Everything Went Fine

With very precise acting and without any traces of kitsch, "Everything Went Fine" by renowned French director, Francois Ozon ("Frantz"), is a masterful reflection on assisted suicide. The movie is based on the eponymous autobiography of the main character, Emmanuelle. Accordingly, the film takes a very personal look at her father and his desire to end his life in a self-determined way, but also at the conflicts into which this plunges his immediate environment. In particular, the numerous legal, bureaucratic and not least financial pitfalls are illuminated by the film in an unpretentious manner.

For all the authentic feelings the film portrays, it resists any temptation toward pathos or over-dramatization. The biography of the dying father, his difficult marriage heavily burdened by his bisexuality, the critical relationship with his daughter ("You've always been my favorite son") -- all this is only lightly hinted at. In fact, the movie manages to tackle a deeply existential topic with surprising lightness.

All in all, this is certainly the work of a master director, but not quite a genuine masterpiece. Nevertheless, "Tout s'est bien passé" is well worth seeing and thinking about -- though it doesn't necessarily make you cry. At least not before the final credits roll.

Based on the late Emmanuèle Bernheim's novel Everything Went Fine, French filmmaker François Ozon's light-hearted drama/comedy Tout s'est bien passé is filled with heart and humanity. Starring Sophie Marceau, Charlotte Rampling, André Dussollier, Géraldine Pailhas and Hanna Schygulla, the film beautifully encapsulates the human condition. Fantastic performances with a heartbreaking story. A portrait of what it is to be ill and ageing.

This is a film that touches on something deeper.

A must see in terms of realism around acting and directing. Andre Dussolier gives his best performance ever as a man victim of a stroke. It is painful, poignant and disturbing. It makes you think about many things during and after the watching. You can think about MILLION DOLLAR BABY, because of the euthanasia issue evoked here. If you had anyone arond you victim of a stroke, this film will probably be unbearable or on the contrary will help you to overcome your grief. It could have been a TV movie; the perfect topic for coach audiences. François Ozon has nothing more to prove anyway. Sophie Marceau is also worth seeing, as usual.

Questions related to assisted suicide and the right to die have been debated hotly for decades, and proponents on each side of these issues have made passionate arguments for their causes. A number of fine films have addressed these issues, too, such as "Blackbird" (2018), "You Don't Know Jack" (2010), "Whose Life Is It, Anyway?" (1981) and "The Barbarian Invasions" (2003). And now moviegoers can add the latest offering from writer-director François Ozon to that list. This fact-based drama about an elderly French stroke victim who asks his daughter to help him die examines the subject from a variety of angles, including the legal, medical, emotional and ethical considerations involved in carrying out such a highly charged act, and it does so with a great deal of integrity, authenticity and heartfelt feeling. It's also one of the finest, most accessible offerings from a filmmaker whose works I believe often leave much to be desired. However, with that said, that's not to say that this release is without its issues, such as several story threads that don't feel fully resolved, as well as some occasionally strange camera work and seemingly superfluous narrative elements. Nonetheless, "Everything Went Fine" has much in its favor, including excellent performances by its three principals (Sophie Marceau, André Dussellier and Géraldine Pailhas), a comprehensive script, sustained pacing, well-placed moments of comic relief, and emotional impact without becoming manipulative or schmaltzy. If you can look past this offering's minor shortcomings, you'll come away from it having had a moving and insightful cinema experience, as well as a thoughtful meditation on when it's time to stay and when to go.

The whole debate regarding assisted dying is contemporary and topical; cinema and TV are reflecting this with a number of productions, none finer than this 2021 French movie which avoids the obvious pitfalls of over-sentimentality, over the top ethical pronouncements and poor storytelling. Here we have a stellar cast (Marceau, Dussollier, Pailhais, Rampling and Schygulla) that adds international gravity to this sensitive subject material.

Andre (Andre Dussollier) is an 85 year old man who suffers a stroke that leaves him with life changing health issues. He makes the decision that he wants to end his life and asks his two daughters Emanuele and Pascale (Sophie Marceau, Geraldine Pailhais) to help him. We observe a family torn, twisted and uncertain about his request, yet Emanuele makes the decision to support her father in his 'project.' Assisted suicide is strictly illegal in France so they decide to take the only option open to them - get him over the border into Switzerland, where it's legal.

Despite a life-long love-hate relationship between them, there develops a latent bond between father and daughter amply realised by superb performances from Andre Dussollier and Sophie Marceau. Marceau has finally shed her Gallic pin-up girl image and developed into a fine actress, picking up serious parts that suit her in middle age.

Aspects of Andre's life and his relationship with family members come to the fore in the period before the date set to go to Switzerland, especially one particularly difficult one that had previously ripped the family apart. There is something forlornly upbeat about this film: a sense of Parisian sarcastic humour prevails when things look particularly bad and when Andre is at his most acerbic and bitter. The family put down their differences and pull together, even if they don't always agree with the 'project.'

A timely and significant film that manages to keep upbeat and realistic as it deals with a major issue of our time.