Review: ‘Cézanne et Moi’ paints friendship of the painter and novelist Emile Zola in broad brushstrokes

A turbulent friendship of French cultural giants, the bond between post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne and novelist Emile Zola makes for agreeable big-brushstroke historical drama in Danièle Thompson’s “Cézanne et Moi.” Flitting around in the timeline between the pair’s the-world-is-ours youth in Aix-en-Provence and their middle-aged estrangement, Thompson has created an obvious showcase for her capably blustery actors, Guillaume Canet (as Zola) and Guillaume Gallienne (as Cézanne), and a sincere if soapy depiction of passions inflamed by upbringing, rebellion, women (they shared one, in Thompson’s speculation) and fame. Cézanne was the angry rich kid turned nose-thumbing, outsider artist, and Gallienne’s full-throttle performance – unafraid of leaking pity and slight madness – is the standout, while Canet’s portrait of a once poor, clear-eyed social realist who let success turn him hypocritically bourgeois, makes for a chillier trajectory. (Their epic beards also tell the tale: Canet’s groomed accessory versus Gallienne’s bristly growth.) They get fine support by Alice Pol as Zola’s wife, Alexandrine, and Déborah Francois as Cézanne’s muse-turned-companion Hortense, both of whom get their moments to push back against the men’s stifling personalities. But it’s a breezy efficiency at work in managing the hot arguments, bruised egos and reconciliations, more indicative of Thompson’s light-entertainment chops than any fresh insight into the minds of its subjects. Ever-present is the mild dissonance of fiery pioneers of expression inspiring charmingly pretty if standard art house fare.

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“Cézanne et Moi”

In French with English subtitles

1 hour, 53 minutes

Rated: R for language, sexual references and nudity

Playing at Laemmle Royal, Playhouse 7, Town Center

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