By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Christoph Waltz | Eliot Berger | Elvis Polanski | Jodie Foster | John C. Reilly | Kate Winslet
Country: france, germany, poland, spain
Year: 2012
Running time: 80
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1692486/
Thom says: “I went to see this film at a theatre only 4 blocks from where I live. My brother is a huge Roman Polanski fan and I do admire his work greatly so off we went. Then a dear friend encouraged the review. The film is adapted from a play and is basically a 4-character piece. 2 sets of parents meet because one of their sons hit the other son with a stick because of apparent bullying and they want to resolve the physician bills as well as the actual cause & effect of the incident, which is played out before us at the beginning of the film. What starts out as courteous and polite banter eventually turns into a vicious shouting match. The flow of the proceedings is constantly being interrupted because one of the men (Waltz) has a crucial, hot, professional deal
that demands his attention on his cell telephone. Not only do the two couples yell and badmouth each other they also are quarreling amongst themselves as their marriages both are very much on the rocks. There’s also a ‘No Exit’ feel to the event as they never seem to be able to leave the floor of the building. Superb acting all around although Winslet was my favourite. Hilarious dialogue at times. I expected a more volatile end as everything just petered out. 4 cats”