20160215: Comedy Review--What's in a Name

Name: What's in a Name? (2012)
IMDb: link to What's in a Name? page

Genres: Drama   Country of origin: France.

Cast: Patrick Bruel as Vincent, Valérie Benguigui as Élisabeth, Charles Berling as Pierre, Guillaume de Tonquedec as Claude, Judith El Zein as Anna, Françoise Fabian as Françoise.

Written and directed by: Alexandre de La Patellièrre, Matthieu Delaporte.

The Three Acts:

The initial tableaux:
The film starts in the 9th arrondissement in Paris.  Pierre and Élisabeth (called Babu by most) are hosting a small dinner party.  The daughter and son hopefully will stay asleep.  Babu's brother Vincent arrives, and draws interest in the name of his pre-natal son with his wife. Trombonist and long time family friend Claude joins the group.  Considerably later, Vincent's wife Anna arrives.

Delineation of conflicts:
Vincent's choice for the son's name is quite offensive, and a debate rages over it.  Much emotional heat is generated as a result; tempers warm more than a bit.

Later, Vincent admits that the announced name was a joke, but the hurt feelings remain.  Worse, the admission comes only after Vincent and Pierre have wounded each other with words.  The group continues skewering each other with sharp speech.

Resolution: Can the group resume their usual warm relationships?  Several harsh buried truths surface during the verbal fencing.

One line summary: Battle royale with words.

Statistics:

Cinematography: 9/10 Almost all the footage was of interior shots, and was especially well done.

Sound: 8/10 Well done, though a little minimalist.

Acting: 10/10 Fine all around.

Screenplay: 9/10 This film runs like a play: lots of dialog, well planned, well delivered, almost all in one room.  Dialog is the centre of the movie, and it is executed very well.

Final rating: 9/10