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Review by: Graeme Kay | Rating:
One
IN CONTRAST to the first part of Lucas Delvaux's three-parter,
the imaginatively named thriller, Trilogy One, Trilogy Two is
a farce that never quite takes off.
Alain Coste (Francois Morel) is the successful head of a thriving,
hi-tech engineering firm. He has a gorgeous wife, Cecile (Catherine
Frot), a healthy bank balance, and a beautiful home in Grenoble.
And yet, Alain is not happy; principally, because he is convinced
that he is dying, despite assurances to the contrary from his
family friend and doctor, Georges.
When his paranoia about his mortality leads Alain to behave in
an uncharacteristically eccentric fashion his wife suspects that
he is having an affair.
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Which, ironically, is exactly what Alain thinks about her.
This misunderstanding is the starting point for a series of events
that threaten to tear apart the cosy world of Alain and Cecile.
So why doesn't this so-called comedy work?
Well, for one thing, it just isn't funny - Morel tries hard,
but, despite his comical appearance, he doesn't seem to have any
real talent for comedy.
For a second, there is lack of credibility about the proceedings;
so much so that the viewer is never able to suspend his/her disbelief
and accept that such small actions could have such large and potentially
damaging consequences.
Thirdly, there is a chronic shortage of comic tension, so that
when the jokes do come along, they are neither surprising, nor
amusing, because they have been so clearly telegraphed.
All in all then, a major disappointment and further proof, if
it were needed, that the French film industry is in something
of a trough at the moment.
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