French film is a British comedy about love, as opposed to a romantic comedy. Its a very grown up comedy about love. Jackie Oudney Director How can we trust the decisions we have made in love and friendship? French Film is a bitterly comic dissection about beginnings and endings; told through the eyes of two couples ten years into the wrong relationships. It takes a chance meeting and the revelation of a festering secret between two best friends to propel them all to decide who they are, who they really love and what they need to do about it. Aschlin Ditta's script combines warm humanistic sensibilities with unsentimental scrutiny in Jackie Oudney's debut feature. French Film is an unflinchingly acerbic comedy about love and lying. Director: Jackie Oudney Producer: Rachel Connors, Judy Counihan, Arvind Ethan David, Stewart Le Marechal, Jonny Persey Screenwriter/Co-producer: Aschlin Ditta Cast: Sophie ..Anne-Marie Duff Jed .Hugh Bonneville Marcus Douglas Henshall Thierry Grimandi .Eric Cantona Cheryl Victoria Hamilton Synopsis: A comedy about how French and English cultures differ in their attitudes on relationships. A smart romantic comedy. Jed (Hugh Bonneville) prepares to interview French cineaste and self-appointed expert on the nature of love - Thierry Grimandi (Eric Cantona). The worldly and somewhat jaded Jed is dead-set on dismissing the auteur's musings as pompous and, well French, until his own relationship with Cheryl starts to fall apart and he is forced to re-evaluate the illusive subject. Soon everyone is talking about love: his relationship counsellor, drinking buddy Marcus (Douglas Henshall) and Marcus' girlfriend Sophie (Anne Marie Duff). Beginnings, endings, tricks...could the French be on to something . The pic, which playfully pits the French against the Brits, reps Jackie Oudney's feature directorial debut. Douglas Henshall said about this film: "It's a kind of romance, with a nice wee twist on French Films." Does he get the girl? "No I don't. I get a smack in the mouth, I get that from Hugh Bonneville." ( The Jonathan Ross Show March 10th 2007). Filmed: March - May 2007 Douglas Henshall: On working on French Film: I like the kind of questions it raises about what is being in love supposed to feel like and if thats what its supposed to feel like, is that what you thought with your partner? On filming at Waterloo Station: I suppose as an actor when youre stuck in the middle of Waterloo a working station, you have to find a way of being able to shut out everybody else and also the embarrassment of standing, kind of acting and emoting way when youve got lots of people standing outside the frame kind of watching and laughing and pointing really. That kind of thing, trying to cover up your embarrassment and do your job, that can be a little bit taxing sometimes. But for the most part I love Waterloo Station and I really like filming. This is what I think London looks like, so I quite enjoy it. On Director Jackie Oudney: Jackie, as a director shes incredibly thorough and detailed and precise. Shes always really good humoured, regardless of what situations we find ourselves in, like today at Waterloo station. Its been nuts, theres people all over the places. You know you cant point your camera in this direction, because you cant see security and all that kind of stuff and she manages to keep her sense of humour and get things done. Shes great and as an actor, shes very good with actors about asking for what she wants. Some directors dont know how to talk to actors and they dont know how to ask for what they want and you end up in some kind of cryptogram, youre trying to decode what they, mean. Shes very straightforward, so from that point of view, its great. On why hes making French Film: You dont do it for the money; you dont do it for your career. You dont do it for any of those things, you do it because you want to and that lends a really nice atmosphere, because everybodys there for the same reason. Theyre there because they believe in the script and the director, the producers and the writer. So, youve immediately got a kind of positive attitude from everybody involved and then that makes it in some ways more pleasurable. Its quite pure. (Douglas Henshall - April 10th 2007 - BBC Film Network) Interview with Douglas Henshall - GMTV - May 8th 2009 email to the Cast and Crew of French Film from producer Arvind Ethan David on the weekend of March 24th 2007 Links and information: Official Site Slingshot studios British Film Catalogue BBC film network Hugh Bonneville online imdb variety.com Reviews Premier at Merlin Charity Event - March 2008 BBC - at the Dinard Film Festival - October 10th 2008 Philip French-at the Dinard Film Festival- The Observer -October 12th 2008 |
| French Film |
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| Script Supervisor Kerensa Burton with Douglas Henshall |
| Douglas Henshall as Marcus and Anne-Marie Duff as Sophie |
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| 'a fantastic performance from Douglas Henshall' - Lottery West Festival Films, Perth Festival |