution. Goldblum is again great, I just wish his part had done something of substance rather than just seem lofty. Likewise the female lead whose terrific performance was marred by the writer's determination to paint her as a bitch (or at least almost). The lead actor is terrific as he always is, and that's the problem with him. He's the same as he always is. There's little originality here and he comes across as a (very) poor man's 'Lost in Translation'. Terrific cast, great idea,disappointing.