THE CHÂTEAU * * *
2001 - USA Director: Jesse Peretz Writers: Jesse Peretz and Thomas Bidegain Starring: Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Sylvie Testud, Donal Logue, and Didier Flamand
Reviewed by Frankie Paiva
The Château is an excellent example of a funny, interesting, and accomplished film that doesn't need a flashy visual style to succeed. It doesn't have much of a visual style at all, in fact. Shot on digital video with little regard for bright, blinding daylight or black, grainy darkness, the film isn't beautiful. Often, actually, it's quite ugly. Director and writer Jesse Peretz, however, is forgiven. His film is so rich in other elements like character, wit, and surprise that it's easy to look past the camera work. Two brothers from America are traveling to France to claim a château they've inherited from a late uncle. Graham (Paul Rudd) is a geeky, but good-hearted and well-meaning recent college graduate. Rex (Romany Malco) is a smooth-talking L.A. type with little regard for anyone other than himself. When the two arrive at their château, they run into some problems. Most of the roof is leaky or missing, everything needs to be cleaned, and many debts are left unpaid. Most difficult of all are the four members of the house staff, none of whom speak much English. The brothers have different ideas of what to do with the decrepit castle, and must work towards a solution between them and the staff. To do that they'll also have to solve the problems they have with each other. A small film like this relies on performances, and fortunately the actors deliver. Displaying much of the same charm he did in Clueless, Rudd's Graham is the emotional center point of the story. Despite his bumbling efforts with the French language (he never quite says the right thing), he is infinitely more likable and human than his brother. Malco's Rex resembles a harder-edged Chris Tucker. His dialogue for the first half of the film is often stereotypical of black characters we've seen in other movies. While both actors are excellent, Rudd is given more to work with in that his character has several notable progressions and changes throughout the film. Two supporting performances also hit strong notes. French actress Sylvie Testud (seen recently in Sade and Murderous Maids) is superb as the sweet, but secretive housemaid Isabelle. Actor Donal Logue is at his best in the small role of a hotshot, full-of-himself L.A. dealmaker who considers buying the château. I won't give away any of the quick wit or fun banter between the characters. Let's just say everyone in the theater laughed very, very loudly. That said, The Château has a serious side as well. The dramatic portion of the film is never fully developed, as it shows up late in the film, and never offers the payoff it should. Under the weight of what to do with all these different genres, the film drags in the middle, but quickly recovers. A mere seven or eight minutes cut would have made a vast improvement. Then there's the much-discussed visual style. While the raw, real look of digital video suits the film's subject matter well, the large majority of scenes in The Château take place in early morning or late at night in dark rooms. It's often quite hard to see what's happening in certain scenes, as dark colors tend to blend together and bright light blows everything out. While digital video was a better choice than film, the overall viewing experience would be hindered for those with less than perfect eyesight. Hearing should also be added to the list as many early scenes contain muffled or hard to hear dialogue. Despite it's technical difficulties, The Château is a funny little movie that deserves a bigger audience than it's probably going to get.
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