Dinner tries to serve too much
THE DINNER
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall It’s a bit hard to swallow.
IT’S an obvious analogy, unfortunately, but it’s also the most apt one: The Dinner has a lot on its plate.
It begins as a black comedy of manners before piling on some more serious emotional and psychological aspects, and it then adds even more to the mix by throwing in intense social and moral discussion.
That’s a fair bit to balance, even for an intelligent filmmaker like writer-director Oren Moverman (whose previous films The Messenger and Rampart are well worth checking out) and a top-shelf cast of actors led by Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney and Rebecca Hall.
It’s perhaps to be expected that it occasionally buckles under the weight of its ambition, losing a little focus or making the odd wrong move.
But a film that’s even willing to address the topics tackled by The Dinner, let alone do so with rigour and panache, is not to be wholly dismissed.
As you may expect, The Dinner revolves around a meal shared by two couples in a posh restaurant, the kind of eatery that proudly reels off the pedigree of its ingredients.
It’s hardly a happy meeting for the four people involved, though, even before the reason for the get-together is revealed.
Paul (Coogan) is a history teacher who appears to dislike, well, everything, and he’s not shy about sharing his abrasive view of the world.
Paul’s brother Stan (Gere) is a high-profile politician on the campaign trail, and is consequently all too concerned with appearances.
Paul’s wife Claire (Linney) is just as venomous as her husband, while Katelyn (Hall), Stan’s young, second wife, is aware she’s regarded as something of an outsider in this family dynamic.
It’s a combustible combination of elements to begin with. But as the meal progresses, flashbacks reveal the darker aspects of the characters, especially Paul, whose bouts with mental illness have manifested themselves in violent behaviour.