Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3217 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-09-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: French
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A film about society's attitude to sexuality, with a lighthearted dig at political correctness gone mad, The Closet is French farce in the tradition of Moliere: a man pretends to be something he's not, people begin treating him differently, his lie escalates out of all proportion, and comedy ensues. Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is a dull, divorced accountant in a French rubber-processing factory whose primary product is condoms. The morning of the company photograph he overhears he is going to be fired. After half-heartedly trying to kill himself, he meets his new next-door neighbour who suggests a plot that will keep him from losing his job: he should pretend he's gay, and the neighbour will doctor the photographs and send them to his boss to prove it.

The comedy springs from people's reactions to Pignon's alleged homosexuality. The managing director puts him on a Gay Pride parade float with a condom on his head, his estranged son suddenly thinks he's cool, his female boss catches on to the scam and begins to think that Pignon is not as banal as she first thought, and the homophobic, macho personnel director--a great performance from Gerard Depardieu--discovers his sensitive side. It's well directed by Francis Veber (writer of the original Three Fugitives), who moves the gentle action along masterfully, providing some laugh-out-loud moments and getting some great performances from his ensemble cast. Overall, it's an uplifting comedy about prejudice and how a Mr Nobody becomes a somebody. --Kristen Bowditch

Special Features
French
Region 2
Theatrical Trailer
Cast And Crew Biographies
Optimum Trailer Reel
English

Synopsis
In this witty commentary on political correctness in the work place, Francois Veber directs the excellent Daniel Auteuil as Francois Pignon, better known around the office as 'Pignon le Mignon' (Pignon the Cutey). Poor Pignon is helplessly misunderstood and pathetically down on his luck. A senior executive at a small corporation, Pignon overhears rumors that he is going to be fired. On top of a difficult relationship with his ex-wife and a failing relationship with his sullen teenage son, the idea of losing his job and becoming incapable of making alimony payments is unfathomable. Pignon feels totally defeated--like a real loser. That's why, when Pignon's next door neighbor (Michel Aumont) offers a solution to his problems, Pignon is quick to accept: He comes out of the closet, convincing his coworkers that he is gay, and making it improbable that the company would fire him at risk of legal action. But before he knows it, Pignon's plan has backfired and metamorphosed in hilarious ways, causing a string of bizarre office-related situations and family dilemmas that are both complex and comic.

Customer Reviews

Veber's Look At Society And Sexuality
Daniel Auteuil is Pignon, a man who's considered to be boring, straight laced, and rather uninteresting. When Santini (Gérard Depardieu) and his friends suggest Pignon should be sacked - Pignon decides to end it all. It's only because of a new found friend he finds a way to fool the masses at the condom factory and keep his job.

This isn't as funny as Le Diner De Cons nor Tais-Toi; but they're classics and it's hard to follow such a great act, but it's a very good film, Gérard is very funny as macho man Felix, and the welcome return of Thierry Lhermitte, one of Felix's friends. I also enjoyed the roles played by his secretaries: Michèle Laroque (Madame Bertrand) and Alexandra Vandernoot (Christine), as they had some great lines. Also good to see star of L'homme Du Train, Jean Rochefort, as he's a great actor.

The film does have some moments where it's not as good, but otherwise this is funny from start to end. I like the way Veber makes a commentary on people's attitudes to sexuality and differences, in a country that boasts Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. Thought it was very funny the way they changed their minds, and I can see that happening in real life too.

Excellent movie, shame about the extras, or should I say non-existing extras, yeah it's just a trailer on here, so it's not much to get excited about.

CLOSE To perfect
i think the reviewer below who wants more 'madcap' moments and 'chaotic energy' should watch La Cage Aux Folles and is missing the subtlety of this entire film; anything other would be a recipe for ruining this gentle portrait of Pignon, a broken man, which builds up into a hugely satisfying, poignant yet very funny film (the brevity of the laugh-out-loud moments being their strength - some moments stay with you long after they have ended). Depardieu's character, Santini, has plenty of chaotic energy brewing if that's the way to describe the unfamiliar feelings that slowly turn the hulk of a man into a fruitbasket. So in response to that reviewer again, you can't have full-on Molieresque farce AND care about every single character, that would be a contradiction. Santini, though a main character, IS on the edge of being 'flimsy', and any more hysterical moments from Depardieu and i wouldn't have cared so much; as it was, I loved his pathetic vulnerability and the relationship between the two men at the end endeared Santini to me. I watched this film one night, then again the next night with my other half. And would gladly watch it again tonight. The comedy is balanced and controlled in such a way as to allow real feeling for the 3 main characters (Pignon, Belone - his gem of a neighbour - and Santini) and the interferences from all the other characters cause the ensuing knock-on effects to cascade into 3 personal triumphs that jolly and uplift us (plus the acting is excellent). As for caring about the other characters, we're not supposed to bother about great depth of feeling for Pignon's son, for instance; Pignon is the catalyst and we care more that the relationship mends fully for his sake, which is about the only question left realistically and unsentimentally open-ended as the film closes. Anyway, a well-woven farce with some briliantly subtle comedy and sensitive characterisation all seamlessly blended. (I'm keen to meet all the other Francois Pignons of Francis Veber's films now ...)

Don't buy for Panasonic players
This is a superb french farce. By pretending to be gay a company missfit avoids redundancy as discrimination.

I managed to watch a poor quality copy recorded from late C4 television but on 4 different occasions was unable to buy one that would play on either of my panasonic players