Finnegan Oldfield stars as a young gay man desperate to break away, in this stirring drama from director Anne Fontaine (The Innocents).
Dir Anne Fontaine
Prod Philippe Carcassonne, Pierre-Alexandre Schwab, Jean-Louis Livi
Scr Anne Fontaine, Pierre Trividic
With Finnegan Oldfield, Isabelle Huppert, Grégory Gadebois
France
2016
115min
Sales TF1 Studio
A compelling and searing chronicle of a young gay man leaving the life he has known in order to become someone else. Like her previous film The Innocents (LFF2016), Reinventing Marvin showcases director Anne Fontaine’s skill at balancing complex subject matter with social relevance. Marvin Bijou (rising French star Finnegan Oldfield), a young boy from a working-class family in a small French village, suffers constant bullying at school and home for being ‘different’ – too sensitive and too feminine. A chance encounter with a drama teacher opens the doors to a world that offers him the chance to escape his situation. Following Marvin into his mid-twenties as a theatre student in Paris, Fontaine presents a richly layered tale about identity building and transformation. With an exquisite cameo from Isabelle Huppert and great performances from the reliably excellent Vincent Macaigne and Charles Berling, Reinventing Marvin packs a powerful punch.