Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more

 

The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991)

Director: Ben Lewin

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Louis (Hoskins) earns his crust photographing devotional pictures in Paris, but his tyrannical boss (Blanc) has threatened the sack unless he can find the perfect model for Christ. All appears lost until he meets actress Sybil (Richardson), who sweeps him off his feet and straight into her muddled life: she's traumatised by an abortive affair with a grumpy pianist (Goldblum), who attempted to set fire to the last rival for her affections. Now released from prison, he's a changed man - morose, vengeful, and a dead ringer for Christ. Based on a Marcel Aymé short story, this 'surreal romantic comedy' stretches its ideas too far. Writer-director Lewin heightens language and gesture until the central relationship is rendered absurd; Goldblum broods menacingly and deludes himself that he really is Christ. The effect is dislocating.

Author: CM 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.