I am not a fan of French movies generally, as they tend too often towards smug pretentiousness, more-sensitive-than-thou preciousness, and Marxist petulance. None of this makes for good comedy. How refreshing then to see a truly great black comedy concerning a common but under-explored comic theme, the evil, manipulative grannie, a woman whose best years are far behind her and whose only remaining purpose in life is to try to drag everyone else down to her level of misery by cynically exploiting their naive pity and sympathy, sort of a one-woman Religion of Peace. As the director said in interviews at the time, every family seems to have a Tatie Danielle. While the Australian television series "Mother and Son" was based on a similar premise, "Mother and Son" wanted to make the characters ultimately sympathetic whereas "Tatie Danielle" has no such agenda. Consequently Tatie Danielle goes much further and is therefore much funnier. You could not have picked a better actress for the role than Tsilla Chelton. Her facial expression combines to perfection pure malice, feigned helplessness and impish glee, and the film largely succeeds on the strength of her acting. This is a must-see comedy, especially in company with your elderly, manipulative female relatives. If you enjoyed this film, do see the equally excellent "Baxter" made just one year later, another highly original French black comedy albeit less funny and MUCH darker.
Review of Auntie Danielle
