ROCK 'N ROLL

France, 2017, 123 minutes, Colour.
Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard, Gilles Lelouche, Philippe Lefebvre, Camille Rowe, Kev Adams, Ben Foster, Maxim Nucci, Yvan Attal, Alain Attal, Johnny Hallyday, Laeticia Hallyday.
Directed by Guillaume Canet.

This is a very French film. It is something of an insider joke, looking at the French film industry, producers and their expectations, details of filming, a focus on film stars and their behaviour, tantrums, difficulties, ambitions. And, perhaps, it could see something of a vanity project for writer-director-actor, Guillaume Canet.

Canet appears with his real-life partner, Marion Cotillard as well as with their young son. The characters retain their real names but are stylised versions of themselves, with serious touches, but with a lot of comic touches. Various friends also appear in the film with their own names, variations on their themes, especially Gilles Lellouche as a longtime friend but more settled into his life and career, Camille Rowe as an up-and-coming actress, very much of the 21st-century, making comments on the stars of the past. American actor Ben Foster also appears as producer, casting director whom Canet approaches to get a role as a younger character. Produces Yvan and Alain Attal also appear as themselves, frustrated by the Canet character and his transformations. There is also a visit to the home of veteran singer-actor, Johnny Hallyday and his wife Laeticia.

The basic idea of the film is that Canet himself, referring to his background in horseriding, has been a successful actor but is now in his early 1940s. He takes very badly the comments of the young star whom he now meets and co-stars with (acting as her father and as a pastor). She does not mean to insult him but she comments on his age, his past career, his having to settle into the reality of the 40s.

This unsettles him, he fancies himself as a rock ‘n roll singer and player, identifying with his 20s. The comment so disturbs him that he tries to go to clubs and mix with younger people only to be derided by them. He still fancies his sexual prowess. At home, he lives with Marion Cotillard who is preparing to star in a Canadian film and spends a lot of the time trying to perfect her Canadian vocabulary and her Canadian accent. They are both devoted to their son.

The upshot is that Canet wants to transform himself, make himself look younger – which involves going to a plastic surgery expert, having worked on his lips, on his face – making him look absolutely younger, to the criticisms of Marion, the reaction of his son, the disbelief of the director of the film he is making (and causing all kinds of problems by tantrums and walk-offs), to the producers of the film. His face becomes more and more transformed, almost unrecognisable – and ridiculous.

The producers want to make him pay hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the cancellation of the film because of his behaviour.

Eventually, he receives an invitation to go to Florida, to make a television series about hunters and the Everglades, alligators. After some time, he is joined by Marion’s son and they continue into a second series of the television program.

More effective for French audiences who know the stars. A curiosity item for others.