French Exit Reviews

French Exit is an off-the-wall dark comedy film about a well-dressed New York socialite widow who appears wealthy but has actually gone broke. Desperate to survive, she runs off to France with her son and cat, and into a friend's apartment in Paris. However, she may end up proving that no matter where you go, you can't run from yourself.Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a debonair woman in a very fancy fur coat. She busts her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) out of his boarding school and asks him what he would like to do - revealing her impulsive and reckless nature. Left in charge of the family fortune when her husband passed away, Frances has no ambition other than existing in a very fancy and expensive world of make believe among New York City's elite upper class.As time passes, Malcolm doesn't feel safe revealing that he's secretly engaged to his longtime girlfriend, while Frances tries to hide their financial struggles until it's way too late and they have absolutely nothing.But Frances's friend Joan (Susan Coyne) has an apartment in Paris that she's all too happy to share with them until they can get back on their feet. She's convinced they need to get out of New York to change their outlook. So along with the mysterious cat that may be hiding some secrets, Frances and Malcolm exit to France and begin to meet an assortment of unique people who live there.Sadly, they realize that even living in this new location, they're stuck in the same patterns that were stunting their growth back in New York. But when they meet a lonely, charming Madame Reynard (Valerie Mahaffey), Frances realizes that the people there may be able to break through her practiced, apathetic veneer after all.Director Azazel Jacobs (Momma's Man, Terri) shows a steady, competent hand at the emotions at work in the characters - even when they're veiled. His work with the leads is quite solid, and he brings a resonance to an otherwise unlikeable mother and son. However, the movie devolves at some point to a much larger cast of one-off characters who although interesting, don't help build anything larger than their singular moments. Writer Patrick DeWitt (The Sisters Brothers) has delivered an odd mishmash of ideas, which although the core concept behind them is strong, don't always match up. Based on his own book of the same name, French Exit could have been a cut and dry comedy, or drama, but ends up becoming a vaguely funny, somewhat dramatic, almost insightful and marginally bizarre blend of elements that don't always work in harmony with each other. Each of these elements is performed perfunctorily, and it could have benefitted from more purpose.While comedy is very subjective, there's a social brutality to French Exit that can be off-putting and mostly emits more smiles at understanding the joke than real belly laughs. Witty to a fault, the film oozes more cleverness than charm, especially with leads who are intentionally unlikeable for a significant portion of it. All that being said, it's still a fun watch if only to feel part of the elite societies in which the characters are so desperately trying to maintain their stay.