''On a Magical Night'' (french: Chambre 212, lit=Room 212) is a 2019

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

written and directed by Christophe Honoré and starring Chiara Mastroianni. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where Mastroianni won the award for Best Performance.

Premise

College lecturer of law Maria has been married to Richard for twenty years. After revealing her history of affairs with other men, she leaves their Paris apartment and spends the night in a hotel across the street. She is visited by her ex-lovers, as well as Richard's younger self.

Cast

* Chiara Mastroianni as Maria Mortemart *

Vincent Lacoste Vincent Lacoste (born 3 July 1993) is a French actor. He began his acting career at the age of fifteen, playing the lead role of Hervé in the film ''The French Kissers''. The role won him the Lumières Award for Most Promising Actor and a nomin ...

as Richard Warrimer at 20 years old * Benjamin Biolay as Richard Warrimer at 40 years old *

Camille Cottin Camille Cottin (; born 1 December 1978) is a French actress and comedian. Following her debut as a stage actress, she became known in 2013 for playing a capricious Parisian woman in the Canal+ hidden camera-sketches series ''Connasse'' (2013–20 ...

as Irène Haffner at 40 years old * Carole Bouquet as Irène Haffner at 60 years old *

Marie-Christine Adam Marie-Christine Adam (born 24 September 1950) is a French actress. Filmography Theatre External links * References 1950 births Living people French film actresses French television actresses Place of birth missing (living people ...

as Maria's mother

Production

The film's working title was ''Musique de chambre''. Christophe Honoré wrote the screenplay of the film for Chiara Mastroianni, imagining her as "a Cary Grant-type character." It is Honoré's first film that was shot in a studio. It was shot in six weeks, five of which were in the studio. Filming wrapped on 19 March 2019.

Release

The film had its premiere in the

section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2019. It was released in France on 9 October 2019. It was released as video on demand via

virtual cinema Virtual cinema is a video-on-demand streaming service facilitated by independent film distributors and art-house theaters to release new films and share profits. Under the service, part of the admission price supports a physically located theater. ...

on 8 May 2020.

Reception

Box office

''On a Magical Night'' grossed $0 in the United States and Canada and $2.9 million in other territories.

Critical response

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, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "It isn't quite as exceptional as the titular evening, but ''On a Magical Night'' offers enough Gallic whimsy to satisfy audiences in the mood for some romance." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Stephen Dalton of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' called the film "Breezy and bright, with the stylized look and feel of a stage play". Owen Gleiberman of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "At 90 minutes, the film feels endless, and we have too much time to notice that the two actors playing Richard seem like two totally different people, and that the film has holes in its fantasy logic you could drive a truck through." Chiara Mastroianni won the Best Performance award in the

section at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:On A Magical Night 2019 films 2019 comedy films Belgian comedy films Films directed by Christophe Honoré Films set in hotels Films set in Paris Films shot in Luxembourg Films shot in Paris French comedy films 2010s French-language films Luxembourgian comedy films French-language Belgian films 2010s French films