63 - Custody

Published: May 17, 2018, 7:47 p.m.

This week we go arthouse and discuss Xavier Legrand\u2019s first feature, Custody (Jusqu\u2019\xe0 la garde), though 'arthouse' perhaps only in the sense that it\u2019s subtitled. In some ways, the film is shot in a realist style, halfway between British kitchen sink drama and the Dardennes' more leisurely, microscopic style. The film revolves around a couple in the process of divorce battling for custody of their young son. The boy wants to stay with his mother. Has he been coached? Is his mind being poisoned against his father?\n\nWe discuss how the first section is basically an exposition of the law where the father is surrounded by women, how the film initially orchestrates the audience\u2019s sympathy around the father, and how this changes as the film unfolds. Is the film a critique of male privilege? Why is it so unpleasant so watch? Is it material that television handles better? What\u2019s the point of putting an audience through this type of experience? We both adore Denis M\xe9nochet as the father but really praise the whole cast. Jos\xe9 loved it; Mike did not. The conversation as to why this is so occupies much of the second half of the podcast.\n\nRecorded on 13th May 2018.