Impromptu

Romantic comedy is one of the most predictable and cliche-ridden film genres. So, it is usually a good thing when someone tries to do make them differently. Like masquerading it as pretentious art biopic. Director James Lapine did that with his 1991 screen debut Impromptu.

The plot is set in 1830s France and the protagonist, played by Judy Davis, is Amantine Lucille Aurore Dupin a.k.a. Baroness Dudevant, a woman who became the most popular writer in the country thanks to the novels written under pen name “George Sand”. She is also known for her scandalous behaviour that involved divorce from her husband, plenty of lovers and scandalous habit of wearing men’s clothes. Most of her love affairs ended disastrously, including the one with playwright Alfred De Musset (played by Mandy Patinkin) and her children’s tutor Felicien Mallefille (played by Georges Corraface) who nevertheless continues to pursue her. George Sand falls in love with Frederic Chopin (played by Hugh Grant), sensitive and tuberculosis-stricken Polish pianist and composer whose music she sees as incarnation of her romantic ideals. Opportunity to seduce him comes when she is invited to spend two weeks at the country estate of Duchess d’Antan (played by Emma Thompson), silly aristocrat who believes that the presence of famous writers, artists and musicians from Paris would elevate her provincial status. George Sand there has to deal with the presence of Musset and Mallefille, while her path to Chopin’s heart gets blocked by intrigues of her best friend Countess d’Agoult (played by Bernardette Peters) who wants Chopin for herself despite having children with Chopin’s best friend, famous Hungarian pianist Franz Liszt (played by Julian Sands).

James Lapine is best known for his directing work in Broadway, where he won Pulitzer Prize and many prestigious awards. His film debut was written by his wife Sarah Kernochan, an experienced film maker and writer. Impromptu, made in British-American co-production, was shot on French locations with relatively small budget. Lapine’s stage experience helped with making budget limitations invisible and 19th Century France is displayed very convincingly. The more interesting than the period sets, costumes or props are the characters, almost all being real life historical characters. Even with those who don’t know much about literary and artistic celebrities of 1830s Europe would probably be entertained with farcical interpretations of their lives and relationships in Kernochan’s script. Impromptu benefits a lot from very diverse and talented cast. Australian actress Judy Davis is formidable in the role of larger-than-life character who passionately tries to win the man whom she considers embodiment of her lofty ideals. Hugh Grant, despite being somewhat constrained in her role, display just enough charm that would serve him well in romantic comedies made in a decade after this film; this film is also one of the rare where he speaks with notable non-British accent. Bernardette Peters is a little bit underwhelming in the role of protagonist’s best friend and romantic rival. Impression is much better as Patinkin as half-cynical ex-lover and Ralph Brown as famous painter Eugène Delacroix, and especially with Emma Thompson as snobbish aristocrat who overenthusiastically greets guests that would ultimately create mayhem under her roof. Quality of humour is usually much better than in Hollywood, with some ingenious scenes involving duels and horses as literary critics. Lapine, however, has issues with pacing. He takes too much time to establish characters, while completely ignoring possibility that some in the audience wouldn’t have a clue who Chopin and George Sand were. The romantic coupling between the two happens a little bit too late, just like the intrigue by the Countess starts too late and isn’t most believable. Despite those flaws, Impromptu is still a good piece of cinema that would be recommended both to those who like romantic comedies and those who like Chopin’s and Liszt’s music.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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