I wish I had him as a friend
Continuing my trip up The Guardian's top 50 films of 2022
#41 : Tout s'est Bien Passé (Everything Went Fine)
André Dussollier and Sophie Marceau are outstanding in François Ozon’s wonderfully observed story about a father and daughter whose tricky relationship is upended when he asks for her help to die.
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And, we're back in French again - five of the first ten films have been in French (four English and one Finnish make up the rest). And I'd have to say my hopes for this one are much higher than all of the others - it sounds at least as though there's going to be some story to it. I do have some worry that it's going to be a bit grim, but I also think it might surprise me with its lightness of touch around what is obviously a sensitive subject. So let's see, eh?
We start with Emmanuèle (Sophie Marceau) receiving a phone call which results in her leaving in a rush - her sister Pascale (Géraldine Pailhas) has called because her father André (André Dussollier) has had a stroke and so they all meet at the hospital to see where things are heading. And things aren't fatal, but they aren't great either, with it becoming clear it's a long road back for André - which he isn't keen on, so he asks Emmanuèle to help him end things. And that's probably all you really need to know at this point - other than (obviously) things aren't quite as straightforward as my minimal description might suggest because of, like, history.
In terms of acting, it's really Sophie and André's film - and they take all the opportunities they're given. Sophie is the emotional centre of the film and she carries it well. She's forced to make difficult choices in the face of André's unsentimental view of death - trying to do her best for someone she loves, whilst at the same time being uncertain how much she really likes him and knowing that he hasn't always done his best for her in the past. I knew I recognised Sophie from a film I'd seen her in before - I was somewhat surprised to see it was her Bond girl role in The World Is Not Enough (others will know her from Braveheart, but I've never seen that film). She's got a fascinating Wikipedia entry - her first film (when she was 14) was a massive hit in France, she's turned down the Legion d'Honneur, she's a classically trained cellist, she's one of the best known Western actors in Asia and, most depressingly given how fantastic she looks, she's a couple of years older than me.
Andre has a lot less likeability to his role - he's stubborn in his pursuit of what he wants and doesn't care who he hurts to get it. But his stroke gives him some proper acting opportunities and he generally pulls them off well - he's quite sprightly for the tender age of 77. Géraldine also gets a mention for being the only other well drawn character in the film - she does a fine job, but there's certainly less to do than the main couple of roles. I'm also going to call out the film's interesting use of Charlotte Rampling - as in she's in it, but they hardly use her at all. I reckon we get fifty words out of her (tops), which makes you wonder why they bothered casting her (and why she bothered accepting the role).
The film is well written, but it most definitely concentrates its efforts where it wants to - quite a few of the characters exist for the purpose of one or two scenes and we just don't bother with them otherwise. That's not to say it doesn't dive into the detail when it wants to - for instance, at the beginning when Emmanuèle is rushing out of her flat to go to the hospital, it becomes clear she's forgotten to put her contact lenses in and so has to head back. There's no obvious reason for doing that, but that makes it all the more interesting. You also really don't know how it's going to end - but it felt very strange that at times that I found myself hoping he'd die (in the nicest possible way, obviously!).
For a male director and screenwriter (Francois Ozon), it's a film with a strong female gaze and, for me, a very believable female main character - but Wikipedia tells me that Emmanuèle was a real person and wrote a book about her experiences on which the screenplay is based, so that might explain why she's so believable. It's also interesting that, apart from André, we rarely see any of the male characters - they're very sketched out rather than fully formed. Although I am going to mention Gerard as an interesting character - you learn very early on that he exists, but it only becomes clear who he is as the film progresses (and you learn why the sisters call him "Shithead"!).
The film makes very good use of flashbacks to demonstrate the awkward familial relationships at play - taking us back to Emmanuèle's youth very effectively. Another thing I was surprised to notice about the film was its strange sense of timelessness - there are very few outside shots and all the clothes and haircuts are very neutral. Which actually makes a lot of sense because the issues it deals with haven't really progressed at all as far as I'm aware - the whole style is "unflashy" and it suits the story well. Another nice thing I noticed is that a lot of characters leave scenes early - obviously an artistic choice around leaving a situation at a time of your choosing, but it's quite a neat one.
And one thing I learned that tickled me during the film which is nothing to do with anything - D-Day is known as Jour-J in French!
So this was well written, well acted, thoroughly enjoyable and it made you think - my high expectations were well and truly exceeded. It isn't grim in the slightest - I wouldn't say it has a light touch, but it has a sure touch. The subject matter is obviously difficult (and I quite understand it will be too much for some people) but it is presented as a choice that is going to make sense in some cases, and whilst there is obviously loss and grief involved, it's only part of the story and I think the film does a good job of considering other angles.
At the time of writing, it's available to stream on Curzon - but who's got that? It can be rented in most of the usual places and I think it's well worth a watch - it's exactly the sort of film that I like to be introduced to by this list.
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