‘Yannick’ Review: A Brechtian Heckler Hijacks the Show in Quentin Dupieux’s Absurdist Delight
07.08.2023 - 17:39
/ variety.com
Peter Debruge pmc-editorial-manager “you’re full of hate and frustrations. you should take a break,” director Quentin Dupieux once tweeted at me, immediately following my review of his 2014 film “Reality.” In another world, someone might have advised him against picking a fight with a film critic. You know, never quarrel with a man who buys ink by the barrel, and all that.
But I didn’t mind. I’d said some harsh things about his movie. Seems only fair that he could retort.
(In my experience, film critics are some of the thinnest-skinned people around. But it’s my firm belief: If you dish it, you should be prepared to take it as well.) In Dupieux’s latest, “Yannick,” the title character is a critic (an amateur one, at least, like every human being who goes to the theater). Like Dupieux, Yannick does the unthinkable, expressing his displeasure.
In a way. That. Is.
Not. Done. He opens his mouth during the show.
And it’s hilarious — by challenging this incredibly specific (but seldom questioned) cultural taboo, he’s concocted both a ripe comedic premise and a chance to interrogate what audiences expect from art: Diversion? Entertainment? Uplift? Provocation? “Yannick” gets us noodling on these questions, while also fulfilling Dupieux’s own idea of what a movie should be, all without overstaying its welcome. I’d venture to say it’s Dupieux’s best film, though I haven’t seen them all. (“Incredible but True” is also pretty great.
Plus, it’s About Something. But then, so is “Yannick.”) So let’s say top three, to be safe. The man is crazy prolific, in any case.