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‘A Magnificent Life’ Review: A Treat for Marcel Pagnol Fans, Sylvain Chomet’s Animated Biopic Seems Unlikely to Win Over the Uninitiated
Exquisite artistry can't compensate for dramatic inertia in Sylvain Chomet’s disappointingly lifeless portrait of French filmmaker Marcel Pagnol.
There’s no need to tell the children that.” Subtract Chomet’s unmatched skill in conveying layers of comedy and melancholy that even the photographic camera can’t capture, and it’ll take more pizazz to interest audiences in his theatrical career — which is where the film begins, with a flop on the Paris stage (“Fabien”). When Paramount tasked Bob Kane with producing films in French and other languages, the exec approached Pagnol about adapting his plays for the screen — an idea that appealed to the playwright, who foresaw the popularity of cinema and embraced the way this emerging medium allowed him to accentuate comedy and drama differently (bringing audiences closer to those wonderful faces, for instance). That leaves audiences to follow the anecdotal story of Pagnol’s setbacks and successes: the lucky night he wagered all his money while his play was being performed next door, a pitch meeting where Paramount short-sightedly passed on a sequel to “Marcel,” the goat he rented to appear on screen … and subsequently adopted to spare it being butchered.
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