French Exit

Name: French Exit
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Released: February 12, 2021
Duration: 110 min
Rating: 56
Cast: Daniel di Tomasso, Danielle Macdonald, Eddie Holland, Imogen Poots, Isaach De Bankolé

2021

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Ratings

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5.9

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5.9	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Ratings

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French Exit

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 12, 2021 | R

Starring: Daniel di Tomasso, Danielle Macdonald, Eddie Holland, Imogen Poots, Isaach De Bankolé, Julian Bailey, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Coyne, Tracy Letts, Valerie Mahaffey

Summary: My plan was to die before the money ran out,” says 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), but things didn’t go as planned. Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymouslyMy plan was to die before the money ran out,” says 60-year-old penniless Manhattan socialite Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer), but things didn’t go as planned. Her husband Franklin has been dead for 12 years and with his vast inheritance gone, she cashes in the last of her possessions and resolves to live out her twilight days anonymously in a borrowed apartment in Paris, accompanied by her directionless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) and a cat named Small Frank—who may or may not embody the spirit of Frances’s dead husband.… Expand

Director: Azazel Jacobs

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Rating: R

Runtime: 110 min

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Critic Reviews

Mike D'Angelo

Feb 9, 2021

Jacobs manages this controlled chaos with a dexterity and brittle artificiality that’s quite distinct from all of his previous films Read full review

Ty Burr

Mar 31, 2021

French Exit allows Pfeiffer free rein to play, and her performance is glorious in a major key of scornful hauteur and a minor key of self-pity. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Oct 12, 2020

Yes, French Exit blisters amid the rarefied air of Tom Wolfe or Whit Stillman, but it’s nicely cut with the schadenfreude of “Schitt’s Creek.” Read full review

Chuck Bowen

Oct 12, 2020

In French Exit’s best passages, sadness and curt, resonant comedy exist side by side unceremoniously. Read full review

Moira Macdonald

Apr 6, 2021

French Exit isn’t without its pleasures; but you watch it dreaming of the movie it might have been. Read full review

Jeannette Catsoulis

Feb 11, 2021

Too listless to fizz and too peculiar to win us over, French Exit, directed by Azazel Jacobs, is hampered by clockwork quirkiness and disaffected dialogue. Read full review

The Guardian Benjamin Lee

Oct 14, 2020

A defiantly unbelievable and drably directed heap of quirk that’s as overstuffed as it is underpowered, a head-scratching failure for all involved. Read full review

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User Reviews

Magion

Nov 27, 2022

This great movie is about how the pursuit of being successful and rich can only turn into a fleeting illusion. The film showed that even a little can sometimes be much more than everything.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ahmedaiman1999

May 12, 2021

Do you ever feel that you've had adulthood thrust upon you
at too young an age? And that... you're still
essentially a child... mimicking the behaviors of the grown-ups all around you so they won't uncover the meager contents of your heart? A few minutes in, I thought this is going to beDo you ever feel that you've had adulthood thrust upon you
at too young an age? And that... you're still
essentially a child... mimicking the behaviors of
the grown-ups all around you so they won't uncover the
meager contents of your heart?

A few minutes in, I thought this is going to be one of these movies that adopt some sort of a false pretense in order to satirize the rich and upper class. Well, as I finished the movie I still think it is. But the story's attempts to dodge clichés surrounding this type of films had me constantly not only striving to classify it, but also quite baffled to know what's the point of it in the first place. Suffice it to say, it meanders a lot, especially regarding its tone which I'm not sure either the first act or Pfeiffer's magnetic performance as the delightfully sardonic Frances Price were enough to set it properly. As I said, it's meandering. And the whimsy of it being turned up to eleven in spasmodic bursts — while perfectly suits the oddball characters and the Anderson-esque style the movie has about it — feels a bit incongruous with the tender and emotive core of the story that I could catch glimpses of as the story progresses and its caustic layer being peeled off sporadically. With some touches that border on surrealism, I believe the movie become very close to going completely off the rails in its latter half to the point of stretching its believability a little too far. But everything was done efficiently and with great panache so much so I couldn't help reconciling myself with whatever this film is trying to achieve and I think I was well rewarded by the end. I finally could figure out what it is about — hopefully. Without getting into details to avoid spoiling anything, I think French Exit is a character study of a woman, Frances Price, who tries to break away from the phony life she leads. She's fundamentally a good and "real" person, but she's confined to the stereotypes of her aristocratic social strata. She takes a huge step towards fulfilling her purpose, only to find that the consequences of such action come arbitrarily and at a time she's neither financially, mentally nor emotionally prepared for, the thing that resulted in her having a midlife crisis of sorts. Lucas Hedges does an excellent job at complementing this with his understated performance as Frances's son, Malcolm. But Pfeiffer really knocked it out of the park here! A bizarre satirical dramedy that might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely worth checking out.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Apr 16, 2021

Admittedly, not everything works in this quirky absurdist comedy-drama, but, when it does click (which is most of the time), director Azazel Jacobs' meditation on life, death, love, family, friendship and what matters in life delights with an impish glee. When a wealthy widow who has longAdmittedly, not everything works in this quirky absurdist comedy-drama, but, when it does click (which is most of the time), director Azazel Jacobs' meditation on life, death, love, family, friendship and what matters in life delights with an impish glee. When a wealthy widow who has long been a fixture in New York high society suddenly finds herself broke, she and her adult son quietly relocate to Paris in an attempt to make a new life for themselves, despite a number of glitches that intrude on their plans. The picture's superb ensemble cast, most notably headliner Michelle Pfeiffer and supporting player Valerie Mahaffey, coupled with its insightful and endlessly witty repartee, combine to serve up laugh-out-loud fun, as well as more than a few tender and tense moments. The film sometimes stumbles when it comes to the cohesion of its narrative, but, considering everything else it has to offer, that's easily brushed aside merely as being part of the production's overall eccentricity. Remember, most things French have an inherent element of absurdity as part of their character and charm, so why shouldn't that be the case with a story set in the heart of such refined madness?… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

JLuis_001

May 16, 2021

There's a very big gap, between what this movie is, what it wanted to be, and what it could've been.

I cannot say that it's an openly disappointing film, but in my opinion it has nothing that makes it stand out in a sea full of other films.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

davemelbourne58

Apr 4, 2021

This movie started off very promising. Michelle Pfieffer was dropping witty bon mots, and cutting people to the core with her stare. Unforunately this movie had too many subplots, and characters, and was probably better off as a book.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Marie21

Apr 12, 2021

Worst film I have ever seen. Complete substanceless garbage. Pffifer is as bad as the drug company with the same name, unbearable painful personality she portrays without a single redemptive quality.

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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