Review of Bicycling with Molière

I've enjoyed Philippe Le Guay's films very much, and love the way he uses Fabrice Luchini, that wonderful French everyman actor. Luchini has played classical roles before (Moliere), and here he sinks delightfully into the part of a washed-up actor who's retired to a run-down house on a damp, hard to reach island off the French coast. A big TV star (Lambert Wilson) arrives with an offer to put on a production of Le misanthrope, the juiciest starring role in French drama. How can he refuse such a part? The script allows the actors to reach into the recesses of their experience in theater, and gives us lots of lore. Luchini even quotes Louis Jouvet on speaking alexandrines: the idea that one can skip a foot in a line and get away with it, it's like ordering 1000 grams of something at the store and getting only 800--a fraud. Maya Sansa contributes a supporting role of an unhappy divorcée; I hadn't seen her before but she is impressive.