DO NOT DISTURB / Une heure de tranquillité

 

US Premiere • Comedy • France, 2014

DCP • 2.35 • Dolby SRD • Color • 79 min

Directed by: Patrice Leconte

Written by: Florian Zeller, based on his play “Une heure de tranquilité”

Cinematography: Jean-Marie Dreujou

Film Editing: Joëlle Hache

Original Score: Éric Neveux

Produced by: Christine de Jekel

Cast: Christian Clavier (Michel Leproux), Carole Bouquet (Nathalie Leproux), Valérie Bonneton (Elsa), Rossy de Palma (Maria), Stéphane De Groodt (Pavel), Christian Charmetant (Pierre) 

International Sales: Wild Bunch

 

Box office magnet Christian Clavier dials up the comedic curmudgeon as Michel Leproux, a self-centered, womanizing dentist who has just happened upon a rare jazz record he’s been hunting down for years. All he wants to do now is get home, slap his precious find on the turntable, and put his feet up. There’s just one problem: every other thing in his life, including but not limited to an impertinent wife, a guilt-ridden mistress, an annoyingly earnest son, and an eccentric housekeeper played by Almodovar mainstay Rossy de Palma.  To say nothing of the fact that today just happens to be the day for the building’s annual residents’ soirée. This rollicking, farcical, slapstick, and flirtingly surreal game of musicus-interruptus is enough to drive a patient, honest, generous man to desperation. If only our dear Monsieur Leproux were one of those things.

 

Although he is known to American audiences for his more uptown fare such as the Palme d’Or nominated Ridicule (1996) and Girl On The Bridge (1999), writer/director Patrice Leconte has been making broad comedies since his 1978 collaborative blockbuster French Fried Vacation, which spawned a sequel and made Christian Clavier a French celebrity. Drawn to film from an early age, Leconte had been making features since 1976, but it wasn’t until 1989 that he received international attention for Monsieur Hire, dark study of murder and voyeuristic obsession he co-wrote with Patrick deWolf. Over a long and prolific career, he has defied categorization, making pictures with themes ranging from male friendship to mental illness to sexual deviation, often working with his favorite actor Jean Rochefort. With Do Not Disturb, Leconte returns to the fundamentals of his comedy, adapting Florian Zeller’s, Fabrice Luchini starring, hit stage play to the big screen.

 

 

Quotes:

“Its punchy, snappy dialogue is coupled with Leconte’s masterly touch at reigning in the chaos before it spins out of control.”

– Judith Prescott FRENCH CINEMA REVIEW

“Leconte and Clavier know how to time their gags well, and Do Not Disturb is swiftly paced.”

– Jordan Mintzer HOLLWOOD REPORTER