Kings and Queen (Rois et Reine)

As Nora Cotterelle (Emmanuelle Devos, "Read My Lips") deals with the impending death of her father in Grenoble, she reflects on husbands and lovers past and present in "Kings and Queen." Meanwhile, back in Paris one of the five important men in her life, Ismaël Vuillard (Mathieu Amalric, "Alice et Martin"), is being committed to a mental institution against his will by an unknown third party. The ex-couple only cross paths twice in the film, over Nora's wish that Ismaël adopt her son Elias (Valentin Lelong) by her first, deceased husband Pierre (Joachim Salinger) as she prepares to marry the wealthy Jean-Jacques (Olivier Rabourdin, "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc"). Laura: Cowriter (with Roger Bohbot, "The Dreamlife of Angels")/director Arnaud Desplechin's ("Esther Kahn") film is overstuffed with characters and ideas and literary references and musical styles and the diametrically opposed dramas of tragedy and comedy, and yet it is vibrant and alive and he's made it work. This is a totally unique portrait of one woman's tragedy and her ex-lover's comical rise from the ashes that encompasses themes of parental favor and sibling rivalries, sex vs. love, emotional neediness and mental stability. Throw in a couple of robberies, a breakdance and two haunting visits from beyond the grave and you have the richly chaotic tapestry that is "Kings and Queen." There are many parallels between the two story strands that Desplechin weaves around each other. Nora chooses a provocative print of "Leda and the Swan" as a birthday gift for her father while Ismaël informs psychiatric evaluator Mme Vasset (Catherine Deneuve, "8 Women") that women have no souls as she sits beneath a reproduction of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus". He claims a fine relationship with his sister Elizabeth (Noémie Lvovsky, "My Wife Is an Actress") before a flashback reveals their last contentious meeting involving a cash gift. Nora receives a phone call from sister Chloe (Nathalie Boutefeu, "Son frère") looking for money from their dad. Nora's calm, responsible exterior masks a turbulent emotional background while Ismaël is manic and eccentric on the outside but also turns out to be compassionate and sensible in his reasoning. Their closest friends appear to be employees - Nora is aided in crisis by her assistant Claude (Geoffrey Carey, "Cousin Bette") while Ismaël has great affection for his pill-popping lawyer Maître Marc Mamanne (Hippolyte Girardot, "Jump Tomorrow") (the duo's robbery of the hospital pharmacy set to klezmer music is a comic highlight). "Kings and Queen" has so much content, no description is likely to do it justice. So many things about it usually constitute negative criticism, yet Desplechin pulls his elements together like some kind of grand symphony. Even his musical choices, beginning with Henry Macini's bookending "Moon River" (annoyingly loud in the sound mix at first), then careening through film genres and pop styles, seem thoroughly disparate yet achieve a crazy cohesion within the director's framework. The film is broken into two chapters, "Nora" and "Cruel Releases," and an epilogue, but neither chapter ignores one of the storylines and there is a beautiful balance, even shifting from comedy to tragedy. The actors are all superb. The sublime face of Emmanuelle Devos reflects an incredible array of our own perceptions as she moves from caring daughter to some kind of mythic monster and back. Cesar winner Mathieu Amalric keeps us guessing as to whether he's comically indignant or a crazy clown, but his humanity is never in doubt. Maurice Garrel ("Son frère") delivers a shocking soliloquy with Shakespearean weight after his frail representation of Nora's father which precedes it. Ismaël's father is played by Jean-Paul Roussillon ("Baxter") with hearty health and optimism. A scene where he takes out three would-be thieves is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Noémie Lvovsky makes a strong impression as Ismaël's grasping and spiteful sister whereas than Nathalie Boutefeu pales in scenes with Devos. Joachim Salinger plays two very different Pierres - the one immortalized by Nora and the real one we see in flashback - without making them seem like different people. Deneuve's usual cool beauty makes her an ideal sparring partner for Amalric and an amusing contrast to Elsa Wolliaston, the large, black poetess who is his calm and nurturing shrink. Newcomer Magalie Woch creates a suicidal sprite as Arielle, the inmate out to seduce Ismaël, but she and Amalric don't have strong enough chemistry to put over one of the film's final wrap ups, perhaps the film's only falter. "Kings and Queen" offers constant surprise without ever compromising its characters in servitude to plot. It leaves us with a little mystery too, as Nora proclaims that she's loved four men, only identifying two out of the five in her life. A-

Laura's Review: A-

Cowriter (with Roger Bohbot, "The Dreamlife of Angels")/director Arnaud Desplechin's ("Esther Kahn") film is overstuffed with characters and ideas and literary references and musical styles and the diametrically opposed dramas of tragedy and comedy, and yet it is vibrant and alive and he's made it work. This is a totally unique portrait of one woman's tragedy and her ex-lover's comical rise from the ashes that encompasses themes of parental favor and sibling rivalries, sex vs. love, emotional neediness and mental stability. Throw in a couple of robberies, a breakdance and two haunting visits from beyond the grave and you have the richly chaotic tapestry that is "Kings and Queen." There are many parallels between the two story strands that Desplechin weaves around each other. Nora chooses a provocative print of "Leda and the Swan" as a birthday gift for her father while Ismaël informs psychiatric evaluator Mme Vasset (Catherine Deneuve, "8 Women") that women have no souls as she sits beneath a reproduction of Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus". He claims a fine relationship with his sister Elizabeth (Noémie Lvovsky, "My Wife Is an Actress") before a flashback reveals their last contentious meeting involving a cash gift. Nora receives a phone call from sister Chloe (Nathalie Boutefeu, "Son frère") looking for money from their dad. Nora's calm, responsible exterior masks a turbulent emotional background while Ismaël is manic and eccentric on the outside but also turns out to be compassionate and sensible in his reasoning. Their closest friends appear to be employees - Nora is aided in crisis by her assistant Claude (Geoffrey Carey, "Cousin Bette") while Ismaël has great affection for his pill-popping lawyer Maître Marc Mamanne (Hippolyte Girardot, "Jump Tomorrow") (the duo's robbery of the hospital pharmacy set to klezmer music is a comic highlight). "Kings and Queen" has so much content, no description is likely to do it justice. So many things about it usually constitute negative criticism, yet Desplechin pulls his elements together like some kind of grand symphony. Even his musical choices, beginning with Henry Macini's bookending "Moon River" (annoyingly loud in the sound mix at first), then careening through film genres and pop styles, seem thoroughly disparate yet achieve a crazy cohesion within the director's framework. The film is broken into two chapters, "Nora" and "Cruel Releases," and an epilogue, but neither chapter ignores one of the storylines and there is a beautiful balance, even shifting from comedy to tragedy. The actors are all superb. The sublime face of Emmanuelle Devos reflects an incredible array of our own perceptions as she moves from caring daughter to some kind of mythic monster and back. Cesar winner Mathieu Amalric keeps us guessing as to whether he's comically indignant or a crazy clown, but his humanity is never in doubt. Maurice Garrel ("Son frère") delivers a shocking soliloquy with Shakespearean weight after his frail representation of Nora's father which precedes it. Ismaël's father is played by Jean-Paul Roussillon ("Baxter") with hearty health and optimism. A scene where he takes out three would-be thieves is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Noémie Lvovsky makes a strong impression as Ismaël's grasping and spiteful sister whereas than Nathalie Boutefeu pales in scenes with Devos. Joachim Salinger plays two very different Pierres - the one immortalized by Nora and the real one we see in flashback - without making them seem like different people. Deneuve's usual cool beauty makes her an ideal sparring partner for Amalric and an amusing contrast to Elsa Wolliaston, the large, black poetess who is his calm and nurturing shrink. Newcomer Magalie Woch creates a suicidal sprite as Arielle, the inmate out to seduce Ismaël, but she and Amalric don't have strong enough chemistry to put over one of the film's final wrap ups, perhaps the film's only falter. "Kings and Queen" offers constant surprise without ever compromising its characters in servitude to plot. It leaves us with a little mystery too, as Nora proclaims that she's loved four men, only identifying two out of the five in her life.

Robin's Review: C

Actor Peter Riegert makes his directing debut with a story he co-wrote with Gerald Shapiro about a 50-something non-practicing Jewish guy who is dealing with his long distance father, a problem teenage daughter and the distinct possibility of losing his job to a youngster half his age. He garners the efforts of a star-studded cast to tell what is only a shallow, hard to embrace story. Riegert employs such notable actors as Isabella Rossellini (as his wife Rachel), Eric Bogosian (as a schlemiel rabbi), Eli Wallach (as Leo’s father Sol), Rita Moreno (as Sol’s girlfriend Inez), Beverly D’Angelo (as Leo’s high school heartthrob Betsy) and veteran character actor Harris Yulin (as Leo’s boss). But, the cast can’t overcome the lightweight, scattershot script. The story follows Leo’s fall and rise as he contends with a younger man, Ed (Jake Hoffman), who is covertly conniving to take his mentor’s job. He must also deal with the mortality of his Father and the rebellious nature of his daughter Elena (Ashley Johnson). And, Leo must face the results of a bad decision when, while on a business trip, he has a one nightstand with Betsy (D’Angelo). Peter Riegert’s likeability is a key factor in making me want to embrace “King of the Corner.” The actor was one of the key players as one of the rowdy frat boys in “Animal House” and was key among the many reasons that “Local Hero” is still one of my all-time favorite films. He really cemented his likeability quotient as the charming pickle seller in the sweet romance, Crossing Delancey,” opposite Amy Irving. With this track record I went into “King of the Corner” really rooting Riegert’s debut helming effort. After a decent start, with Leo leading a focus group demonstrating a voice altering phone system that makes a woman’s telephone voice sound like Gregory Peck (voice of Steve Landsberg (Detective Dietrich from TV’s “Barney Miller)), things get messy. Leo’s job problems are watered down with his child rearing problems (Elana, supposedly a problem child, comes across as a together young lady), Sol’s pending, inevitable death and Leo’s mid-life crisis. All of these issues diminish the film’s focus, making any empathy one might have diluted by too many storylines. I went into “King of the Corner” fully expecting to like the film on the strength of Riegert’s charisma. It’s unfortunate that these expectations were sorely unmet. The story should have kept it’s focus on the midlife crisis but tried to cover too much ground without exploring any fully. I sadly have to say