Molière (2007); French farce drama film review

Poster artwork for the French farce film Molière.

 Farcial French Fun by Linh

French farce is brilliantly transposed from the stage to the screen under the masterful direction of Laurent Tirard for the film Molière. Director Laurent Tirard concocts a farcial romantic comedy which revolves around the mysterious disappearance of playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (later using the stage name Molière), who was imprisoned for not paying his debts.

Laurent Tirard and co-writer Grégoire Vigneron fill in the gaps of Poquelin’s absence of several months by creating an inspiring, enlightening and entertaining romp with characters and plots taken from three of Moliere’s most famous plays.

STAGE CRAFT: Monsieur Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), Tartuffe (Romain Duris) and Elmire (Laura Morante) in a scene from Molière. Image: Fidélité Productions.

The film opens with the now famous Molière, who is master of French farce and comedy plays, and his troupe of talented performers preparing to stage a play for the King. Yet, Molière wishes to perform a tragedy rather than one of his popular comedies or farces. He believes comedy is shallow and tragedy is the only pure theatrical art, but after a visit to a dying unseen woman, he decides to put quill to parchment and ink a new comedy for the troupe.

The film then flashbacks thirteen years earlier, to a time when Molière was a young and failed actor, known by his real name Jean-Baptiste Poquelin.

A ridiculously rich nobleman, Monsieur Jourdain (character from Molière’s play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme – The Middle Class Gentleman) pays bail and repays Poquelin’s debts in exchange for the actor in helping him woo the beautiful and witty widow Célimène (character from Molière’s play Le Misanthrope – The Misanthrope), despite already married to Elmire (character from Molière’s play Tartuffe – The Hypocrite). The fun begins when Poquelin disguises himself as a priest named Tartuffe whom Monsieur Jourdain pretends to employ as a tutor for his youngest daughter.  As Monsieur Jourdain seeks the affections of Célimène, Tartuffe falls in love with Jourdain’s wife, Elmire.

ON CUE: Célimène (Ludivine Sagnier) is intrigued by the mysterious Poquelin (Romain Duris) in the film Molière. Image: Fidélité Productions.

Outstanding performances from the entire cast, makes Molière an absolute joy to watch and easy to follow whether or not you are reading the subtitles.

Romain Duris plays Poquelin/Tartuffe/ Molière who saves the marriage of a repentant man, stops a bad marriage and brings laughter to the masses.

Duris gives a sensationally comic performance as Poquelin/Tartuffe/ Molière, and shines under the shaggy hair and moustache. Duris brings charm and vigour to his character throughout.

Fabrice Luchini provides a powerhouse performance as the lovestruck Monsieur Jourdain, with impeccable comic timing as his character fumbles about in failed attempts to learn the acting techniques for the play he wishes to stage for Célimène. Watch for his outstanding scene in drag as he regains his dignity and respect over the pretentious Célimène.

Laura Morante is the sensible and sensitive wife of Monsieur Jourdain, Elmire, who immediately suspects Tartuffe is a fake underneath his priest costume. Morante blends drama and comedy to give an air of mystery about Elmire and her romantic fling with Tartuffe is fun to watch as she tells him how to make a name for himself through comedy.

A contrasting character to Elmire is the bewitching shrew, Célimène, who also happens to be the object of affection for Elmire’s husband. Ludivine Sagnier portrays the chilly, pretty and extravagant Célimène with aplomb. Célimène loves self-penned love poems and prose, and her main goal is to surround herself with admirers, each of whom she endeavours to persuade that he is the favoured one. She then proceeds to rip them apart with her malicious wit.

Molière’s passion for the arts and obsession with the theatre becomes a subplot in the film, as the majority of the characters must ‘act’ in order to meet their needs. Art imitates life and life imitates art as each person becomes Molière’s characters in his farces and comedic plays.

Stellar performances from the supporting cast, the exquisite costumes, lavish sceneries, compelling music and the setting of the film in 17th century France makes Molière a wonderful tribute to one of history’s greatest playwrights.

IN THE MOMENT: Poquelin (Romain Duris) wins Elmire's  (Laura Morante) trust in Molière. Image: Fidélité Productions.

Director: Laurent Tirard

Writers: Laurent Tirard (screenplay), Grégoire Vigneron (screenplay) 

Cast: Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante, Ludivine Sagnier, Edouard Baer, Fanny Valette, Gonzague Montuel, Gilian Petrovski, Sophie-Charlotte Husson, Anne Suarez, Annelise Hesme, Luc Tremblais, Nicolas Vaude, Isabelle Caubère, Philippe Du Janerand 

Producers: Christine De Jekel, Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier 

Original Music: Frédéric Talgorn 

Cinematography: Gilles Henry 

Film Editor: Valérie Deseine

Costume Designer: Pierre-Jean Larroque 

Language: French with English subtitles

Running Time: 2 hours