QUENTIN DUPIEUX | FRANCE | 2024 | 80 MIN | FRENCH
After creating unforgettable films about the likes of a murderous jacket (Deerskin) and a sentient, blood-thirsty tire (Rubber), absurdist French director Quentin Dupieux returns with The Second Act, an unexpected and welcome foray into sweet, romantic-comedy territory. Far removed from her most striking and memorable performances, Florence (Léa Seydoux) is a timid and anxious young woman who can’t stop gushing about her new boyfriend David (Louis Garrel) to her increasingly wary father, Guillaume (Vincent Lindon). Yet as the two eagerly await the arrival of the striking French beau, David, we discover that he is already scheming on his next conquest while attempting to persuade his friend, Willy (Raphaël Quenard), to sleep with Florence and get her off his hands. As wine—and maybe some blood—is spilled among tense pleasantries at a nondescript restaurant in the middle of nowhere, Florence, David, Guillaume, and Willy’s lives (and possibly cinema) will be changed forever. With The Second Act, Dupieux defies expectations and obliterates the fourth wall in his latest meta send-up to the egos that hide behind some of the biggest names in French film scene.
Cast: Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, Raphaël Quenard
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