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Comedie Française (2026) Film Review
★★★
Directed by: Martin Darondeau, Bertrand Usclat
Written by: Bertrand Usclat, Martin Darondeau, Pauline Clement, Clemence Dargent
Starring: Pauline Clement, Julien Frison, Laurent Stocker, Marina Hands
Film Review by: Jason Knight
A comedy drama feature directed by Martin Darondeau and Bertrand Usclat, written by Usclat, Darondeau, Clemence Dargent and Pauline Clement and starring Clement, Julien Frison, Marina Hands and Laurent Stocker.
Things are not going smoothly at a Parisian theatre. It is the day that stage actress Nina (Clement) will have her directorial debut and the Culture Minister will be attending. The play is William Shakespeare's Macbeth, and the lead actress has just informed the crew that she will be unable to be there in time. So poor Nina finds herself having no choice but to take her place and play the part. As if this were not enough, Nina has to deal with other issues that include actress Emilie (Hands) cheating on her partner, actor Philippe (Stocker), with another actor, named Antoine (Frison), stage equipment malfunctioning, and her former partner (Nicolas Chupin) bringing their baby at the theatre and making her look after him.
The narrative is a sort of race-against-the clock plot, with the story beginning at 6pm and Nina trying to resolve all sorts of problems in order to save the show, which starts at 9pm (every half an hour, the time is shown on-screen). The whole thing is reminiscent of the 2014 Oscar-winning film Birdman, with the entire story taking place inside the theatre, multiple characters being explored, some well-executed tracking shots, and music by Clement Ducol that includes drumming. A variety of issues arise as things move on and Nina has to deal with them (she is the director after all), and what ensues is drama, awkward situations, disputes, and thoughtful moments.
As the main character, Nina is a likeable individual, a caring mother with a passion for her profession. Now she has found herself in a challenging position, having to overcome obstacles while also discovering herself. Stocker stands out as an obnoxious man, a disrespectful actor, unaware that his partner is having an affair. Nadine (Daniele Lebrun) is another interesting character, a veteran actress who is also a drug user. An intriguing subplot is the one involving Issa (Sefa Yeboah), a friendly young usher who evidently should be performing on stage.
This feature explores the world of theatre, what it is like working in this industry, be it as a performer or another position, including director, stage manager or make-up artist (the latter being approached via Sephora Pondi's character). From a different perspective, this is a story about self-esteem, self-discovery, self-reflection, family values and working towards a goal.
A somewhat short film (one hour and ten minutes) that manages to be funny and dramatic. The appearance of a certain famous French playwright adds significant quality, and so do the costumes by Chloe de Nombel.
Comedie Francaise will be in UK Cinemas from 9th October.
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