Merci Docteur Rey : Synopsis, Cast, Critical reception, Home media Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Merci Docteur Rey

2002 French film

13 October 2002 (2002-10-13) (Mill Valley Film Festival)

Running time

91 minutesCountryFranceLanguagesEnglish
FrenchBox office$19,867^[1]

Merci Docteur Rey is a 2002 comedy film directed and written by Andrew Litvack. The film stars Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin, Simon Callow, Jerry Hall, Vanessa Redgrave, Bulle Ogier, and Stanislas Merhar. It is produced by Ismail Merchant and his company Merchant Ivory Productions.

Synopsis

Thomas Beaumont is young man recruited into an illicit love triangle to watch a much older man's sexual liaison, but ends up witnessing what turns out to be the older man's murder. The next day his opera diva mother, Elisabeth Beaumont, informs him that his estranged father has been in Paris... until the previous night when he was murdered.

Seeking help with infamous psychiatrist Docteur Rey, the young man comes across Pénélope, an eccentric actress who has come totally unhinged by the death of Rey. At first mistaking her for the doctor, the young man embarks on a madcap mystery, reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel, with Paris as the backdrop.

Cast

Dianne Wiest as Elisabeth Beaumont
Jane Birkin as Pénélope
Stanislas Merhar as Thomas Beaumont
Bulle Ogier as Claude Sabrié
Karim Saleh as Murderer
Didier Flamand as Detective
Roschdy Zem as Taxi Driver
Nathalie Richard as Radio Interviewer
Dan Herzberg as Rollerboy
Jerry Hall as Sybil
Simon Callow as Bob
Vanessa Redgrave as herself

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, with 22 reviews, the film has a rare approval rating of 0% – meaning no favorable reviews whatsoever – receiving an average rating of 3.20/10. The site's consensus is: "This overly wacky farce strains for sophistication but lacks polish and a coherent narrative."^[2]