Plot: What’s it about?
Kevin Kline plays Mathias Gold. He is travels to Paris to liquidate a very valuable apartment. It’s when he gets there that he discovers an old lady, Mathilde (Maggie Smith) living with her daughter, Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas). Needless to say, he’s a little shocked and confused at first. Mathias soon learns that the apartment is a Viager. It’s to be used for buying and selling apartments. Also to his surprise is that he won’t be able to get possession of the apartment until Mathilde dies. Talk about wishful thinking. Mathias even goes to speak to a nurse one day to inquire about Mathilde’s health. The nurse informs him that she’s basically in top form. We see Mathias meeting with an investor to talk about the potential money he can make from the apartments, and he ensures the man that if he’s allowed one week, he won’t speak to anyone else about selling the property. This lays the ground work for the film. One can pretty much pinpoint exactly where it’s headed early on. Did that dampen my enjoyment of the film? Let’s see.
I will be the first to admit that this type of film really isn’t “my thing”. It’s not that I had my mind made up, it’s just that these films tend to hold little appeal to me. Much to my surprise, however, the film was quite entertaining. If you can get past the rather slow beginning, it really starts to work its way on you. We learn nice details about the handful of characters we’re introduced to and I admit that I did care about them. I think having a solid cast also benefits the film. With lesser actors, it might’ve fallen apart. As predictable as it is, I still was willing to go along for the ride. The film has its share of problems including some bits played for laughs that really don’t work, but ultimately, it does more right than wrong. On that basis I can recommend it. Is this a film I need to watch over and over? Not at all, but it’s well worth checking out once. Don’t get me started on that silly title, either.
Video: How’s it look?
Presented in a 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer, the film does look pretty darn good. And this isn’t Kline’s first foray into the city of lights (I’m referring to 1995’s French Kiss). Still, the overall image is solid, detail is top notch which isn’t necessarily a good thing with three aging actors, and colors are generally warm and well-balanced. The interior shots seem a bit soft, though some of the exterior shots of Paris more than make up for it. It’s indicative as to what we’d expect from a new to Bl-Ray film.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I actually really liked this DTS HD Master Audio score. The score uses a combination of Paul Mehling and Mark Orton as they combine to give a pretty interesting “gypsy jazz” twist to what could have been bland and uneventful. Vocals are rich and crisp, Kline has never had a problem with dictation and it shows here. The surrounds offer up some surprisingly good moments of ambiance. Add it all up and it’s actually a pretty interesting track.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Interview with Kevin Kline and Israel Horovitz – The lone supplement on this disc isn’t really that mind-blowing and/or breathtaking. It’s, as the title suggests, an interview with the Academy Award winning actor and the Director who share some insight on the film and so forth.
