"The Answerer": Denis Podalydès and Salif Cissé in a delightful comedy, a little absurd and well-crafted

To go further

By awarding this film its prize, the audience at the Alpe-d'Huez Festival was not mistaken. An eponymous adaptation of the novel by Luc Blanvillain (Quidam éditeur), this comedy of vocal cross-dressing is a delightful, slightly absurd mechanism, judging by its starting point, but crafted with a virtuosity as discreet as it is rigorous. Tired of being constantly solicited by his agent, his daughter, his ex, as well as all those who contribute to polluting his private and professional sphere, Pierre Chozène (Denis Podalydès), a successful author dreaming of peace and quiet to write what he hopes will be his most sincere book, hires an impersonator to answer the phone in his place and discourage the many undesirables. The subterfuge is clever, but its executor will prove less docile than hoped.

Unbelievable? No matter. Fabienne Godet, author of "Our Wonderful Lives," believes it enough to draw us into the inner workings and misunderstandings of this joyful and melancholic farce. This is thanks, above all, to a production that sharpens the rhythm, refines the lines, and manages to constantly seduce with its skill in playing not only with voices (the "imitated" one comes from the blend of the two actors' tessitura) but also with bodies. The mischievous, anxious, and graceful voice of Denis Podalydès is matched by the massive, innocent, and delicate build of the masterful Salif Cissé, seen with Guillaume Brac. This duo of opposites moves within a playful space that the filmmaker orchestrates with a fluidity full of elegance. We often imagine we're one step ahead of the story, but it plays on our expectations. The character of the writer's father, a toxic memory of the latter, gives the story an unexpected cruelty. While that of Clara (Aure Atika), an ex-lover who is not at all foolish and complicit, plunges us into the tangy pleasures of the remarriage comedy. A delight.