Themes: Sibling Relationships, Americans Abroad, Servants and Employers
Main Cast: Paul Rudd, Sylvie Testud, Didier Flamand
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Two siblings with practically nothing in common are brought together by a real estate deal that threatens to leave them even more at odds than they were before in this semi-improvised comedy. Graham (Paul Rudd) and Rex (Romany Malco) are about as different as two brothers can get -- Graham is sloppy, lackadaisical, and in a state of puzzled wonderment about the world around him, while Rex (his real name is Alan, but he thinks Rex sounds better) is a tightly focused aspiring e-commerce tycoon. Graham and Rex also don't look much like brothers; Rex is adopted, which explains why he's black and Graham isn't. Graham and Rex don't see much of each other, but when a distant relative passes on and bequeaths them joint ownership of a home in the South of France, they fly out together to take a look at their new property. Graham and Rex discover that the estate is in dire need of repair and that the house's domestic staff -- butler Jean (Didier Flamand), cook Sabrine (Maria Verdi), caretaker Pierre (Philippe Mahon), and pretty maid Isabelle (Sylvie Testud) -- is still on hand and expecting to be kept on. Graham magnanimously promises the staff that they'll still have their jobs, but Rex discovers that the previous owner was deep in debt, and the only way to pay off the bills is to sell the place. So now they have to find a buyer who is willing to take the employees along with the home, none of which is helped by the fact that both Graham and Rex are vying for the attentions of Isabelle. The Chateau was shot using digital video equipment, then transferred to 35 mm film for its theatrical engagements. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Strangely non-foreign, yet un-American, The Château takes uncultured Graham (Paul Rudd of Wet Hot American Summer) out of the U.S. on a journey to the south of France by force of the shared inheritance of a château with his slightly more cultured brother, Rex (Romany Malco). Rudd explores the nuances of human self-consciousness in a way that's all too realistic and, at moments, his character is painful to watch -- particularly at drunken moments or those talking with his shrink inside a phone booth mysteriously placed outside the château. Nonetheless, Rudd deserves credit, along with Malco and all the cast members, since a large portion of the final 91 minutes of the film were entirely improvised from the original script -- a mere 20 pages long. As Isabelle, Sylvie Testud is naturally enticing to both Graham and Rex, and proves to be one of the more quiet and decisive of the château's inhabitants. Malco gives Rex an intelligent, quick wit, allowing a reflective surface with which to contrast Graham's slower thoughtfulness. After truly comic beginnings (really, can these two actually be brothers?), humor gives way to psychological contemplation, much the way the French-English language barrier mysteriously yields to a more fully English resolution in the dialogue. However, the film is able to exemplify the utter strangeness of relationships, and even people, as love stories unfold and are exposed, often just in time for their demise. ~ Sarah Sloboda, All Movie Guide
