Shadows on the Wall | Call My Agent! The Movie

Call My Agent! The Movie Dix Pour Cent: Le Film

dir Emilie Noblet
scr Fanny Herrero, Lison Daniel
prd Dominique Besnehard, Aurelien Larger, Antoine Le Carpentier, Harold Valentin
with Camille Cottin, Laure Calamy, Thibault de Montalembert, Gregory Montel, Nicolas Maury, Fanny Sidney, Liliane Rovere, Laetitia Casta, Vincent Macaigne, Laurent Lafitte, Eva Longoria, George Clooney
release US/UK 10.Sep.26
26/France 1h57

See also:

CALL MY AGENT
TV series 1-3 • series 4

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This colourful comedy continues the snap and crackle of the sharply well-written French TV series, which ran from 2015 to 2020. While it's a little over-ambitious, this is a hugely enjoyable romp through the film industry. And it still features an entertaining parade of big-name actors playing sparky versions of themselves. It's also a lot of fun to catch up with this collection of very messy characters.

Five years after ASK agency closed, Andrea (Cottin) is preparing her first movie as writer-director, a thriller starring Laetitia Casta and Laurent Lafitte. But she's having issues with the actors' agents, her old father-daughter cohorts Mathias and Camille (de Montalembert and Sidney), and she also has the relentlessly exuberant Noemie (Calamy) as her producer. To get her film made, Andrea will need help from former colleagues Gabriel (Montel) and Arlette (Rovere). And Herve (Maury) turns up as an extra. Things start going wrong on shooting day one, even before the arrival of Venus the boar.

Wonderfully absurd chaos swirls through the story, with old grudges flaring up, egos getting in the way and relationships that interfere with business. Clashing schedules cause a major casting change on Andrea's film, which is traced from pre-production into filming, with a series of obstacles that seem insurmountable. So while some of the comical mayhem tips way over the top, each character also takes a journey in their personal life. And it's wonderful to watch the ensemble slip so expertly back into their jaggedly amusing roles.

Cottin anchors the film as the distracted workaholic Andrea, who knows that this film means everything for her future. So each crisis feels existential. Her love-hate working relationship with Calamy's hilarious Noemie is remarkably loveable, as is watching Noemie's flailing approach to every challenge. Surrounding actors add texture and energy to every scene, livening up both humorous and serious moments. Playing with their own images, Casta and Macaigne get their own terrific subplot.

Because we have so much back-story with these characters, it's a lot of fun watching them face up to new challenges and push their relationships into further entanglements. Some of them are rising to new challenges, while others have seen their careers and relationships take darker turns. This adds some emotion that pulls us in deeper than we expect. So even if the plot feels corny, the final scenes are like a warm hug.

themes, language 17.Sep.26

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