This film is part of the first installment of our summer series, which focuses on films about friendship.
After five years of silence, two old friends—theatre director André and writer/actor Wallace—reconnect over dinner at a restaurant on New York’s Upper East Side. As simple as the premise may be, the conversations and themes that unfold over the evening are anything but. Life lessons, personal anecdotes, and philosophical reflections on love, death, career, and art are exchanged in rich and compelling dialogue.
In this bold, unique, and captivating film, Wallace Shawn and André Gregory shine as fictionalized versions of themselves. Director Louis Malle guided the two actors—who also wrote the screenplay—toward creating a carefully staged yet effortlessly flowing masterpiece.
A philosophical classic that never bores, the film is driven not only by the duo’s gift for storytelling, but also by a curiosity and generosity in their friendship that elevates their conversation into the kind you can only have with your closest friend.