A tale of love, financial woes, and relationship stagnation, Le Week-End is a film that so often risks falling into a precipice no viewer cares to look into, but also keeps pulling things back. It could have been impossible to care about the central characters, but the main performances get around that issue.
Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan are a married couple who are spending some time in Paris, hoping to maybe rekindle a spark that seems to have dwindled to nearly nothing over the years. They cannot afford to eat in the places they used to, cannot afford the lovely hotel room they have booked into, and cannot afford to support a friend who is oblivious to their problems. But that friend, Jeff Goldblum, may provide them with an opportunity to be completely honest, to confess their current woes and put all their cards on the table.
Directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi, Le Week-End is, from start to finish, a film that tiptoes around the very edges of preciousness and cutesy affectation. This seems to be a major case of upper-middle-class people with “first world problems”, and that’s not a very engaging viewing experience for most people. Thankfully, Kureishi knows how to flesh out the characters and have their journey show what they are losing balanced by what they gain, and you could argue that they gain everything they need by the time the end credits roll. And Michell manages to keep Paris looking lovely as he maintains focus on a small cast of strong actors.
Broadbent may not be at his best here, but he certainly has a couple of his best moments, one being a speech and one being a lovely bit of physical work. Duncan is easily equal to him, having to work a bit harder, in subtle ways, because of the way her husband views her (vision shaded by jealousy and insecurity). Goldblum is the perfect third party, showing a life that the leads have been used to, effortlessly charming and erudite, yet also exemplifying the overwhelming need to finally be as honest as possible, even if that seems painful.
There are different lessons that you can take from Le Week-End, whether you see how important it is to recognise the strong core of love in any long-lasting relationship or how, as cheesy as it may sound, the truth can set you free. A problem shared is a problem halved, and other homilies, etc.
Aside from that, even if you don’t think this film has anything to offer you, the three main performances make it worth your time. So I recommend it, but with reservations for those who may bristle throughout most of the first half.
7/10
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