I'm Going Home

I'm Going Home begins with an appealing promise: Manoel de Oliveira will treat its comedy framework as a route into character rather than an excuse for noise. The early chemistry between Michel Piccoli and Catherine Deneuve gives I'm Going Home an immediate pulse. The story of I'm Going Home begins from a specific pressure point: The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son in law have been killed in a car crash. By the end of its 1h 30m running time, the value of I'm Going Home rests less on novelty than on the care of its execution.

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What keeps I'm Going Home emotionally readable is Michel Piccoli, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Catherine Deneuve, I'm Going Home gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. John Malkovich contributes a separate rhythm to I'm Going Home and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Manoel de Oliveira gives the cast of I'm Going Home room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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I'm Going Home finds additional purpose in its examination of embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Through the performance of Michel Piccoli, I'm Going Home makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of Parisian repeatedly returns I'm Going Home to the cost behind its more visible developments. Manoel de Oliveira is most persuasive when I'm Going Home allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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The craft of I'm Going Home is defined by comic timing built around character, supported by comic timing built around character rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Madragoa Filmes gives I'm Going Home a production framework in which well judged reactions can remain connected to story. Made from a France production context, I'm Going Home uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of I'm Going Home works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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The plot of I'm Going Home is built around the uneasy relationship between Parisian and Gilbert Valence. For Michel Piccoli, that relationship gives I'm Going Home an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Manoel de Oliveira lets the central character reshape the direction of I'm Going Home in stages. Although the treatment of an important relationship could be sharper, I'm Going Home never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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Manoel de Oliveira gives I'm Going Home a directorial line that is confident enough to trust quiet moments from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of I'm Going Home is strongest when Manoel de Oliveira allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, I'm Going Home confirms that the result feels considered rather than manufactured across most of the running time. A tighter version of I'm Going Home would address how the finish occasionally makes its careful design visible, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, I'm Going Home is ultimately a rewarding and confident piece of filmmaking. Its most persuasive combination in I'm Going Home brings Michel Piccoli together with well judged reactions under the direction of Manoel de Oliveira. The fact that the finish occasionally makes its careful design visible prevents I'm Going Home from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, I'm Going Home has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.