For one thing, it shows, once again, that good movies are being made these days. The grid seems closely linked as several of the same people collaborate on these films. But the momentum is here.
Specifically, this is an insightful portrait of a situation (perhaps specific to Quebec society) whereby strong women have been prominent enough to derail the supposedly usual pattern of male domination. As such, it takes up on the usual theme (gender relations) but develops it in a perceptive twist, truthful to at least what some people (men and women) perceive and comment about.
The psychological component comes not only from the presence of psychological therapy in the movie but also in some of the main themes. The script does avoid some of the pitfalls of too obvious pop-psy but still gives too much weight to a specific series of interpretations. Still, this component of the movie could be seen in the light of the stereotypes on psychology and New York Jews: "My son loves me so much that he pays $200 to talk about me."
Acting is of a high level of quality although not all roles are as salient. Paul Ahmarani is rapidly setting a pace for an acting style that quickly carried him in very distinct roles (wasn't he an extra in "Un crabe dans la tête" or is it my imagination?). While at times seemingly caricature, Micheline Lanctot's character is right on target. Sylvie Moreau's character as "sour" could have been expanded to carry the point across on gender roles. While she was given interesting scenes, "sour" wasn't allowed as much depth as her brother (main character "Jean-Charles"). Lucie Laurier's Cassandre has both more thickness and less depth. She's allowed some expansion but she turns out submissive, in a way. Still, Laurier's performance was quite impressive in range as opposed to her straightforward (but appropriate) role in "La grande séduction." Patrick Huard's Rasoir was probably added for comic relief. But it works, in the dynamics of the movie.
Overall the result is that of a very enjoyable film on issues that are common to a lot of people but are more likely to make intellectuals laugh. Still, at one point, we (my wife and I) couldn't handle it anymore and were laughing out loud.
