Impromptu

When I saw this during its theatrical release, it was one of the few films for which I hadn't prepared myself by reading printed reviews and checking out available TV commentators. Therefore my enjoyment was, perhaps, a little keener than it might have been otherwise. I wasn't expecting the definitive biographical treatment of the various famous artists depicted and I'm sure that wasn't the intention of the film-makers. Instead it looks like they achieved exactly what they intended, enabled by a gifted cast (especially the marvelous Judy Davis), a witty script and quite adequate (though not luxurious) production values. I suppose the ultra-demanding can complain about virtually everything in this production, but, my goodness!, it's far and away more entertaining and adult than nearly 100% of the big special effects extravaganzas pandering to today's sensation-seeking audiences.

I liked Impromptu, I liked the characters, their development, the setting, the costumes. I like it all. It was a genuinely funny film. The kids, the duel, the horse's commentary were priceless gems. The story was well written and the acting was outstanding.

George Sand (Judy Davis) a very independent character falls for Frederic Chopin (Hugh Grant) a sensitive basket case who is a genius when it comes to the piano. I understand this is a true story. I hope the original was as fresh and funny as the movie portrayal.

This excellently written, splendidly acted, marvellously sound-tracked and beautifully filmed picture is most probably the best film ever made on Chopin and Sand, that subject most difficult to approach without crashing into drab sentimentality. The film is a comedy solidly anchored in historical and biographical data and impregnated with a deep love for Chopin's music as well as an understanding of the complex relationship between him and Sand. Through its apparently light touch, the film manages to convey deep sorrow, longing, extatic joy and true sensuality (the scene where the relationship between Chopin and Sand becomes physical is a master example of how such scenes should be made: Sand's naked shoulder speaks more than hours and hours of steamy make-believe, because it is the spectator who fills in the experience in his mind). Anybody who has made music will recognise the excitement and satisfaction in the scene where Chopin and Liszt play à quatre mains and manage to find JUST the right note at JUST the right second. Witty, almost farcical comedy alternates with most delicate, expressive, sober dialogue - witness Judy Davis' face when Sand tells Chopin what the reality behind her free love propaganda is. Hugh Grant shows himself once again to be the good actor that he is when working with a good director - compare this film with "Maurice", "The Remains of the Day", "An Awfully Big Adventure". It is as if this film were an enchanted one, not a single element being amiss. And last but not least, it makes you fall in love with Chopin's music, in case for some reason it hadn't happened to you before.

Whenever I get tired of the typical summer movie featuring highly evolved apes, genetically engineered dinosaurs, and other such foolishness, I pull out my (well-used) copy of "Impromptu," and all my blues go away. Far from an expensive, smug, carefully marketed blockbuster, "Impromptu" is a thinking person's film. The plot is cleverly constructed, the costumes are lovely, and most important: What A Cast!!! Any film that puts Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin together is a winner in my book (those of us who are theatre junkies are aware of their previous marvellous collaborations), but this film manages to include Emma Thompson, Judy Davis, Julian Sands, and Hugh Grant. What fun!!!

This film is a little different than most "period" films in that its characters, although known historical figures, are real people and certainly not above swearing, throwing fits, drinking, smoking or carousing. A wonderful comedy romance with an outstanding performance by Judy Davis as George Sands.

It is also interesting to note how closely the plot of this movie resembles that of Renoir's classic "Rules of the Game": 1) group of romantically and socially inbred cityfolk go to the country, 2) romantic and social inbreeding continue in the country, 3) people slipping from room to room, 4) mistaken identity, 5) hunting in the woods, 6) big hunting scene, 7) gender-bending, 8) poking fun at the upper classes, and 9) climactic theater performance chock full of satire and causing some conflict. This similarity can be no accident.