Impromptu (1991)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Sarah Kernochan
Directed by James Lapine
Starring Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Julian Sands, Emma Thompson, Georges Corraface, Anton Rodgers, and Ralph Brown

Features:

• Original theatrical trailer
  
• English surround sound, French mono
  
• English, French, and Spanish subtitles
  

Rating: PG-13

Anamorphic: No.

My Advice: Rent it.

In Impromptu, we meet bohemian novelist George Sand (Davis), a woman ahead of her time and knows it. Friends with Franz Liszt (Sands), she develops an interest in Liszt's friend, young Chopin (Grant). Along the way to true love, Sand is stymied by ex-lovers and jealous friends, aided by the painter Delacroix (Brown), and a host of comic and tragic catastrophies.

The plot is about as historically accurate as, say, Braveheart, but that's ok. It succeeds in breathing life into a host of famous artists and reminding viewers that these people may have been artistic geniuses, but weren't always as skilled at plain old living. It's funny and refreshing, as well as quite different from the usual host of cookie-cutter action flicks that one expects from Hollywood.

The cast is as superb as you would imagine they would be. Davis as George Sand is amazing--captivating and wild without being annoying. On the other hand, Thompson, usually lovable and a paragon, actually is annoying, and she's supposed to be--a testament to Thompson's acting skills that you can want her to go away. The rest of the cast is dead on; even Hugh Grant as Chopin, though his affected Polish accent is a bit much at times.

The audio and video are both fine. In a film about music and revolving around what people choose to wear (or choose not to wear), you need to have accurate color and exceptional filming of detail, and we have that in Impromptu. The audio is good enough, though the scene of the house play sounds oddly hollow, but perhaps this was intended.

The features on this disk are awfully thin. A movie this good and a cast this stellar deserves more attention lavished upon it, art house film or no. The disk could have had audio commentary with almost anyone on the cast or crew, and it would have been outstanding. Interviews, screen tests, even discographies would have added to the features list. I also would have loved to have seen how the costume designer made her choices regarding hair and clothing, as such details are important to the action and the emotion of the film--not only because we have here a female who dresses and acts much like a man, but because some of the characters are dandies, and so on.

Don't expect a brilliant feminist piece. George Sand notwithstanding, none of the other female characters are at all appealing and devolve quickly to stereotypes.

Fans of music or biography will enjoy Impromptu, as will anyone who enjoys intellectual humor and satire. But don't let the "small art film" label stop you if you usually find such films tedious: Impromptu is genuinely funny and enjoyable to watch, as well as dramatic and emotional by turns.