{"id":34499,"date":"2024-09-21T01:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=34499"},"modified":"2024-09-21T01:00:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T00:00:45","slug":"director-dissatisfied-a-duck-is-in-an-egg-second-act-is-quentin-dupieuxs-new-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/director-dissatisfied-a-duck-is-in-an-egg-second-act-is-quentin-dupieuxs-new-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Director Dissatisfied: A duck is in an egg, \u201cSecond Act\u201d is Quentin Dupieux\u2019s New Film"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/span>An AI <\/span><\/span>director, its avatar peering from a laptop screen, <\/span><\/span>allegedly<\/span><\/span> orchestrated the majority of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Second Act.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> Although<\/span><\/span>, d<\/span><\/span>ue to the algorit<\/span><\/span>hmic <\/span><\/span>imperfection<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>, the car carrying Guillaume (Vincent Lindon) and his daughter Florence (L<\/span><\/span>\u00e9<\/span><\/span>a Seydoux)<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>stops a kilometer short of their destination, a roadside caf<\/span><\/span>\u00e9 <\/span><\/span>surrounded by a<\/span><\/span>n <\/span><\/span>empty parking lot. Well, a<\/span><\/span>n <\/span><\/span>unplanned stroll through damp field<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> presents <\/span><\/span>the first <\/span><\/span>pair of characters a prime opportunity to dissect the <\/span><\/span>pettiness<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>actual<\/span><\/span> French cinema, lament the monotony of roles and the dearth of directors<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>vision, drift in and out of character, <\/span><\/span>and <\/span><\/span>receive a lifetime offer from Paul Thomas Anderson<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>Paul Thomas Anderson<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>ah,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>now there’s someone who comprehends the art of filmmaking! <\/span><\/span>N<\/span><\/span>o PTA-4 chatbot fed on cinematic clich<\/span><\/span>\u00e9<\/span><\/span>s.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cSecond Act\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, Willy (Rapha<\/span><\/span>\u00eb<\/span><\/span>l Quenard) and David (Louis Garrel) approach, with the latter urg<\/span><\/span>ing<\/span><\/span>the former to hit on Florence, citing his own lack of attraction. <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>I don’t understand. Is she some kind of ugly?<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> comes<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>Willy<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s perfectly reasonable reaction. <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Or even worse<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>trans? <\/span><\/span>C<\/span><\/span>an<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>t stomach t<\/span><\/span>hat crowd<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>A <\/span><\/span>perplexed David pauses to remind his partner:<\/span><\/span> such <\/span><\/span>un-PC banter <\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span> taboo in contemporary cinema, especially with cameras rolling. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cSecond Act\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span><\/span>ypical Dupieux, <\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>sn’t it?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A duck in an egg, the end<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>at the beginning, <\/span><\/span>yet we <\/span><\/span>press on. David, Willy, Florence, and Guillaume, unite, settling at a table in a caf<\/span><\/span>\u00e9 <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Second Act<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>They<\/span><\/span> argue, throw tantrums, <\/span><\/span>struggle<\/span><\/span> to find common ground, bungling take after take. And<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> Paul Thomas Anderson<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>he won’t wait forever! The fifth character<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a neurotic extra playing a bartender (Manuel Guillot)<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>fails to expedite the grueling shoot. He can’t compose himself, can<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>t grasp the bottle, can’t keep it <\/span><\/span>steady<\/span><\/span>, spraying drops of Burgundy across the table (alcohol, by the way, doesn’t mesh well with Dupieux<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s work).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The spatial-temporal matryoshka <\/span><\/span>method<\/span><\/span> shone in Dupieux<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s previous film<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>a free interpretation of Salvador Dali’s life and work. The<\/span><\/span>re,<\/span><\/span> th<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>method<\/span><\/span>served its purpose: it was perhaps the only way to vividly illustrate the nature of surrealism. That matryoshka was expensive, complete. <\/span><\/span>F<\/span><\/span>or <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Second Act<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u201d <\/span><\/span>however,<\/span><\/span> they’ve salvaged only two mismatched sets, each comprising two parts of different sizes: a film within a film<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and reality within fantasy (or vice versa).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Does anyone today still need cinema as a portal to parallel realities?<\/span><\/span>V<\/span><\/span>enturing beyond reveals one consistent truth: there<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s nothing to hold onto in th<\/span><\/span>is<\/span><\/span> world. The mocking tones in plot recursions are, of course, very amusing, but unnerving<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>at the same time. This passion for entanglement is perhaps the main untimeliness, unseasonableness, and main imperfection of the new Dupieux. And yes, entangling is much easier than disentangling.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from \u201cSecond Act\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The dolly tracks at the film’s conclusion, laid across the French field where the characters recently strolled, <\/span><\/span>again <\/span><\/span>discussing the blurred lines between R-reality and F-fiction<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>one hope<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span>se<\/span><\/span> will lead to a genuine<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>second act in Dupieux’s career. The first<\/span><\/span> act<\/span><\/span> offered much of interest, but we’ve grown somewhat weary.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And <\/span><\/span>for<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Second Act<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> itself, a second act is definitely not foreseen.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fiction is reality, and reality is fiction. Cinema mirrors truth more closely, while reality unfolds like a staged film. Or is it all inverted once again? The eternal id\u00e9e fixe of Dupieux the director\u2014the intertwining of fantasy and material worlds\u2014finds fresh expression in \u201cSecond Act.\u201d This time, it\u2019s seasoned with a mix of contemporary societal neuroses: cancel culture, the digitalization of existence, political correctness, and the rise of artificial intelligence. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":34455,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"type_post":[184],"column":[],"class_list":["post-34499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34499"},{"taxonomy":"type_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_post?post=34499"},{"taxonomy":"column","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/column?post=34499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}