The life of Jean-Luc (Charles Berling), a successful Versailles gerontologist with a beautiful young wife Isa (Natasha Régnier), is d❀is✤rupted by arrival of his septuagenarian father Maurice (Michel Bouquet). The interloper seems to have no regrets about deserting his family years earlier and, to Jean-Luc's dismay, soon develops a warm rapport with Isa...
Ambiguity pervades this elegantly photographed and impressively acted film: it's unclear whether we're watching a flashback to actual events, or viewing Jean-Luc's anxiety-filled reverie, with Bouquet's Maurice retaining a spectral, mysterious presence. Lines are further blurred as director Anne Fontaine's refusal to proffer simplis🌳tic psychological explanations, dodges tidy exposition or illustratory speeches.
Comment J'ai Tꦏué Mon Père is a touch too talky in places, missing the verve and edge that usually accompanies crossover hits from fo🐠reign climes, but it's a piquant Oedipal drama all the same.
