Zimmer 212

"On a Magical Night" is a Comedy movie in which we watch a woman leaving her husband after twenty years of marriage. She moves to a hotel room where she thinks about her life and her choices, and whether they were right or wrong.

I liked this movie because it had a very unique and different plot, something that was a big surprise for me. The direction which was made by Christophe Honoré was very good and he did an excellent job on the way he presented the history behind his main characters and their connection. The interpretations of Chiara Mastroianni who played as Maria Mortemart, Benjamin Biolay who played as Richard Warrimer (40 ans) and Camille Cottin who played as Irène Haffner (40 ans) were very good and their combination worked very well. Finally, I have to say that "On a Magical Night" is an interesting comedy movie and I recommend everyone you to watch it because I am sure you will have a great time and you will laugh a lot.

If this ghastly apology for a movie had been made during Dante's lifetime, my guess is that he would have sentenced one of the worst category of sinners to watch it perpetually, 24/7, for all eternity.

This is a movie without a plot, without any credible characters, created by people obsessed with sex and women's good looks rather than intelligence or professional skills. It puts the female emancipation clock back by a hundred years. I am seriously puzzled how the producer, the director and the production company could have devoted so much time and resources to this kind of dog. I shall always regret having wasted 90 minutes of my life watching it.

Chambre 212 a.k.a. "On A Magical Night" is a retread of stories of what-could-have-beens à la It's a Wonderful Life, Non-Fiction and even A Christmas Carol. This time the older adults became shadows of who they were when they were young. There is a lot of homage to movies here, very talk-y and chatty air like early- to mid-career Woody Allen and Nora Ephron, and good deployment of songs as musical score. While a bit light in premise, the substance of the script intelligently goes beyond the usual stories of reflective recollections. The principal cast and their old/young selves were uniformly very good, animating the curves and crevices of the well developed screenplay. Certain line readings (especially how it is said in French) are funny without being precious.

... and what to do about it. In the case of Maria it's to have a fling or fifteen through those years of her marriage where the spark has gone. An original take, as her lovers and her conscience amongst others, revisit over a reflective night.

Director Christophe Honoré continues to build a brilliant career with focus on modern lovers battling obstacles and standards, while setting themselves free for love and pleasure. Gorgeous and versatile, Chiara Mastroianni exercises her comic skills as a promiscuous adulterous who finds herself on a deep self-examination after getting caught by her prudent husband. In a stylish, elegant and ambiguous dreamlike atmosphere, deeply influenced by Buñuel and Fellini, the director conceives a provocative, sexy and contemplative analysis on a marital crisis, as well as an intriguing homage to memory and individual time.