Merci Docteur Rey

A black comedy with a parade of unlikeable characters, but with occasional touches of grace that kept me watching. Dianne Wiest, usually great in funny or funky roles, is squintingly annoying and unconvincing as the puffy diva mother, but Jane Birkin nails the egotistically insecure psych patient (her changing into a nice frock to meet the Diva is a visual pun.) Slavic-cheeked Stanislas Merhar of Gerard Depardieu's 'Count of Monte Cristo' is well-cast as the Diva's cruising son, and Bulle Ogier, almost unrecognisable from the tour-de-force Dominatrix in 'La Maitresse', as the opera director who cribs from a psych textbook is fun. Like the movie itself which swings wildly from murder mystery to farce, the language swings from English to French; subtitles on the DVD come in handy.

An extra half-star for the Parisian street scenes and Penelope's apartment. 5 1/2 stars

This movie is a true original and very entertaining. We have not seen anything like it before and will probably not see anything like it again until the director makes his second film. Very well-acted, handsomely directed and shot, clever use of sets and costumes. Bulle Ogier is as good as in her films by Rivette, Bunuel, Fassbinder, Tanner, Schroeder and the great Werner S. Wiest, Birkin and Merhar are excellent.

Uproarious cameos by Vanessa Redgrave and Jerry Hall. If only Merchant-Ivory (the producers) would take risks like this more often!

With a cast this good--and diverse--and a director who may not know how (or care) to produce standard comedy effects but clearly understands how to give good performers their best chance, MERCI DOCTEUR REY will probably become one of those movies that 10 per cent of us call classic and the other 90 loathe. Count me among the 10.

A low-key paean to the delights of narcissism and diva-dom and a clever rap on the knuckles of sloppy psychotherapy, "Merci" brings together Dianne Wiest as an opera-star mom, her adorable son (Stanislas Merhar of "Dry Cleaning" fame), Jane Birkin as the titular shrink's patient, Bulle Ogier as an opera director, Simon Callow as "the man" and a great cameo from Vanessa Redgrave. (Even Jerry Hall seems at home in this illustrious company!) Writer/director Andrew Litvak has assembled a screw-ball comedy where the chuckles start small; if you're still there by film's ends (it has around four of them, but since three are hilarious, you won't mind), you may be sporting a grin as wide as your face.

The biggest gem among these actor jewels is Jane Birkin. Is there another performer who can use her gawky, horsey charm to such wonderful effect? Don't think so. The "wallflower" scene alone is worth a world of lesser movies. Merchant/Ivory-produced, the film didn't even make it into specialized release (though it appears to have been popular at certain film festivals). Thank god for DVDs!

I went to see it because the reviews were so mixed - I couldn't resist. And I have to say I was very impressed. For all the people who complain about the (gloriously) contrived plot, I would like to point out that it's certainly no more implausible than Bunuel or Almodovar, and I doubt that people would level the same accusations at them. For some reason it seems that it's fine to explain nothing in a film, but unpardonable to explain things via outrageous coincidence.

If you like 'quirky' French films, knowing in-jokes, and Paris then you should go and see this film. But on the other hand, if you're an old curmudgeon whose disbelief couldn't be suspended with industrial lifting equipment then stay away.

PS Though I do agree about the cheeky poster... It's full of blink-and-you'll-miss-it-cameos!

My wife and I saw this for the third time at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Festival, although it's not really a "gay" film as some would expect. While it is painted on a backdrop about a gay young man, this is a classic murder comedy in the best European tradition, from a writer/director with a tremendous future. Andrew Litvack has created a fresh, original, funny and mature screenplay and populated it with wonderful onscreen talent guided with a sure and confident hand. What was amazing to me is that every time I have seen this film, I find more wonderful surprises in subtle looks, photos on the wall, costumes, etc. Normally I do not have the patience to sit through a film twice, let alone three times! I will be pleased if offered the opportunity to see it again. It's truly a wonderful film.