class=”aligncenter size-medium wp-image-223131″ src=”https://www.heyuguys.com/images/2014/07/cycling-with-moliere-585×350.jpg” alt=”cycling-with-moliere” width=”585″ height=”350″ />Each year, devoted cinephiles around the world are treated to an array of filmic adaptations of popular novels, plays, or tales merely inspired by real events. It’s by no means a bad thing – but often an audience can crave an original, unique idea. Well it seems that the French are subverting the notion intriguingly, as following on from Roman Polanski’s Venus in Fur, which studied and explored Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s eponymous novel, comes Philippe Le Guay’s Cycling With Moliére. In this instance the source material is The Misanthrope, yet rather than merely adapt the play, instead the characters in the film sub-consciously reflect the characters within it, all while deconstructing the original text, in what is effectively an adaptation within an adaptation.
The picture tells the story of an actor named Gauthier Valence (Lambert Wilson), who travels to meet his old friend, and colleague, Serge Tanneaur (Fabrice Luchini), who retired from his vocation in turn for a life of solitude. Gauthier has one purpose for his visit; to convince Serge to return to the stage, and collaborate with him in a reworking of Moliére’s The Misanthrope. Though reluctant at first, as soon as they start reading through, their passion for the project at hand ignites something within Serge that may just tempt him back into the world he had vowed to never return to.
Unlike Venus in Fur, Cycling With Moliére is a far less self-indulgent piece of cinema, working instead as a genuine love letter to the playwright’s work. It’s fascinating to witness two characters with such a devotion towards the text, as they analyse it so fervently, offering their own perceptive and creative interpretations of the story. As expected with a film of this ilk, there are many scenes featuring our two protagonists indulging in intellectual banter, yet such sequences are counteracted by outlandish, slapstick moments, of the Woody Allen ilk, that work well in this setting. It’s somewhat rare for this to be the case, as often fatuousness can devalue the more sincere aspects, yet this matches the surrealistic tone (enhanced by the enchanting soundtrack), and offers moments of light relief and respite from the intense rehearsals.
The picture is playfully meta too, with actors playing actors (which they do rather well, unsurprisingly), and a satirical edge born out of their barbed conversations in regards to the industry. The performances are impressive, with a great, natural flow to the dialogue, with Luchini standing out as the more nuanced of the two. His character resembles and reflects that of The Misanthrope’s lead role Alceste – a sentiment that’s unsubtly enforced, yet humorous all the same.
Cycling With Moliére isn’t anything to write home about as such, but remains a charming, innocuous comedy that is easy to enjoy. Watching two middle aged men bickering is never not funny, and in this, there’s a lot of it. So much so, at times it almost resembles a more cultured version of Men Behaving Badly, except they appreciate a refined glass of Merlot rover a can of Carling, and Moliére over Melinda Messenger. It’s just so incredibly French – which is never a bad thing.
