THE CLOSET

 Daniel Auteuil stars in the hilarious French comedy, “The Closet” just released by BUENA VISTA.  Auteuil works in a condom factory(oh those French!) and when he realizes he’s about to lose his job, he pretends to be gay, hoping his employer won’t want to face a discrimination suit. 

Auteuil is terrific, but then so is the entire cast of this film. Gerard Depardieu isn’t afraid to restrain himself in an important secondary role as a nasty co-worker.  While the story effortless glides between comedic to dramatic overtones, it’s the characters that make the film work. Everyone’s well defined and believable. 

There are some funny moments in the film that risk coming close to slapstick, but it never actually crosses that line, instead reigning the material in and giving the film a touch of humanity rarely seen in comedies today.  Writer/Director Francis Veber’s other works have frequently been “Americanized” as remakes to appeal to a larger audience, but this film is so uniquely “French” in terms of its social issues, it’s going to be harder than his other films to translate into an “American” film, which is a good thing.  At under 90 minutes, even audiences that scare away from subtitles, should be able to watch this without much effort. 

BUENA VISTA has preserved the correct 2.35:1 aspect ratio for this release with 16:9 enhancement.  Although there are some signs of noise, scratches and the like, the overall image is sharp. The colors are often bold and vibrant.  Fleshtones appear natural throughout. Contrast is excellent.

The original French soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  Unlike many comedies, the soundmix here isn’t restrained due to the “Dialogue-driven” humor that permeates the film.  There is a fair amount of separational effects and the rear speakers even kick in during a few appropriate atmospheric moments.  Dialogue is always well focused and free of distortion.