Orchestra Seats (www.the-usher.com)

Spurred on by stories from her grandmother, Jessica (De France) heads to Paris to find a job in the theatre district. Here she meets famed pianist Jean-François Lefort (Dupontel), art collector Jacques Grumberg (Brasseur) and her grandmother's favourite soap actress Catherine Versen (Lemercier) but each of them have their own problems. As her grandmother always told her however 'if you can't afford to live in luxury, you should live around it'.

The artistic side of Paris and how one girl can connect them all seems like an intriguing and charming story and you would be right.

Writer/director Danièle Thompson's 'Fauteuils d'orchestre' (Orchestra Seats) shows a lighter side of Paris as she takes us to the theatre, the concert hall and the auction house that are in the same area of the French capital. With one protagonist bringing all these artistic releases together, this ensemble, character driven piece is nicely written and expertly played.

Telling three separate stories with Jessica connecting them all, the movie successful interweaves them and throws in a few supplementary stories along the way as well. The first tale deals with renowned pianist Jean-François Lefort (Albert Dupontel), who has being playing the same music and wearing the same ill fitting and restrictive dinner suites for most of his life. Desperately wanting a change, much to the grievance of his wife who has forgone her own musical career to take care of his. Secondly we have Jacques Grumberg, played by Claude Brasseur, who is about to sell his entire art collection that he, and his now departed wife gathered together over the course of their long and loving marriage. With a new and much younger girlfriend, his son Frédéric is finding it hard to let go and accept what his father is doing, especially when his favourite piece, an extremely rare and almost priceless statue simply called 'The Kiss', is the centrepiece of the collection. Lastly we have the story of superstar soap actress Catherine Versen, played with great gusto by Valérie Lemercier, who is about to take to the stage in a role very different to that of her screen persona. Disillusioned with the role that has made her beloved all over France, he is desperate not to sign a new contract and take her career in a different direction. That could come in the space of Hollywood director Brian Sobinski, who is intrigued by the actress after catching her performance on television.

Jessica, played by the incredibly cute and talented actress Cécile De France, ties all these stories together as the waitress in the local restaurant but has her own tale to tell at the same time. Having nowhere to stay and sleeping in the dressing rooms, she quickly makes friends and even finds romance amongst the people her grandmother told her she should mix with.

'Orchestra Seats' is a movie that draws you in from the off and keeps you enthralled throughout. While nothing truly dramatic happens for those expecting high drama, it is the character and the performances that make this movie a real crowd-pleaser and one that will keep you smiling until the finale.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

The Making of Orchestra Seats (27.54 mins)
Writer/director Danièle Thompson takes you behind the scenes of the making of 'Fauteuils d'orchestre'. She talks passionately about the structure and feel of the film, highlighting the cast process and what the key actors and actresses bring to the movie and their roles. We also discover how Albert Dupontel played the piano sequences, as he discusses taking on the complicated role. This is a good behind the scenes featurette that slightly makes up for the lack of a commentary.

Theatrical Trailer
Watch the preview that showcased the film in cinemas and on the Internet

OVERALL

While the featurette is good and covers most aspects of the film's structure, cast and production, fans will be disappointed with the lack of a commentary track or interviews with the cast and crew. This isn't a bad DVD treatment but it could have being much better.

DVD

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2007