Le Week-End
| Le Week-End | |
|---|---|
 British release poster | |
| Directed by | Roger Michell |
| Written by | Hanif Kureishi |
| Produced by | Kevin Loader |
| Starring | Jim Broadbent Lindsay Duncan Jeff Goldblum |
| Cinematography | Nathalie Durand |
| Edited by | Kristina Hetherington |
| Music by | Jeremy Sams[1] |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Curzon Film World (United Kingdom) ARP Sélection (France) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom France |
| Languages | English French |
| Box office | $2.2 million[2] |
Le Week-End is a 2013 British-French drama film directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi. The film is the fourth collaboration between Michell and Kureishi, who both began developing the story seven years prior during a weekend trip to Montmartre.[3] It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[4]
Plot
Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg Burrows (Lindsay Duncan) are a married academic couple from Birmingham advancing in age and tension. To mark their 30th wedding anniversary, the two embark on a trip to the place they honeymooned three decades before: Paris. Hoping to rejuvenate their marriage, the couple arrives in Paris only for things not to go as planned. Eventually, the two bump into Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), with whom Nick went to university and who is now a successful writer, and attend a dinner party of his that ultimately opens up a new view of life and love for the aging couple.
Cast
- Jim Broadbent as Nick Burrows
- Lindsay Duncan as Meg Burrows
- Jeff Goldblum as Morgan
- Olly Alexander as Michael, Morgan's son by his first marriage
- Judith Davis as Eve, Morgan's second wife
Reception
Le Week-End received positive reviews upon its release. Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 89% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 123 reviews with a "Certified Fresh" rating, with an average score of 7.4/10. The site's consensus states: "Topped with bittersweet humor but possessing surprisingly thorny depths, Le Week-End offers a sophisticated, well-acted portrait of late-life struggles and long-term marriage."[5] On Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 74 (citing "generally favourable") based on 27 reviews.[6]
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, stating, "This fourth collaboration between director Roger Michell and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi is pleasurably supple in its mood shifts between droll verbal comedy and penetrating emotional truth. While not without touches of precious affectation, the film is imbued with an engaging mix of warmth and prickliness by the lovely, lived-in performances of Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan."[7] Dennis Harvey of Variety also praised the direction, writing, and lead performances calling the film a "bittersweet, charming [...] display of keenly intelligent craftsmanship on all levels [that] should appeal to the same mature audiences that embraced the creators’ 2006 Venus."[8]
References
- ^ "Jeremy Sams Scoring Roger Michell's 'Le Week-End'". Film Music Reporter. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ "Le Week-End". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ^ Gritten, David (11 October 2013). "Hanif Kureishi and Roger Michell on Le Week-End: 'We find each other very annoying'". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ "Le Week-End". TIFF. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Le Week-End - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Le Week-End Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ Rooney, David (6 September 2013). "Le Week-end: Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ Harvey, Dennis (8 September 2013). "Toronto Film Review: 'Le Week-End'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2013.