Molière

A very sophisticated, funny, at times bittersweet and without a dull moment movie by Laurent Tirard that tells an imaginary slice of the life of famous French playwright and actor Molière, who is considered as one of the greatest masters of comedy.

At the beginning of the movie my first thought was that this movie reminds me of Shakespeare in Love, but fast enough I forgot about it when I started to laugh and laugh with the witty dialogue and the comical stereotypes similar to those in Molière plays. When reading about the movie I found that my first reaction was not mistaken, as this movie mixes fact, fiction and uses quotes, characters, and situations from Molière plays, with a final product that makes it more accessible to all audiences, even when they are not familiar with Molière plays, just as Shakespeare in Love did with Shakespeare.

Great performances by Fabrice Luchini that plays Monsieur Jourdain with a comical wit that just seeing him makes you laugh hard. Also Edouard Baer that plays the self-serving villain Dorante is great and very funny. But is Laura Morante that plays Elmire Jourdain with a more sophisticated comical stereotype that is just perfect. I am torn with Romain Duris performance that plays Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Molière, in general I enjoy it, but I feel he was too intense to be a Molière typical character and sometimes he seems not very comfortable with the role.

As a British critic says, “when the French do period drama well, they tend to do it very, very well” and you have no idea how exact the critic is, as the movie has great actors, great performances, great score, stunning cinematography and beautiful costumes.

Still, I cannot say that this movie is for all audiences as feels and looks like French cinema and is a very sophisticated comedy for non-European audiences. But I suggest to give it a try as is visually stunning and very funny.

Lastly, very often comedies are not considered masterpieces, but if a comedy masterpiece is one that is exquisitely produced and makes you laugh a lot, then I have to say that this movie is a masterpiece! Enjoy!!!