My Worst Nightmare
| My Worst Nightmare | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Anne Fontaine |
| Screenplay by | Anne Fontaine Nicolas Mercier |
| Produced by | Philippe Carcassonne Diana Elbaum Bruno Pésery Patrick Quinet Jérôme Seydoux |
| Starring | Benoît Poelvoorde Isabelle Huppert André Dussollier |
| Cinematography | Jean-Marc Fabre |
| Edited by | Luc Barnier Nelly Ollivault |
| Music by | Bruno Coulais |
| Distributed by | Pathé |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Countries | France Belgium |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $11.2 million |
| Box office | $7.1 million[1] |
My Worst Nightmare (original title: Mon pire cauchemar) is a 2011 French-Belgian comedy-drama film written and directed by Anne Fontaine, starring Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Poelvoorde and André Dussollier.
Plot
Agathe is a successful art dealer who lives with her husband François and their son Adrien in a wealthy quarter of Paris. Adrien is an underachiever at his school and Agathe fights any disadvantages that this can bring for him in parent-teacher conferences. François is more of a reserved person and procrastinates on a construction project. The situation gets stirred up when Adrien's friend Patrick, who is Tony's father, enters the picture. Tony is brilliant in his studies irrespective of his poor access to amenities, so Agathe has a soft spot for the child. And, Adrien's test results seem to be getting better. But Patrick has a rather dubious social background. He lacks both tact in social situations and a proper home or job for supporting a family. Agathe is distressed by Patrick's unpolished behavior and his intrusion into their life. Her husband François hires him to take care of the overdue construction project and they become friends. Then François cajoles a woman Patrick had wanted for himself and leaves Agathe. Patrick and Agathe are left back with the children. Agathe develops a sense of attachment for this unruly man who, au contraire to her husband, empathizes with her and is dedicated to ensuring his son can attend a respected school. But Patrick fails continuously to become responsible and they break up. Some time later they reconnect because each seems to complete the other.
Cast
- Isabelle Huppert as Agathe
- Benoît Poelvoorde as Patrick
- André Dussollier as François
- Virginie Efira as Julie
- Donatien Suner as Adrien
- Corentin Devroey as Tony
- Aurélien Recoing as Thierry
- Jean-Luc Couchard as Milou Demeuleu
- Éric Berger as Sébastien
- Philippe Magnan as the principal
Critical reception
"My worst nightmare" was evaluated as an "utterly conventional French bourgeois comedy".[2] Still it was also considered "watchable" just because of its cast.[3][4] Isabelle Huppert was in particular praised for making Agathe's transformation believable.[5] Benoît Poelvoorde's performance was recognised a "often irritable and hilarious".[6] Diego Costa wrote for Slant Magazine "My worst nightmare" was coined by a very Frenchkind of humor which could "go right over American audience's heads".[7]
See also
References
- ^ JP. "Mon pire cauchemar (My Worst Nightmare) (2011)- JPBox-Office". www.jpbox-office.com.
- ^ Knipp, Chris (2012-10-19). "Review: My Worst Nightmare". filmleaf.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ Filipski, Kevin (2012-10-19). "Review: My Worst Nightmare". film-forward.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ Dreyer Kramer, Kristin (2011-09-10). "Review: My Worst Nightmare". nightsandweekends.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ Brinks, Sarah (2013-02-11). "Home Video Hovel: My worst nightmare". battleshippretension.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ Nusair, David (2011-09-10). "Review: My Worst Nightmare". reelfilm.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
- ^ Costa, Diego (2012-10-17). "Review: My Worst Nightmare". slantmagazine.com. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
External links
- My Worst Nightmare at IMDb
- My Worst Nightmare at Rotten Tomatoes
- My Worst Nightmare at AllMovie
- My Worst Nightmare at unifrance.org