What's in a Name (2012)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Fantastic!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Based on the premise, I had high expectations for this film. I was not disappointed. The film, however, started out, I thought, too quickly, too cleverly, a la Amelie Poulain, with its introductions and back stories of the main characters. When the film settled down, inside the apartment, the film got back on track to a pace I could enjoy. The dialogue is wonderful between the characters, each character having a unique voice and talking about subjects I would talk about at a dinner party. Each character had a certain point of view, unique yet relatable. Although the title is only a springboard to other subjects, it does start the film rolling, and roll it does, from jokes, to misunderstandings, to secrets, to childhood resentments, to pent up rage reaching it's climax during Babu's meltdown. Although all the characters are interesting, it is Babu we are rooting for. I loved Valérie Benguigui's amazing performance. I'd never seen her in films and I hope that I get to see more of her. The other actors are also fine in their roles. I must also say that Francoise Fabian has just aged beautifully. The first time I saw her was in Eric Rohmer's MY NIGHT AT MAUDS'S which was released in 1969. She still looks amazing.....I wrote this review before reading all the credits and was saddened to learn that Valerie Benguigui passed away in 2013 from cancer. People are here for a short time and they leave us. Some, if lucky, leave behind something that is forever in the cultural landscape. I'm glad I was witness to this beautiful film and beautiful performance ..Rest in Peace

The Three Acts: The initial tableaux: The film starts in the 9th arrondissement in Paris. Pierre and Élisabeth (called Babu by most) are hosting a small dinner party. The daughter and son hopefully will stay asleep. Babu's brother Vincent arrives, and draws interest in the name of his pre-natal son with his wife. Trombonist and long time family friend Claude joins the group. Considerably later, Vincent's wife Anna arrives.Delineation of conflicts: Vincent's choice for the son's name is quite offensive, and a debate rages over it. Much emotional heat is generated as a result; tempers warm more than a bit.Later, Vincent admits that the announced name was a joke, but the hurt feelings remain. Worse, the admission comes only after Vincent and Pierre have wounded each other with words. The group continues skewering each other with sharp speech.Resolution: Can the group resume their usual warm relationships? Several harsh buried truths surface during the verbal fencing.

Successful and easy going real estate agent Vincent (Patrick Bruel, from Paris Manhattan, etc) is about to become a father for the first time, and at an intimate gathering with a close circle of friends he drops a bombshell when he reveals the controversial proposed name for his son. This sets off a heated exchange between Vincent and Pierre (Charles Berling, from L'Ennui, etc), his uptight and educated left wing brother-in-law and long suffering wife Elizabeth (Valerie Benguigui). Also reluctantly dragged into the arguments is Elizabeth's long time friend and musician Claude (Guillaume de Tonquedec), and Vincent's chain smoking heavily pregnant wife Anna (Judith El Zein). Soon other secrets, long simmering issues, startling revelations and recriminations bubble over, and the evening becomes rather heated. Politics, religion, history, egos, trust, family issues, and even sexual orientation soon become fair game, and everyone is vulnerable. Oh yes, there will be blood spilled (figuratively speaking). This bitingly savage and hilarious comedy/drama is a bit like a Gallic version of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf or the recent Carnage, in which a dinner party goes out of control and the guests verbally tear strips off each other. No-one emerges from the evening unscathed. There are many twists before the evening is over, and many will blind side audiences familiar with this type of claustrophobic drama. The staging is very theatrical in nature as the action is confined to Pierre and Elizabeth's living room. It's not surprising to learn that writer and co-director Matthieu Delaporte first conceived the idea as a stage play but then decided to turn it into a feature film. Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patelliere have collaborated as writers on a number of films including 22 Bullets and an Iron Man television series. While Delaporte has directed one other film, his writing partner De La Patelliere is making his debut with this film. Their direction is fluid, and they maintain the pace throughout this dialogue driven film. The astute, erudite and crisp screenplay delivers a barrage of verbal zingers and caustic put downs, and the tone shifts seamlessly between the comic and the dark and serious. The chemistry between the five person ensemble cast is electric. Production designer Marie Cheminel has created a wonderfully warm book lined set that is the perfect backdrop for the verbal sparring.

This film is a play written for the screen. It has a very smart plot, if I may use that expression for a play. As it is for all such type of movies, play for the screen, the key is character development within a good story, and this film has it.The actors deliver excellent performances, all of them, and once you start watching it, you become interested in the play because of the solid performances. Of course, the story had to be smart to keep you in your seat all the way through the movie, and it did. We get to know each of the character's story, discover the humanity in the bonds that friends have.The appropriately named movie deals with a couple's choices of name for their yet unborn child, and how a group of friends and family get involved in that choice, over an evening at the couple's home. The history of their relationships is really what all the discussions lead to, not to mention each spewing their heart out over revelations that occur during the discussions. The ending scenes make the whole movie worth watching; it is not a disappointment, which it could have been if not for the smart screenplay.