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The Grand Role

Play trailer Poster for The Grand Role Released May 6, 2005 1h 26m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
61% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
To make his dying wife (Bérénice Bejo) happy, a struggling actor (Stéphane Freiss) and his friends pretend he has won the lead in a new movie.

Critics Reviews

View All (18) Critics Reviews
Eddie Cockrell Variety Predictable yet charming. Jun 3, 2005 Full Review Frank Scheck The Hollywood Reporter Bereft of real laughs while lacking the depth to make its emotional aspects more moving, the film never manages to assimilate its shifting tones and ultimately seems trivial. Jun 3, 2005 Full Review Jonathan Curiel San Francisco Chronicle Their characters are compelling and completely realistic, the acting is first-rate, and many scenes in this black-and-white movie (which was shot in different countries, including Saudi Arabia) are breathtaking. Rated: 4/4 May 20, 2005 Full Review Doris Toumarkine Film Journal International Favors melodramatic and quirky twists, never bothering to lay down substantive ballast. Mar 1, 2007 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...works as long as one doesn't think about it too much... Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 30, 2006 Full Review Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat ...a diverting little comedy/drama, with a good central performance from Freiss, but...nothing much more on display. Dec 15, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (4) audience reviews
Audience Member Excelente experimento de cine frances (otra pelicula proyectada en el 2005, vista en Mazatlan en 2008), en exactamente la linea argumentativa de mentiras piadosas de "La Vida es Bella" y "Adios a Lenin"... muy tierna y de buena hechura. Con un excelente elenco de autenticamente amigos.... muy recomendable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Background setting is not really realistic (but hey! That's what the French movies do! And this is called 'Romance'!). Maurice's friends/gangs each with a clear & special character & provide the main jokes of the film. Francois Berleand is great again. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member a bit weak at the end but overall very touching. the Shakespearean dialogue is comparable to Al's one, very touching; a lot of thoughts on religion and tradition. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member a typical French small film. Anyway, I love the lines. p.s. Olivier Sitruk is handsome. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Grand Role

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Cast & Crew

You'll Get Over It 67% 62% You'll Get Over It Watchlist Minimal Stories 88% 84% Minimal Stories Watchlist Private Fears in Public Places 76% 53% Private Fears in Public Places Watchlist Sex Is Comedy 69% 46% Sex Is Comedy Watchlist Childstar 78% 42% Childstar Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis To make his dying wife (Bérénice Bejo) happy, a struggling actor (Stéphane Freiss) and his friends pretend he has won the lead in a new movie.
Director
Steve Suissa
Screenwriter
Daniel Cohen, Daniel Goldenberg, Steve Suissa, Sophie Tepper
Distributor
First Run
Production Co
Les Films de l'Espoir
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
French (France)
Release Date (Theaters)
May 6, 2005, Original
Box Office (Gross USA)
$35.6K
Runtime
1h 26m