“MY plan was to die before the money ran out” has become the anthem and tagline of the Sony Pictures Classics’ French Exit. 

Starring Michelle Pfeiffer as a 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite – a role that has been earning her plenty of awards season buzz.

French Exit is directed by Azazel Jacobs and written by  Patrick deWitt, who wrote the bestselling novel on which the movie is based.

In it, Pfeiffer plays Frances Price whose life hasn’t gone exactly as planned after her dead husband’s (Tracy Letts) inheritance is gone. She cashes in the last of her possessions and decides to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris with her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank — who may or may not embody the spirit of her husband.

French Exit made its world premiere as the closing Night feature at the 2020 New York Film Festival. It also stars Danielle Macdonald, Daniel di Tomasso, Susan Coyne, Imogen Poots, Isaach de Bankolé and Valerie Mahaffey, who recently received an Indie Spirit Award nomination for a supporting role.

Pete Hammond said of Pfeiffer’s performance in his review: “She tops an aces cast that is sublime in every way in an absurdist comedy that is surreal, dark, witty, quirky, humane, and oddly touching.”

“Stylistically it recalls everything from Wes Anderson to Harold And Maude but it sways to its own distinct rhythms,” he continues.

“All that said, French Exit likely is not for everyone, but those who embrace its considerable pleasures are in for a special treat.”

Robin Wright makes her feature directorial debut with Land.

The Focus Features film recently made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and follows Edee (Wright) who finds herself disconnected from the world she once knew after an unfathomable event. In the face of that uncertainty she retreats to the wilds of the Rockies. After a local hunter (Demián Bichir) brings her back from the brink of death, she must find a way to live again.

The film was written by Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam and also features Kim Dickens. This may mark the feature directorial debut, but she is no stranger to sitting in the director’s chair as she has directed 10 episodes of House of Cards.

In his review, Hammond said: “…for her feature directorial debut she really has upped the stakes and taken on a challenging project, both logistically and in terms of a starring role that is emotionally draining. She succeeds impressively on both counts.”

“She says she was inspired to take on those challenges by what she felt was a need for a movie that emphasized our own goodness and humanity in a time rocked by mass shootings and ugliness brought about in the Trump era. We can use it,” he added.

(source: deadline.com) (ROHN ROMULO)