From NYFF: ‘French Exit’ is a Rare Disjunctive Delight

It’s eccentric with a capital “E” and a complete tonal mishmash that shouldn’t work on a conceptual level, but director Azazel Jacobs’ absurdist satire “French Exit” salvages a vibrant, beating heart from the unlikeliest of places. Speaking in a press conference after the film’s premiere as the closing entry of the 58th New York Film Festival, Jacobs said that “French Exit” was a film about “lonely people feeling less lonely as they find each other.” It’s a simple platitude, but ultimately a message that delivers in “French Exit,” with the help of a talented ensemble cast, a witty screenplay, an emotional conclusion, and a powerhouse performance from Michelle Pfeiffer.

Jacobs’ film, adapted from Patrick deWitt’s novel of the same name, follows quirky aristocrat Frances Price (Pfeiffer), who moves to Paris when she loses most of her wealth. She is accompanied by her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and her cat, who is later revealed to be her reincarnated husband (Tracy Letts). Soon, the Prices’ Parisian apartment becomes a cluttered home for misfits which include a psychic, a wealthy American widow, a private investigator and, at one point, even Malcolm’s ex-girlfriend and her would-be fiancé.

The ensemble cast does their best to bring a high level of energy to the film, but it’s hard to see what Jacobs is saying about these characters other than pointing out that they’re all quirky and lonely. There’s nearly no meaningful interactions between these characters aside from exaggerating those two features, and such lack of depth gets frustrating. As with most novel adaptations, it should be expected that a lot had to be shed from deWitt’s novel to meet a limited runtime, but it would have been nice to see the talented cast build more than trivial rapport.

But while Jacobs fails to build a memorable supporting cast, their interactions at least buoy audiences’ attention. deWitt, who is also credited as the film's screenwriter, injects “French Exit” with fast paced quippy dialogue delivered with a hilarious deadpan spin. Yes, it does feel derivative of some Wes Anderson scripts, but it's an approach that really works in Jacobs’ film.

At the end of the day, “French Exit” lives and dies by Pfeiffer’s performance. This is easily the best that Pfeiffer has been in decades, and she once again proves her power as a magnetic screen presence. Here, she walks the fine line between insufferable and naively quirky, and her character’s constant push and pull with mental health grounds the film in a consistent direction whenever it delves too far into the ensemble’s quirky schtick. “French Exit” could be the film that finally gives her Oscar gold after a storied career with three nominations.

That said, “French Exit” will be divisive. It’s a film that peers into the gaudy, insular society of Manhattan aristocrats in a year where such a lifestyle couldn’t be more unpopular with general audiences. But when the Prices lose (some of) their (still relatively large) fortune and move to Paris, Jacobs never asks audiences to pity them. If anything, he takes their most egregious qualities and emphasizes them to form a satire about how the absurdities of the Price's lifestyle have created deeply entrenched emotional detachment. It’s only in this hyper-absurdity that audiences can invest their emotions in these characters.

And at the end of the film, it’s surprising how successful that approach is and how much one is made to care about the stakes — of abandonment and finding second chances. While Jacobs’ film is a bit here and there and all over the place, it hits the right notes thematically when it’s supposed to, and in the end, isn’t that what people go to the movies for?

“French Exit” premiered at the New York Film Festival on Oct. 10 and is scheduled for a theatrical release on Feb. 2021.

—Staff writer Lanz Aaron G. Tan can be reached at lanzaaron.tan@thecrimson.com and on twitter @LanzAaronGTan1.