Although this tiny coastal resort of manicured lawns and wedding-cake architecture seems to empty as the working week begins,in Deauville the three festival cinemas throng with enthusiastic spectators.The Stanley Kubrick retrospective began,in the Casino auditorium,with a good print of the master's last work,
Eyes Wide Shut,while in the larger,main venue the competition of independent US features saw capacity crowds for the first two entries,with the massed ranks of jurors also taking their seats punctually. Another British talent triumphed in the second offering,
In The Bedroom, where seasoned English actor Tom Wilkinson (more widely known from
The Full Monty and more recently
The Patriot) gives a marvellous,moving and utterly credible performance as a New England doctor who takes the law into his own,trembling,hands when his son is murdered by a local hellraiser. Director Todd Field and his unassuming star (a clear candidate for the new Ralph Lauren actor award) made a brief visit to Deauville before jetting off to present the film at Toronto ( it is already selected for the London film festival in November as well).
A very clear contrast in the evening galas perfectly points up the festivals clever balance of the varied strands of American film-making,with the fluffy summer hit
Legally Blonde (repped by director Robert Luketic) taking away the bitter taste of Larry Clark's striking tale of everyday malice domestic,
Bully,which nevertheless seems to have won as many admirers among the critical faculty as at Venice.Clark was accompanied by one of his fatale young femmes, Bijou Phillips,but neither made themselves available for interviews, limiting their discussion of the film to a photocall and press-conference.
A lively,and truly festive ambiance was restored in the wonderful Villa Orange where the late-night social session saw a very mixed crowd mixing their drinks and new arrivals included an unheralded Bruno Putzulu,evidently in much better humour than on his excursion to Locarno,who is making a private visit to the event before treading the boards at his usual habitat,the Comedie Francaise. Among the dancing-girls was a producer planning a Franco-American remake of
Melodie en sous-sol (with Jude Law in the Alain Delon role?)and as the wind dropped some very cordial ententes spilled out on the terrace, though nobody spilled their cordials. Dieu merci, c’était lundi.
Phillip Bergson
BullyLegally BlondIn The Bedroom
