The Closet(Le Placard)
Written and directed by Francis Veber.
Starring Daniel Auteuil, Gerard Depardieu, Thierry Lhermitte.
Francis Veber has written and/or directed a number of France’s most well-known and typically French comedies, of the sort involving making fun of pathetic or inept characters, slapstick and some mildly crude jokes. His scenes can vary from painfully cheap and unbelievable to genuinely funny and observant. He is responsible for films like La cage aux folles (Birds of a Feather — a French classic which spawned a number of allegedly appalling sequels), La chevre (The Goat), Les comperes, and most recently Le diner des cons (The Dinner Game). All of these have been (or are about to be) subjected to the American Remake phenomenon (you might recall The Birdcage, but hopefully not Pure Luck or Father’s Day). Of these five of his films I’ve now seen, I think I prefer this one, mostly because the characters are more likeable. The Dinner Game was funny but rather nasty whereas The Closet is warmer and more gentle and the comedy mostly more understated.
Auteuil’s character Francois Pignon is, at the outset, dull and a bit of a loser, but not so pathetic that you feel like slapping him for it. Pignon is, in his own words, “insignificant,” a competent if ordinary accountant working in a large firm, about to be the victim of job cuts and still pining after his wife who left him two years ago with their teenage son who finds his father a bore. Saved from suicidal contemplations by a very cute kitten and his new neighbour, Pignon finds himself in a scheme to keep his job: come out of the closet, which he was never in in the first place. Auteuil plays it mercifully straight and restrained: as the neighbour who came up with the idea, retired corporate psychologist Belone (a lovable Michel Aumont) says, the ploy would not work if Pignon tried to act gay, and the film succeeds largely because it takes this direction. Computer-enhanced images are simply “anonymously” sent to the office, Pignon carries on as usual, and office politics does the rest. As a producer of condoms, the factory cannot risk being accused of discrimination against homosexuals, so Pignon keeps his job.
Office culture gets its share of satire — those who thought him so boring are now sending rumours flying, from “I knew it as soon as I saw him” to “he’s a paedophile too,” and which office boy he has his eye on. Other nice touches include that news has always circulated before the boss has made any announcements, the factory and offices in a firm which produces latex products is sterile, ultra-modern glass and steel, and the head of personnel is a thick-headed, sexist, racist homophobe — a role Depardieu carries off in his typical comic style. Santini is so politically incorrect that even his work friends think he needs a little toning down, so they scare him into trying to be nice to Pignon, saying it is now his job that may be in danger. In short, life starts becoming much more interesting for Pignon.
Biting social satire this is not; it’s more of a look at the way people act and react based on their perceptions and how these can change, and how the person at the focus changes. The plot is kept simple, using many conventions of comedy, but it is directed and performed with style by a cast of star actors. And the kitten is very cute.
S.L.
