Friendship between two men who can communicate their ideas to each other is a rare commodity. Women, it seems, are more in touch with their own feelings and they are more open to express how they feel. In contrast, men are always more reserved in the way they express to a friend things that are so deep and so different that it takes two great individuals to have an honest exchange without being cautious. To bear one's inner thoughts to a another man is not something frequently done.
As in the case of Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, two friends who haven't seen one another in quite some time, a dinner brings the two men together in ways they probably didn't think possible. In the case of Mr. Shawn, he is seen at the beginning of the film walking the streets of downtown Manhattan thinking about how he doesn't want to meet with Andre Gregory in his present frame of mind. After all, he is a struggling playwright who has not had a success in the theater in some time.
At the arrival at the restaurant, Wallace Shawn seems out of place. In spite of the way he looks, don't be fooled by his appearance. This man grew up in the midst of affluence. He is the son of the legendary editor of The New Yorker magazine, William Shawn. As a child Wallace Shawn was surrounded by literary celebrities through his father.
Andre Gregory, is a great conversationalist. He clearly dominates what he has to say to Mr. Shawn because, after being successful in the New York theater world, he decided to give all that up in order to do what he really wanted, to explore the world to its fullest. His wonderful stories recount his experiences in Poland, Tibet, Scotland, and other parts of the world, where he meets an assortment of people that enrich his life experience.
Conversation between true friends involve listening carefully, something which Mr. Shawn is great at. He never interrupts Mr. Gregory, whose wonderful tales evoke images of discovery and the occult and make perfect sense in the context of the conversation. After all, these men are sophisticated individuals who have been exposed to a lot and would not bat an eye when something that might seem preposterous comes out in the conversation.
It took an excellent director, Louis Malle, to see the possibilities in a film about these two people talking without any action. Instead of being bored, we are riveted to what the two men are talking about and the camera of Mr. Malle follows them attentively without even hinting we are looking at something that was planned in advance. For all practical purposes Mr. Malle makes us 'peeping toms' as we listen to the exchange.
"My Dinner with Andre" is a wonderful movie that will delight viewers with open minds as we eavesdrop on the meeting of two friends talking about things that might be out of our own experiences, but who are fascinating to listen tell their stories for our benefit.
As in the case of Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, two friends who haven't seen one another in quite some time, a dinner brings the two men together in ways they probably didn't think possible. In the case of Mr. Shawn, he is seen at the beginning of the film walking the streets of downtown Manhattan thinking about how he doesn't want to meet with Andre Gregory in his present frame of mind. After all, he is a struggling playwright who has not had a success in the theater in some time.
At the arrival at the restaurant, Wallace Shawn seems out of place. In spite of the way he looks, don't be fooled by his appearance. This man grew up in the midst of affluence. He is the son of the legendary editor of The New Yorker magazine, William Shawn. As a child Wallace Shawn was surrounded by literary celebrities through his father.
Andre Gregory, is a great conversationalist. He clearly dominates what he has to say to Mr. Shawn because, after being successful in the New York theater world, he decided to give all that up in order to do what he really wanted, to explore the world to its fullest. His wonderful stories recount his experiences in Poland, Tibet, Scotland, and other parts of the world, where he meets an assortment of people that enrich his life experience.
Conversation between true friends involve listening carefully, something which Mr. Shawn is great at. He never interrupts Mr. Gregory, whose wonderful tales evoke images of discovery and the occult and make perfect sense in the context of the conversation. After all, these men are sophisticated individuals who have been exposed to a lot and would not bat an eye when something that might seem preposterous comes out in the conversation.
It took an excellent director, Louis Malle, to see the possibilities in a film about these two people talking without any action. Instead of being bored, we are riveted to what the two men are talking about and the camera of Mr. Malle follows them attentively without even hinting we are looking at something that was planned in advance. For all practical purposes Mr. Malle makes us 'peeping toms' as we listen to the exchange.
"My Dinner with Andre" is a wonderful movie that will delight viewers with open minds as we eavesdrop on the meeting of two friends talking about things that might be out of our own experiences, but who are fascinating to listen tell their stories for our benefit.