And If We All Lived Together? follows a group of five old friends as they encounter some of the various difficulties that come with age. Jeanne (Jane Fonda) has a cancer scare; her husband, Albert (Pierre Richard) suffers from dementia. Married couple Annie (Geraldine Chaplin) and Jean (Guy Bedos) want more time with their grandchildren, while bachelor Claude (Claude Rich) faces heart problems, and a son who wants to send him to a nursing home. Together, they come up with a plan to solve all their problems – for them to all live together in Annie and Jean’s spacious home. A young German student (Daniel Brühl) joins them too, hired as Jeanne’s dog-walker and using the quintet as a case study for his thesis on the elderly.
As the group of five face their final years, writer-director Stéphane Robelin struggles in tackling the heavy issues that old age brings. He portrays the characters as quirky individuals who occasionally have serious moments of enlightenment, which gives the film a clumsy, unsteady pace. Robelin also seems unsure how to accurately depict the French seniors.
Nor is he completely successful with his portrayal of the youngest member to the cast. Brühl seems meant as a bridging device, enabling the audience to connect to the older group; however, as an ethnology student, Brühl’s character mostly keeps his distance from the group, and the audience too, remaining detached from the events that occur between the older individuals. Ultimately, And If We All Lived Together? leaves little or no room for character development, and the audience is never too sure who to support.
A rather startling revelation about old affairs and infidelity, which threatens to ruin the core dynamics of the group, is revealed late in the movie. At this stage, however, neither the characters nor the film seem to possess the willpower to deal with such events. The characters run out of steam, and the film too grinds to a disappointing standstill, as though the theme of aging has finally worn the narrative down.
Fortunately, And If We All Lived Together? still has its merits – in particular, the delightful Jane Fonda. Playing her first French-speaking role in nearly 40 years, the 74-year-old Fonda is an absolute knockout as the feisty American, Jeanne. Fonda delivers sharp wit and charm in a scene where she merrily shops for her own casket and eventually decides on a bright pink coffin. Her svelte figure and confident stance shows that to her, age is simply just a number.
And If We All Lived Together? attempts to create an interesting representation of old people, with a touch of French sophistication. However, unlike the far superior The Exotic Marigold Hotel, its exploration of the question of aging is insubstantial, and its uncertainty never fades away.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
And If We All Lived Together?
Director: Stéphane Robelin
France /Germany, 2011, 96 min
Madman Entertainment DVD
Rated M
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