Synopsis: A young boy, Gary, lives with his eccentric parents and an exotic bird in a Parisian apartment. Each night, Camille and Georges dance lovingly to their favorite song, Mr. Bojangles. At home, there is only room for fun, fantasy, and friends. But as his mesmerizing and unpredictable mother descends deeper into her own mind, it is up to Gary and his father, Georges, to keep her safe.
Director: Regis Roinsard
Stars: Romain Duris, Virginie Efira, Gregory Gadebois, Solan Machado Graner
Virginie Efira is one of the most talented actors today. If you’ve read any of my previous reviews of films, I haven’t exactly kept those feelings a secret. Recently, her roles in Benedetta and Madeleine Collins have been very impressive. She’s a Belgian actress whose roles are usually in French and thus subtitled.
Efira is underrated from a North American audience perspective but not so much in Europe, where she is consistently nominated for awards. I truly admire her ability to excel in multiple genres. As a true actor, she becomes her character leaving no trace of the last role she inhabited. Some actors can only do one style of film, not Ms. Efira.
Historically, she is the best part of any film she is in. Not always, of course, but a significant amount of the time. Not this time. This time, she has a fantastic co-lead in Romain Duris. Duris recently was in the film Eiffel, portraying the architect behind the famous tower, Gustave Eiffel, but it was in The New Girlfriend where he gets my profound respect. The 2014 movie is a must-see and solidified Duris as a very talented actor.
In Waiting for Bojangles, we meet Georges (Duris). Georges is a bit of a hustler as he makes up stories to endear people to him. He meets Camille (Efira), who seems to share that same quality. They are very spontaneous together. In a world where people ask ‘why?’, they seem to live by a ‘why not?’ philosophy. The two have a very carefree style, and their relationship quickly develops. They have a son who also inherits their skill for ‘tall tales,’ and everything seems splendid.
They like to party and be the center of attention by proxy of their personalities.
As the movie progresses, we see that Camille is starting to have issues differentiating between reality and fantasy, and this gradually becomes worse. Efira and Duris fully commit to their characters, and the result is outstanding. These are fantastic performances, and they breath such life into Roinsard’s film.
The film is based on a novel by Oliver Bourdeaut, a contemporary French writer.
This movie takes us on a journey of the ups and downs of their relationship, and it’s quite an emotional trek.
These are two of the year's finest performances, and bringing these two amazing actors together is a gift for any cinephile.
Grade: B+
Watch the movie trailer:
