Film’s dreary languor disappoints
Every Thing Will Be Fine
(out of 4) Starring James Franco, Rachel McAdams. Directed by Wim Wenders. 118 minutes. Opens Friday at TIFF Bell Lightbox. 14A
With backing from producers in no less than five countries and director of the gravitas of Wim Wenders — not to mention a solid cast — you’d think Every Thing Will Be Fine would be more impressive than it turns out to be.
Rather, it’s a film that’s unlikely to entrance even those who consider themselves serious cineastes, a mostly tedious slog chronicling the existential journey of a writer named Tomas, who accidentally kills a youngster on a snow-filled Quebec road and finds himself even more angst-ridden.
James Franco plays Tomas with a perpetual frown, a man with unfinished business even as the life-shattering event actually improves his skills as a novelist.
Along the way, he interacts with three women, Sara (Rachel Mc- Adams), the girlfriend he’s about to dump; Kate (Charlotte Gainsbourg), the mother of the unfortunate boy; and Ann (Marie-Josée Croze), who loves him but finds him too emotionally repressed.
The decision to shoot a film in 3D that is not animated or of the conventional action genre is certainly unusual and it does complement the lovely visuals of cinematographer Benoit Debie.
Alexandre Desplat’s resonant score is mournful and occasionally ominous.
But pleasing cinematography and finely etched performances cannot disguise the film’s dreary languor or the fact that a rueful smile does not a satisfying denouement make.
It’s a film that’s unlikely to entrance even those who consider themselves serious cineastes, a mostly tedious slog