A CHRISTMAS TALE directed by Arnaud Desplechin, written by Desplechin and Emmanuel Bourdieu, with Mathieu Amalric, Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Devos. A Seville Pictures release. 150 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (November 28). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNNN
A Christmas Tale is another richly detailed, perfectly cast seriocomedy from the director of the brilliant, barely released Kings And Queen. (There’s your weekend DVD rental recommendation, by the way.)
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That film’s stars, Emmanuelle Devos and Mathieu Amalric, are reunited here as lovers Catherine Deneuve gets a meaty role as Amalric’s ailing mother, and Jean-Paul Roussillon, Anne Consigny, Hippolyte Girardot and Deneuve’s real-life daughter Chiara Mastroianni land fine supporting roles as members of a fractured family forced to cope with years of resentments, manipulations and secrets during a contentious Christmas reunion.
It’s a lovely, expansive drama, marked by Desplechin’s wry compassion for the foibles of various characters without failing to take note of the casual damage they inflict upon one another at every turn.
