A dash of Bruel and a hint of Luchini

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

In The best is yet to come, currently in theaters, Fabrice Luchini and Patrick Bruel portray two characters who are very much like themselves. With their natural, yet precise acting, they celebrate friendship against a backdrop of illness and lies. Not to be missed.

Following a misunderstanding caused by the exchange of a health card, Arthur Dreyfus, an academic biologist, learns - or rather thinks he learns - that he has cancer and only a few months to live. Then he realizes that the diagnosis concerns his childhood friend, César Montesiho, who suspects nothing. A long lie ensues, lasting almost as long as the life expectancy given to his friend. The latter, convinced that Arthur is going to leave, decides to move in with him and prepare a program of all kinds of fun for him. The two friends enjoy life as never before, before the truth comes out.

A friendship, a meeting

It's a simple matter: this film about friendship, that beautiful and eternal subject, works simply because of its protagonists, who are the real actors. Basically, there are two types of entities in cinema: actors who try to resemble their characters, and characters who try to resemble their actors. Fabrice Luchini and Patrick Bruel, or rather Arthur Dreyfus and César Montesiho, fall into the latter category. In addition to a tailor-made script, this cinematographic situation requires above all another condition: that the actors play both naturally and with talent. For this, there's only one solution: natural talent. And that's exactly what we've got.

One plays a man who's a bit neon, a bit old-fashioned, a bit middle-of-the-road, a bit «a bit» - which reminds one of someone, namely himself. The other plays a good-looking guy, a good teenager, a good charmer, a good flamer - which he is. With five women accusing him of inappropriate behavior, including exhibitionism, Patrick Bruel's film performance is about a facet of his personality that he assumes. And one that he invokes in his declarations to make the essential difference between heavy charm and harassment.

«The best is yet to come or not», dares however Le Figaro, regretting that the comedy was a bit of a joke. Well, «the best is yet to come or not», yes, indeed, because you have to take the phrase literally: it's not certain that we'll find anything better in the future, as this film is simply very good, and the Bruel-Luchini duo is as indisputable as the Hallyday-Luchini duo was, in a completely different register. That's what cinema is all about: taking an artistic encounter as far as it can go, in a unique experience.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Pathé Films