My Review of ‘The Closet’

Filed Under DVDs, Gay Film | June 27th, 2008 

The Closet on DVDRecently I picked up and watched a movie from the rental store starring Gérard Depardieu that I hadn’t seen before; ‘The Closet’.

Although I haven’t seen every movie that Gérard Depardieu has been in, I do try to catch them when I can as I really enjoy seeing him in action. He can play both serious roles and comic roles with equal ease.

The other star in this film is Daniel Auteuil and it’s actually his character that this mad story revolves around. After seeing this French actor in action, I’m going to have to keep my eyes open and make sure I catch his other films.

The story for those of you who haven’t watched ‘The Closet’ is basically about how one little lie can totally change ones life and how one man embraces this lie to save his job and his life.

Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is a very meek, dull, divorced and lonely accountant who works at a condom factory. He endures everything until he discovers accidentally that he’s about to be fired. With the help of his new neighbor, Belone (Michel Aumont) Francois starts a rumour that he’s gay. Much to his surprise, this falsehood not only saves his job but it’s the start of a much better life. Everyone wants to know him now, including one of his oafish, homophobic co-workers; Félix Santini (Gérard Depardieu) – the results of those encounters is worth the price of the DVD alone.

Although this is indeed a hilarious movie, (I laughed out loud so much) there were moments of seriousness and tenderness that helped keep the story balanced and made for a well rounded comedy. ‘The Closet’ is definitely well worth watching.