The directors have brought onboard the entire original cast. This makes their job much easier, as countless performances have perfected the timing and tone of each single line.
What's in a Name(Le Prénom)
✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France, Belgium · 2012
Rated PG · 1h 49m
Director Matthieu Delaporte
Starring Patrick Bruel, Valérie Benguigui, Charles Berling, Guillaume de Tonquédec
Genre Drama, Comedy
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Vincent, a wealthy real estate agent, is invited to dinner by his sister Elizabeth and her husband Peter, both professors in Paris. Claude, a childhood friend and trombonist in a symphony orchestra, is also present. Vincent brings news from the prenatal examination of his and his wife Anna's unborn son. The name chosen by the soon-to-be parents strongly offends the others for many reasons. The dispute between the guests quickly escalates and before long the resurgence of old grudges and hidden secrets is unavoidable.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
What’s most surprising is that this talky dramedy was a massive smash at home in France, outearning blockbusters like “The Avengers.”
The French chamber dramedy What's in a Name is frequently delightful, full of ribald humor and compelling, intelligent debate.
The Hollywood Reporter by Jordan Mintzer
Adapting their highly successful stage version to the screen with keen comic-timing but much less cinematic panache, Mathieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patelliere offer up a lively take on love, friendship and baby-naming.
Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte’s comedy (based on Delaporte’s play) comes across as a poor man’s Carnage, with bitter resentments and cruel assumptions erupting from beneath its characters’ seemingly cheery, jovial façades.
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
In their intensity, the actors’ incisive, impeccably coordinated performances are pitched slightly above normal conversation but not so much that “What’s in a Name?” shatters credibility.
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