Pitched as “a comedy of people who are suffering”, this Oscar-nommed mum-and-son collaboration between Danièle and Christopher Thompson offers a trio of intersecting storylines set in and around Paris’ prestigious Avenue Montaigne.
Our guide is Jessica (Cécile De France), a bubbly new arrival from the provinces who lands a waitressing job at the popular Bar des Theatres. Across the way a soap star (Valérie Lemercier) dreams of landing a serious film role, and at the concert hall renowned pianist Albert Dupontel yearns for a less structured, stress-free life. Meanwhile, in the auction room next door, dying art collector Claude Brasseur is preparing to sell off his life’s work.
Despite its talented ensemble, Orchestra Seats is a predictable piece of middlebrow nostalgia – akin to a French Love Actually – in which all the characters’ emotional predicaments and professional problems are miraculously resolved.
