WE'LL END UP TOGETHER
***
Director: Guillaume Canet
Screenwriters: Guillaume Canet and Rodolphe Lauga
Principal cast:
François Cluzet
Marion Cotillard
Gilles Lellouche
Laurent Lafitte
Benoît Magimel
Pascale Arbillot
Clémentine Baert
Tatiana Gousseff
Country: France/Belgium
Classification: M
Runtime: 134 mins.
Australian release date: 6 August 2020.
Mon Dieu! Almost ten years after this group of amis got together on-screen for Little White Lies, the director, Guillaume Canet, has reunited the gang in We’ll End Up Together. The second highest-grossing French film in its home territory last year, it is bound to be a success here too because it was very well received at the recent Alliance Française French Film Festival. It will no doubt garner a new audience and will certainly bring back those who enjoyed the company of this Gallic crew in its forerunner.
It’s off-season, and restaurateur Max (François Cluzet) has arrived at the beautiful Cap Ferret holiday house where he and his friends partied in Little White Lies, only this time he’s alone; his businesses aren’t going well and he’s come to put the place on the market. He’s also about to turn 60, so when his old friends turn up to celebrate, he is not too happy. He has become estranged from them and they’ve gone their separate ways in recent years and he now has a new partner, Sabine (Clémentine Baert), so their sudden arrival sets him on a downward spiral. His relationships with these pals from the past include angry, heavy drinking Marie (Marion Cotillard), mother of a young son; Eric (Gilles Lellouche), who’s now a famous actor and who’s arrived with his baby daughter and the nanny from hell, Catherine (Tatiana Gousseff), plus his friend slash assistant slash driver Antoine (Laurent Lafitte); and Vincent (Benoît Magimel), who has ‘come out’ and has brought his new boyfriend. Throw in a few others, and various children of different ages, and Max is caught up between fond memories of past summer holidays and his current-day anxieties. It’s a recipe rich in potential for disaster or laughter... or, maybe, both.
Cluzet gives a fine performance as a broken man coming to grips with the miserable state of his affairs and feeling like he has failed in life. In fact, the entire ensemble is in excellent form, unsurprising really, as the cast contains many of the crème de la crème of French cinema. One of the pleasures of We’ll End Up Together is watching these talented actors work together. And it’s a good thing, too, because the characters they are portraying aren’t nearly as likeable, as all of them are self-centred and egocentric, at least until they come together to rally around Max. As the very busy story moves along (the plot has everything but the kitchen sink!), we are taken on a journey of self-discovery, pain and the realisation that life throws up all kinds of ordeals, even if there are some laughs along the way. It’s all a bit long-winded and a superfluous marine adventure, in particular, could easily have been left on the cutting room floor. Indeed, this entire yarn should have been told more succinctly because, at two-and-a-quarter hours, it wears out its welcome. By the time it’s over, we have sat through a number of excitable soirees, consumed innumerable bottles of wine, gone on a parachute jump, been through the aforementioned nautical escapade and learned all about the friends’ missing years, all set to a vibrant soundtrack (the playlist, though, is another of the film’s pleasures). C’est un peu trop!
When Canet was asked if he was thinking about bringing these characters back together again in another ten years, he replied, “Right now, no, because I have nothing more to say, but ten years ago I couldn't picture it happening, so never say never. There's a chance that when I'm 55, I'll think, hey, why not? It also depends on the public's reaction to We’ll End Up Together.” So, be prepared, there’s every chance we’ll be seeing Max, Eric, Marie and the gang again in 2029.
Screenwriters: Guillaume Canet and Rodolphe Lauga
Principal cast:
François Cluzet
Marion Cotillard
Gilles Lellouche
Laurent Lafitte
Benoît Magimel
Pascale Arbillot
Clémentine Baert
Tatiana Gousseff
Country: France/Belgium
Classification: M
Runtime: 134 mins.
Australian release date: 6 August 2020.
Mon Dieu! Almost ten years after this group of amis got together on-screen for Little White Lies, the director, Guillaume Canet, has reunited the gang in We’ll End Up Together. The second highest-grossing French film in its home territory last year, it is bound to be a success here too because it was very well received at the recent Alliance Française French Film Festival. It will no doubt garner a new audience and will certainly bring back those who enjoyed the company of this Gallic crew in its forerunner.
It’s off-season, and restaurateur Max (François Cluzet) has arrived at the beautiful Cap Ferret holiday house where he and his friends partied in Little White Lies, only this time he’s alone; his businesses aren’t going well and he’s come to put the place on the market. He’s also about to turn 60, so when his old friends turn up to celebrate, he is not too happy. He has become estranged from them and they’ve gone their separate ways in recent years and he now has a new partner, Sabine (Clémentine Baert), so their sudden arrival sets him on a downward spiral. His relationships with these pals from the past include angry, heavy drinking Marie (Marion Cotillard), mother of a young son; Eric (Gilles Lellouche), who’s now a famous actor and who’s arrived with his baby daughter and the nanny from hell, Catherine (Tatiana Gousseff), plus his friend slash assistant slash driver Antoine (Laurent Lafitte); and Vincent (Benoît Magimel), who has ‘come out’ and has brought his new boyfriend. Throw in a few others, and various children of different ages, and Max is caught up between fond memories of past summer holidays and his current-day anxieties. It’s a recipe rich in potential for disaster or laughter... or, maybe, both.
Cluzet gives a fine performance as a broken man coming to grips with the miserable state of his affairs and feeling like he has failed in life. In fact, the entire ensemble is in excellent form, unsurprising really, as the cast contains many of the crème de la crème of French cinema. One of the pleasures of We’ll End Up Together is watching these talented actors work together. And it’s a good thing, too, because the characters they are portraying aren’t nearly as likeable, as all of them are self-centred and egocentric, at least until they come together to rally around Max. As the very busy story moves along (the plot has everything but the kitchen sink!), we are taken on a journey of self-discovery, pain and the realisation that life throws up all kinds of ordeals, even if there are some laughs along the way. It’s all a bit long-winded and a superfluous marine adventure, in particular, could easily have been left on the cutting room floor. Indeed, this entire yarn should have been told more succinctly because, at two-and-a-quarter hours, it wears out its welcome. By the time it’s over, we have sat through a number of excitable soirees, consumed innumerable bottles of wine, gone on a parachute jump, been through the aforementioned nautical escapade and learned all about the friends’ missing years, all set to a vibrant soundtrack (the playlist, though, is another of the film’s pleasures). C’est un peu trop!
When Canet was asked if he was thinking about bringing these characters back together again in another ten years, he replied, “Right now, no, because I have nothing more to say, but ten years ago I couldn't picture it happening, so never say never. There's a chance that when I'm 55, I'll think, hey, why not? It also depends on the public's reaction to We’ll End Up Together.” So, be prepared, there’s every chance we’ll be seeing Max, Eric, Marie and the gang again in 2029.