the chorus (2004)
christophe barratier’s multi-oscar nominated 2004 effort proved to be reliable middle of the road euro-fare. the story of an inspirational teacher at a school for delinquent boys is an inspirational affair, following the sort of inspirational teacher lines that one has come to expect in the likes of dead poets society.
formidable comedy actor gérard jugnot leads the impressive enough cast as clément mathieu, the inspirational teacher in question. he straddles the line between affable bufoon and subtle listener very well, and manages to draw a surpising amount of emotion from the role and project it upon the viewer.
the biggest problem with the chorus is simply that its ”fine”. its never particularly outstanding, but its not terrible. its occupies a strange junction between the two, which is all well and good, but dictates that its not particularly memorable or even interesting as a result. im seeing barratier’s follow up at the end of the week, which i hope fares much better.
