neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Friday Night
	Claire Denis Valérie Lemercier, Vincent Lindon 2002		On the evening before she's about to move in with her boyfriend, an ordinary, slightly weary Parisian woman named Laure is stuck in a traffic jam induced by a citywide transit strike. She's late for a dinner engagement, but, in the spirit of generosity, she offers a lift to a stranger. Because of this chance encounter, Laure's life changes direction — at least, for one evening. "Friday Night," from insightful French director/screenwriter Claire Denis, is an urban dream of romantic happenstance, charting Laure's voyage of discovery from sundown to sunup. As a low-key love story, it had to rise or fall on the abilities of its leads, and Denis was smart in her casting. Valérie Lemercier, as the vaguely dissatisfied Laure, and Vincent Lindon, as the enigmatic man who opens Laure's eyes to possibilities she hadn't considered, inhabit their roles. Previous films from Denis include a childhood memoir of North Africa ("Chocolat"), an adaptation of Herman Melville's novel "Billy Budd" in a French Foreign Legion setting ("Beau Travail"), and a grisly murder movie ("Trouble Every Day"). "Friday Night" is a different thing for Denis; nonetheless, she nails its details and languid atmosphere.