Oh Mercy! (French: Roubaix, une lumière, lit. 'Roubaix, a light') is a 2019 French crime drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. The film was inspired by the 2008 TV documentary Roubaix, commissariat central, directed by Mosco Boucault.[2] It stars Roschdy Zem, Léa Seydoux, Sara Forestier, and Antoine Reinartz. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4]
| Oh Mercy! | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| French | Roubaix, une lumière |
| Directed by | Arnaud Desplechin |
| Written by | Arnaud Desplechin Léa Mysius |
| Based on | Roubaix, commissariat central by Mosco Boucault |
| Produced by | Pascal Caucheteux Grégoire Sorlat |
| Starring | Roschdy Zem Léa Seydoux Sara Forestier Antoine Reinartz |
| Cinematography | Irina Lubtchansky |
| Edited by | Laurence Briaud |
| Music by | Grégoire Hetzel |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Le Pacte |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 119 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $2,851,541[1] |
Plot edit
One Christmas night in Roubaix, the local police chief Daoud, and Louis, a fresh recruit, are confronted with the violent murder of an elderly woman. The victim's two young, female neighbours, Claude and Marie, are arrested.[5]
Cast edit
- Roschdy Zem as Daoud
- Léa Seydoux as Claude
- Sara Forestier as Marie
- Antoine Reinartz as Louis
- Chloé Simoneau as Judith
- Betty Catroux as De Kayser
- Jérémy Brunet as Aubin
- Stéphane Duquenoy as Benoît
- Philippe Duquesne as Dos Santos
- Anthony Salamone as Kovalki
- Ilyes Bensalem as Farid
- Abdellatif Sedegui as Soufia's father
- Sylvie Moreaux as Soufia's mother
- Diya Chalaoui as Fatia Belkacem
- Bouzid Bouhdida as Soufia's uncle
- Maïssa Taleb as Soufia Duhamel-Hami
Release edit
The film had its world premiere in the Competition section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2019.[6] It was released in France on 21 August 2019.[7]
Reception edit
Critical response edit
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 59% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10.[8] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of C−, writing, "Forestier and Seydoux are both fantastically desperate as dead end citizens who met each other at a very dangerous time in their lives, but Desplechin fails to make full use of his actors; instead of allowing them to shade in their characters, he pummels the audience into an ambiguous state of forced sympathy."[10] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, commenting that "The film's master image is among the greatest images of Desplechin's career: the women, recreating their strangulation of the victim for the police, briefly hold their hands together under the victim's pillow."[11]
Accolades edit
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur | 4 October 2019 | Bayard d'or | Oh Mercy! | Won | [12] |
| Lumières Award | 27 January 2020 | Best Film | Oh Mercy! | Nominated | [13] |
| Best Director | Arnaud Desplechin | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Roschdy Zem | Won | |||
| Best Cinematography | Irina Lubtchansky | Nominated | |||
| Jacques Deray Prize | 22 February 2020 | Won | [14][15] | ||
| César Award | 28 February 2020 | Best Film | Oh Mercy! | Nominated | [16] |
| Best Director | Arnaud Desplechin | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Roschdy Zem | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Sara Forestier | Nominated | |||
| Best Adaptation | Arnaud Desplechin and Léa Mysius | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Irina Lubtchansky | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Music | Grégoire Hetzel | Nominated |
References edit
- ^ "Oh Mercy!". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (22 May 2019). "Cannes Film Review: 'Oh Mercy'". Variety. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^ "Cannes festival 2019: full list of films". The Guardian. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "The Screenings Guide 2019". Cannes Film Festival. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Roubaix, une lumière". Le Pacte (in French). Retrieved 21 April 2019.
- ^ "Roubaix, une lumière". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Roubaix, une lumière". AlloCiné. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ "Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière) (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Oh Mercy! Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Ehrlich, David (22 May 2019). "'Oh Mercy!' Review: Leá Seydoux Is Totally Wasted in Arnaud Desplechin's Flat Procedural". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Bowen, Chuck (16 September 2019). "Review: Oh Mercy! Is a Bracing Study of Violence Born of Helplessness". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Engelen, Aurore (7 October 2019). "Oh Mercy! wins the Bayard d'or at the Namur Film Festival". Cineuropa. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (27 January 2020). "France's Lumiere Awards: 'Les Misérables' Wins Best Film, Roman Polanski Tapped as Best Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
- ^ Abouchahla, Pierre (28 January 2020). "Le 16e Prix Jacques-Deray est attribué à Roubaix, une lumière". Écran total. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Arnaud Desplechin a reçu le 16e Prix Jacques-Deray du film policier français à l'Institut Lumière". Le Progrès. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (28 February 2020). "'Les Miserables' Wins Best Film at Cesar Awards, Polanski Takes Best Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
