The Man in the Basement (film)

The Man in the Basement
Directed byPhilippe Le Guay
Written byMarc Weitzmann
Philippe Le Guay
Gilles Taurand
StarringFrançois Cluzet
Jérémie Renier
Bérénice Bejo
Release date
  • January 27, 2023 (2023-01-27) (New York City)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

The Man in the Basement is a 2023 French thriller drama film written by Marc Weitzmann, Philippe Le Guay and Gilles Taurand, directed by LeGuay and starring François Cluzet, Jérémie Renier and Bérénice Bejo.[1][2]

Plot

[edit]

A Jewish couple sell their house to a former history teacher, only to discover he was an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film was shot in Paris.[3]

Release

[edit]

The film was released in New York City on January 27, 2023.[4]

Reception

[edit]

The film has a 79% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 14 reviews.[5] Calan Panchoo of Film Threat rated the film a 6 out of 10.[2] Glenn Kenny of RogerEbert.com awarded the film three stars.[6]

Hannah Brown of The Jerusalem Post gave the film a positive review and wrote, "All the actors are good here, among them Renier, who starred in a number of films by the Dardenne brothers(...)But the movie really belongs to Cluzet and the vile character he portrays."[4]

Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times also gave the film a positive review, calling it "a gripping, smart and timely film that’s part thriller, part domestic drama and all cautionary tale."[7]

Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Somewhere in The Man in the Basement there is a smart psychodrama sharpened by political urgency, but what we get is a middling think piece that too quickly loses momentum — and peters out by the end."[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Loayza, Beatrice (January 26, 2023). "'The Man in the Basement' Review: The Occupation of Paris". The New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Panchoo, Calan (February 16, 2023). "The Man in the Basement". Film Threat. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (January 13, 2021). "Playtime Acquires Philippe Le Guay's Thriller 'The Man From the Basement' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Brown, Hannah (January 28, 2023). "The Man in the Basement: A thriller on Holocaust denial trolls - review". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "The Man in the Basement". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Kenny, Glenn (January 27, 2023). "The Man in the Basement". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Goldstein, Gary (January 27, 2023). "Review: Terrific dramatic thriller 'Man in the Basement' may remind you of people you know". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
[edit]