The First Name

The fact that film adaptations of plays can work very well in the cinema, if the spatial restrictions of the stage are also adopted, was recently proven by Roman Polanski in The God of Carnage. And Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre De La Patellière's adaptation of their successful play The First Name also shows that great entertainment cinema can play out in the smallest of spaces.

The comedy tells of a dinner party to which Élisabeth, called Babou (Valérie Benguigui), and her husband Pierre (Charles Berling) invite Élisabeth's brother Vincent (Patrick Bruel), his wife Anna (Judith El Zien) and Claude (Guillaume De Tonquédec), a childhood friend of the family. There's actually a reason to celebrate too, as Vincent and Anna are expecting their first baby. But when Vincent reveals what first name they want to give the child, a heated discussion breaks out. This soon takes on unimagined proportions as long-hidden secrets and repressed emotions are exposed amid passionate arguments...

After an amusing opening sequence that follows a pizza delivery man as he makes his way through Paris, already working the meaning of names into the fast-cut action, the story is thereafter almost entirely confined to Babou and Pierre's living room. But anyone who now fears that with this spatial minimalism the entertainment value will also shrink to a manageable size is sorely mistaken. Because the word fights, which the small group deliver themselves here, are written in such a clever and entertaining way, that the viewer is allowed to amuse himself on a high level. This is further aided by the fact that there is extremely good chemistry between the cast, which is hardly surprising as, with the exception of Charles Berling, they have already performed the play together on stage and so are very familiar with their roles and their relationships with each other.

All-round talent Patrick Bruel in particular delivers a great performance as Vincent. He is a mixture of charming rascal and arrogant egomaniac, which gives his actions, which are actually meant to be funny, just the explosiveness, which provides in the end for so many escalations in the turbulent evening. The whole ensemble acts extremely good-humoured and very rousing, but nevertheless it is especially Bruel who leaves a lasting impression.

The First Name is not only from the subject matter, but also from the staging in some moments very French, which on the one hand explains the success in the home country, but on the other hand could make it difficult to repeat this success internationally. In addition, the humor and gestures of the characters are sometimes a bit overdone, which means the film doesn't quite achieve the bite and depth of The God of Carnage. But like Polanski's theatrical adaptation, this comedy is filled with moments that more than just viewers in France are likely to recognize. These are moments in which the characters reveal quite universal shortcomings, in which the masks fall and quite normal people become recognizable with all their faults, rough edges. And it is precisely in these, often very, very funny moments, that The First Name works extremely well across all boundaries.

Whoever doesn't need big action for an entertaining evening at the movies, but can be amused by clever dialogues and reality-based absurdities, should definitely accept an invitation to this chaotic dinner. And for those who are planning a baby and are not yet sure what name to give it, this film is a must-see anyway - it shows in a wonderful way what consequences the wrong choice of name can have. Therefore: despite some small hangs absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp