Cast: Lisa Harrow, Bruno Ganz, Kerry Fox, Miranda Otto, Bill Hunter
Director: Gillian Armstrong
Producer: Jan Chapman
Screenplay: Helen Garner
Cinematography: Geoffrey Simpson
Music: Paul Grabowsky
U.S. Distributor: Fine Line Features
Living together in one house are Beth (Lisa Harrow), her French husband, Jean-Pierre (Bruno Ganz), her younger sister, Vicki (Kerry Fox), her daughter, Annie (Miranda Otto), and a boarder named Tim (Kiri Paramore). The interpersonal relationships here are, to say the least, unusual. All passion between Beth and Jean-Pierre has evaporated, Vicki is depressed over an abortion she feels she was pressured into, Annie and Tim are engaged is some seemingly-innocent flirting, and Beth is obsessed about making peace with her father (Bill Hunter) before he dies.
Even character dramas/slice-of-life pictures should have a point. Unfortunately, The Last Days of Chez Nous is unfocused and rambling. There are times when this movie positively sparkles, but those are isolated incidents. The film as a whole comes up short in a number of key areas. Despite numerous opportunities to grip the audience, it fails to do so. Chez Nous is set in fertile ground, but the plow used by the film makers tills no more than the surface topsoil.
There is an extended sequence near the middle of the film where Beth and her father go on a cross- country trek to mend their fractured relationship. Although what happens as a result of this trip is central to every aspect of The Last Days of Chez Nous, the film never motivates us to care about the journey or the two embarking upon it. The relationship between father and daughter is not sufficiently developed to pique our interest or involve us emotionally. Part of the problem may be that the Beth is too bland to make an effective central character.
The bright spot of Chez Nous is Kerry Fox. The young Australian actress is full of life and verve, and her indomitable spirit comes across through her character. Fox seems equally capable of doing lighthearted moments and deeper drama, since the role of Vicki requires both. In scenes with both sisters, Vicki's zest makes Beth look all-the-more lifeless.
Although the ending occurs at a good place to break the story, it, like much of this film, is fundamentally unsatisfying. While The Last Days of Chez Nous skims the surface of a family's disintegration, it rarely explores issues of any depth. With this shallow perspective, we are treated to occasional glimpses of what Chez Nous could have been with a more focused script, but there are not enough such moments to make this a better-than-average cinematic autopsy of a dysfunctional family.
© 1993 James Berardinelli