In theory, everything should be going well for Mathieu, who has a big job, a big house and is married to Catherine, with whom he has a now adult daughter, Léa. However, in practice, nothing works anymore. Indeed, Mathieu contemplates, as if paralyzed, the imminent end of his marriage, while at work, it is hell. Added to this is his hypochondriac father, who is building his own coffin. And there is his best friend, who never stops acting like an adolescent, and his boss, who expects the impossible… While everything seems to be collapsing around him, one day Mathieu sinks into the forest, in a daze. Get lost in order to find yourself better? That’s kind of the idea behind the whimsical comedy Elsewhere if I’m thereby François Pirot, which stars Jérémie Renier and Suzanne Clément.
A fanciful comedy, therefore, Elsewhere if I’m there very quickly becomes colored with unusual notes. Indeed, from the first minutes, François Pirot establishes an atmosphere and a tone suggesting that the reality of his film is somewhat offbeat.
From there, things only become more strange, but a strangeness that is more benevolent than disturbing.
While Mathieu, in his little sylvan Eden, regains a form of wonder and innocence, all his loved ones follow a path similar to his. In that everyone experiences their own existential crisis until the end, before joining Mathieu in the woods, for lack of another path now.
Let’s call the place “the forest of the ill-mooned”.
And so, in turn, these characters, variously confused, angry or unhappy, go from introspection to enlightenment, once lost far from civilization.
Green cocoon
All the performers are in tune with the proposal, Jérémie Renier in the lead. The actor seen in The promise And Potiche is tasty as Mathieu, moving with ease from sullen despondency to cheerful nonchalance. Ditto for Suzanne Clément, full of comic nuances and unfulfilled desires in the role of Catherine…
François Pirot stages everything with just the right amount of stylization (a few evocative shots during key passages). In fact, the filmmaker does not highlight the demonstration by going baroque or flamboyant. His manner is more subtle and effective.
For example, when we are with Mathieu in nature, the ratio of the image shrinks, as if to suggest a small, closed world inside another, larger, more vast one.
Besides, Mathieu will not be able to stay forever in this green cocoon, we ultimately understand. In this regard, François Pirot achieves a beautiful balance at the end, between hope and expectation.