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France · 2007
Rated PG-13 · 1h 55m
Director Laurent Tirard
Starring Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Edouard Baer, Ludivine Sagnier
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
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In 17th-century France, playwright and actor Molière has his debts paid off by Monsieur Jourdain, freeing him from debtors' prison. In return, Jourdain asks for acting lessons so he can please his mistress by performing a short play for her. At the same time, Molière begins to fall in love with Jourdain's disregarded wife.
Tirard unwinds the action slow and steady, which makes for a slackly paced first hour that all but destroys the movie. Hang in and you'll see the method in this seemingly perverse strategy, as the young blade grows a passion for the highly strung, cultivated lady of the house, beautifully played by Europe's reigning queen of barely suppressed hysteria, Laura Morante.
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Less forgivably, the movie is dull.
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
Yet the film, directed by Laurent Tirard, has something. To be exact, it has Fabrice Luchini and Laura Morante, as M. and Mme. Jourdain.
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
The actors elevate what might have been fluff into a genuinely moving tale, and the action is so much fun that it doesn't even matter if you've seen Molière's plays before.
While none of this is meant to be taken seriously, the premise demeans Moliere's great achievement.
The Great Playwrights for Dummies series that began with "Shakespeare in Love" continues with Molière, a French clone of that grating and smarmy Best Picture winner.
Romance, creativity, subterfuge and repartee are among the pleasures to be had in Moliere, a consistently diverting, bittersweet costumer.
Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer
As Molière, Romain Duris is frisky and, playing the wife of his benefactor, Laura Morante proves once again that she is one of the most intelligent and attractive actresses in the world.
A Molière this good deserves a more substantive portrait, but this one will do for now.
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